How to Get Your Home Ready to Sell

Having made the decision to sell your home, there are lots of things to contemplate before putting it on the market. You will want to ensure that the whole process goes as smoothly as possible and that you’ll get the best price possible when selling your house. Our handy tips will help you put in place the most important things when listing your home for sale.

Find A Good Estate Agent

Finding a good estate agent is a key step. The main thing you’re looking for is competency and trust. Keep an eye out in your area and see if many of the houses are being sold by particular estate agents. They may be the ones you want to go with as they will likely have a great feel for the neighbourhood and know what works best for the area. For those of us who don’t know many estate agents there’s a good chance you may end up going back to the person who sold the house to you as you have a personal relationship with them, so long as you had a good experience with them the last time. Whoever you settle on, it is beneficial to go through a thoroughly laid out plan for how they intend to sell your home.

Declutter and Organise

Organising and decluttering your home will go a long way in appealing to potential buyers. Make sure there isn’t an excessive amount of family pictures and portraits on every wall too. Try to strike a balance between lived-in and liveable. Prospective buyers want to visualise their own tastes taking shape, this is much easier when the house is clutter free. So clear away anything that isn’t essential and is taking up valuable space on shelves and surfaces. This will have added benefits for when it’s time to move yourselves as you will have less to pack or already have some of your possessions packed and ready to go.

Consider Professional Staging

You can take this a step further by paying for professional staging. A home stager is someone who will prepare your house for the real estate market with interior design elements that will appeal to the highest number of potential buyers. They can increase the value of offers quite significantly, however, it comes with a cost, on top of the stager’s fee you may have to pay for the rental for furnishings and home accents while the house remains unsold. What they will do especially well is showing the usability of the space within a home.  For example, how you have your couch arranged may work for your family but may be a poor choice for the ideal layout of the room.  They ensure that everything from how you enter the home, walk through living spaces, and function in the kitchen feels natural and comfortable to prospective buyers, making it easier for them to visualise the property as their future home.

Clean and Tidy Your Home

You don’t necessarily have to pay for a staging specialist, but you should certainly have a friend or an agent, someone with a fresh pair of eyes, point out areas of your home that need work. Because of your familiarity with your home, you may be not notice some of the minor issues that can turn potential buyers off your home. Decluttering, cleaning thoroughly, putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and getting rid of any odours will also help you make a good impression on buyers.

This is an easy tip that can be done by yourself, but in certain situations professionally cleaned carpets and a comprehensive dusting and polishing may be necessary and can spruce up your home immensely. Remember that your blinds and curtains will be kept open throughout the viewing. This will enhance the feeling of space but can also show up more dirt and imperfections, so you’ll want to make sure the house is sparkling, every time.

Amend Your Home Insurance Policy

Finally, make sure that you’ve got your home insurance policy in place before you take responsibility for any new property. When you have an existing AIG home policy and want to insure your new home and contents with us, get in touch as soon as possible about changing your home insurance address or with any questions. You will be issued a new quote as well as a new policy schedule, receipt, and statement.

Find out more about the full list of benefits or see how you can save 25% on your home insurance and check out our home insurance FAQs for more info.