Deciding to sell your home is a big life decision, and it may well be one that you have been brooding on for quite a number of years. You ought to try to add as much value as possible before selling your home, so you can get as much as you possible for it!

But, how do you go about preparing to sell your home? What steps do you need to take? Here, we at Now Storage are here to offer you some useful tips for preparing to sell your home.

Redecorate your home

Selling your home fast is all about presentation. You’d be stunned at how much carrying out simple home improvement measures such as redecorating can uplift a place, make it more attractive to buyers and potentially increase its value. Try giving your home a new zest of life by giving the walls a lick of paint.

Remember to use neutral and relaxing colours that won’t seem too garish and will please the masses. Consistency is also key. No one likes an unsightly colour clash when looking around a house for the first time!

There are a few easy wins you can make use of when redecorating your home too. Want to make ceilings look higher? Use wallpaper with vertical stripes. Want to make it look wider? Use wallpaper with horizontal stripe patterns.

How to declutter your house

Decluttering before selling your home is a must. The last thing you want is potential buyers having to step over clothes, shoes and children’s toys when deciding to make a major life choice by investing their hard-earned money in buying your property.

When you start the process of decluttering as you gear up to sell your home and move, you may well quickly realise you haven’t got enough storage space to neatly put away all your possessions. There are only so many times you can fold things up and put them away in cupboards before mess and untidiness start to show.

Searching for a sensible solution to help you free up space and declutter? Get a quote for our storage units at Now Storage when you are in the process of preparing to move house and set your home up for success. We have secure storage facilities at an impressive array of 13 locations across England and Wales.

Keep it clean

It goes without saying that your home should be as clean as possible when up for viewing. This goes for all rooms but viewers may be particularly assessing bathroom hygiene.

Get rid of any limescale, dirt, or anything else that is preventing your bathrooms from being 100% clean and hygienic. Keep it smelling fresh and clean with a reed diffuser or plug-in air freshener. You may even want to consider hiring a professional cleaner to go the extra mile.

Property repairs (big and small)

You’re not truly ready to sell your home until your housing repairs have been taken care of. Ensure that all major repairs have been carried out. Neglecting things such as damp and mould, faulty drains, and roof damage may cause your property to fail a survey inspection when you come to sell it.

Take note of any smaller property repairs that may need carrying out. This could include things like installing new exterior wall vents, making sure all the lights work, putting up new wallpaper and fixing damaged skirting boards. Taking care of all the smaller-scale repairs all adds up, and has the potential to really add value to your home when you sell it.

Maximise the number of bedrooms

Properties offering more bedrooms tend to sell for more money and are especially attractive to larger families. With the current rate of UK population growth, there is no shortage of large families wanting to buy homes with more bedrooms.

Repurposing utility rooms, outdoor toilet spaces, and making the most of any extra space available at home are ways you can maximise the number of bedrooms. Have you got one bedroom which is unnecessarily large? In that case, put in a partition wall, and there you go, you’ll have an extra bedroom.

Get your garden space looking majestic

The pandemic saw a widespread shift to remote working from home, and this working setup is still alive and kicking in 2023. As a result, this has led to more and more homebuyers these days looking out for homes with relaxing sizeable garden spaces they can unwind in. In a 2021 study, 92% of 1,282 UK homebuyers and homeowners surveyed said a garden and/or outdoor space was the single most important feature they were looking for, ahead of the home’s square footage!

We suggest putting time and effort into getting your garden looking as inviting and aesthetically pleasing as possible when selling your home. Sort out all those weeds, hedgerows, fences, and whatever else needs doing in your outside space.

Don’t underestimate having a pristine front door

First impressions are crucial in successfully selling your home. So, make sure your front door is looking welcome and in mint condition. Perhaps it could do with a nice lick of paint? Maybe add some hanging baskets to dress the space. Get your front door looking stylish and inviting when the time comes for house viewings to start.

Hire an estate agent

Selling a home by yourself through a private sale can be longwinded and complicated, particularly if you haven’t done it before and haven’t got buyers lined up and waiting. Therefore, many home sellers opt to hire the services of an estate agent.

They will market your property to sellers, take photos of your home, carry out house viewings and act on your behalf during the sale of your property. Estate agents in the UK tend to charge a commission fee of 1% to 3.5% for a successful sale. It could well be an expense that’s worth you paying for.

Hire a professional photographer or videographer

If you are not using an estate agent and selling privately, it could be a good idea to hire a professional photographer or videographer to capture all your property’s best angles.

Never underestimate how important these initial images will be. They’re the first step towards someone getting in touch to explore your property further.

Stay objective

Selling your home can inevitably be a sentimental and emotional experience. It’s only natural for us as humans to hold precious memories of the places we’ve lived in and spent some of the best years of our lives.

Homes are far much more than bricks and mortar. They’re where we may take our first steps, watch over others taking theirs and live through life’s highs and lows.

You might have struck up a strong bond with your neighbours through the years, and it will be sad to say goodbye. However, at the same time, it’s also a good idea to try and think with an objective mind and remove sentimentality when you’re trying to move house efficiently and in a timely manner.

Think long and hard about how you will convince someone to buy your home ahead of others out there on the market.

Interested in hiring a self storage unit to help you prepare to sell your home? Contact us at Now Storage today by giving our head office a call on 0808 506 3445, or sending us a message on our website.