When assessing the appearance of your home before putting it on the market, do a check list and be brutal. Research either online or do drive bys. Look at properties in your location and of a similar price range. What separates them from each other? At first glance what grabbed your attention? What made you want to enter the house and look further?

Now try and apply this to your property. Remember first impressions are the most important. Buying property is emotional unless you are an investor.

Start at the very front, look at the letterbox, is it in good repair or should you replace it – is it in keeping with the style of the property?

In the front garden and pathway, does the vegetation need cutting back or possibly some more interesting plantings, is the pathway even and neat? Is there foliage surrounding the house and blocking light, if so remove or trim?

And make sure there is no rusted guttering or peeling paint.

Take a look at your front door – does the door need replacing or perhaps in need of paint, do you need to replace door handles with something more modern or in keeping with the house style?

These actions are quite minor yet can make a huge difference to the street appeal. You want the potential buyer to want to enter this property and look further.

Emotion is the biggest element in prospective buyers purchasing a property. The heart rules first, then the head. You need to harness the emotion by creating the property to connect with the buyers.

The buyers have a lot of choices and you need to stand out from your competition.

Generally a buyer will connect with a property in the first few minutes of viewing. If you present it correctly, it will make it easier from a marketing/sales task to get it sold.

The most important rooms you need to ensure are styled and dressed to suit buyers are:
• Entry
• Living areas
• Kitchen
• Dining room
• Master bedroom
• Ensuite

If there is a feature area for your property, such as an outdoor area then this should be dressed.

Once again you need to be brutal in your own assessment!

Remember your property does not need to be presented in how YOU live but what visually appeals to the maximum buyers.

Key points potential buyers respond to are:
• Light
• Space
• Flow
• Harmony

Make notes on what appealed to you at the open home inspections you visited with other properties or in your research either online or print media. Did the rooms appear to be spacious, how much furniture was in the rooms, was there plenty of light coming in, was it a neutral pallet of colour, did you get a feeling of harmony and flow and most of all could you picture yourself in this property?

If not, why not?

If your answers were because the layout was not suitable for you, the room configuration didn’t suit your particular needs, location, or it was on a busy road etc., these are issues you cannot control or change.

But did you like the feel of the property inside? Was it the colours/furnishings etc., did it give you the ‘I could see myself living here’ feeling? Now look at your own property, what could you do to make some of these changes. We all have those ooh aah moments when we visit show homes – you should ask why? It is because it presents so beautifully that we can imagine living in this space.

Make yours do the same!

Remember this is about you selling a property to obtain the best price in the shortest time.