Start with the first impression
Most buyers form an opinion within the first minute, often before they've stepped inside. That means the outside of your home and the entry do a lot of the work.
- Mow the lawns, weed the garden, trim hedges and clear any clutter from the section
- Wash the house and the windows
- Repaint the front door if it's looking tired. It's one of the cheapest fixes with the biggest effect
- Water-blast paths, decks and the driveway
- Make sure the letterbox and house number are clean and easy to read
Declutter first, then clean
Declutter before anything else, because it makes every other job easier. Buyers need to picture their own life in the space, which is hard to do around someone else's shelves, photos and belongings.
- Clear kitchen benchtops back to a few everyday items
- Pack away personal photos and very personal decor
- Thin out wardrobes and cupboards. Buyers open them, and a packed cupboard reads as "not enough storage"
- Take extra furniture out of rooms that feel cramped. Less furniture often makes a room look bigger
Then clean properly. A professional clean, including carpets, windows, the oven and the grout, makes a home feel well looked after even if nothing else changes. If your budget is tight, this is where I'd spend it first.
Fix the small things
Buyers notice small maintenance jobs and mentally multiply them. A dripping tap or a cracked tile makes people wonder what else hasn't been looked after, even in a sound home.
- Fix dripping taps, sticking doors and loose handles
- Touch up scuffed paint and visible cracks
- Replace blown light bulbs and check every switch works
- Deal with any damp or mould. Clean ceilings and window frames, and make sure the kitchen and bathroom extractor fans work and vent outside
- Sort out bigger issues buyers will spot, like leaks, blocked drains or a damaged retaining wall
Painting: protecting value, not adding it
Paint is usually the biggest decision. It rarely adds value on its own, but a tired exterior or scuffed interior can take more off a buyer's offer than the paint would have cost.
You often don't need to do the whole house. Freshening up the front of the house, the entry and the main living areas costs far less than a full repaint and does most of the work. Get two or three quotes, and book early, because good painters are often booked out weeks in advance.
Where I'd stop: full kitchen or bathroom renovations rarely return their cost when you sell, and they take time you may not have before your listing date. A tired kitchen might justify new benchtops or painted cabinets. It very rarely justifies a full renovation on the way out the door.
Staging: worth it, but not always needed
Staging helps most with empty homes, where bare rooms are hard for buyers to size up. If your home is lived in and already presents well, professional staging matters less, because decluttering and cleaning get you most of the benefit.
Get your paperwork together
While you're preparing the house, get the paperwork ready too. Find the consents and code compliance certificates for any building work you've done, decide which chattels are staying, and if the home is tenanted, let your tenants know in writing. If you're worried about anything buyers might find, a pre-listing builder's report is worth considering.
Leave yourself enough time
Most prep takes four to eight weeks, so start well before you want to list. Aim to have everything finished before the photos are taken, not happening around them. Rushed jobs the week of the photo shoot usually show: wet paint, half-done touch-ups and garden beds still being tidied.
Not sure where to start?
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