Open Home Success

Looking & feeling its best

Once on the market, your home becomes a showroom, so ensure it is always clutter-free, and immaculately clean. Provide door mats at all entrances to encourage people to wipe their feet and protect your floors.

Make sure your home is cool in summer and cosy in winter.

Let there be light

Draw back curtains and blinds to let plenty of light into your home. On a dull day, switch on lights and lamps to enhance the atmosphere.

Make kitchens & bathrooms sparkle

Polish taps and chrome appliances to make them shine, and remove dishes from the sink and draining board. Minimise appliances on bench tops and take the paraphernalia off the fridge.

Buyers scrutinise bathrooms, so ensure that your shower screen, floor, drains, grout, bath and vanity are spotless. Place all cosmetics, razors and toiletries into a drawer and hang fresh towels neatly.

Maximise living spaces

Rearrange furniture so there’s a clear passage for buyers to move freely whilst highlighting the rooms’ features, like a bay window or a fireplace. Play soft music to create a pleasant atmosphere and ensure rooms smell fresh, with no lingering pet, cigarette, or cooking odours.

Bedrooms
Keep dressing tables and desks tidy and clear and find a safe place for valuables such as ipods, cameras, jewellery, and expensive perfume.
In children’s bedrooms, pack away toys and remove any posters. Put all clothes away and make the beds neatly.

The great outdoors

Undertake a final lawn and edge trim, tidy gardens, hide rubbish bins and fold away the clothes line.

Now leave the rest to us

Few prospective buyers can relax with the owners standing by, so it is best to leave during inspection times. Walk out the door with the knowledge you’ve done everything you can.

Presenting Your Property

The Importance of Property Presentation

Good presentation can make the crucial difference to the successful sale of your property. It helps to create the emotional link that makes a buyer fall in love with your home.

Outside

First impressions count

The street appeal of your home creates a crucial first impression for buyers. Making the front of the house look special should be a priority, as favourable first impressions can help win over buyers, and make ‘selling’ the rest of the property that much easier.

Stand across the road and cast a buyer’s critical eye over the street presentation of your property, including the nature strip.

Attend to paths and driveways – weed, pressure clean, lay fresh gravel if necessary.

Minor repairs pay off

Check the condition of external walls, awnings, woodwork and gutters, and clean or paint where necessary.

Repair broken gates, fences, doors and fly screens.

Window cleaning, inside and out, gives an overall impression of “squeaky clean”.

Prepare your garden to look its best

Plant seasonal flowers to give the garden life and colour.

Keep lawns mown and garden beds weed-free and tidy.

Prune back any overhanging branches, especially those close to windows, to enhance natural light inside the home.

 Dress up outdoor areas with furniture or pot plants. Outdoor furniture can help buyers imagine the lifestyle that goes with a house. If you don’t have decent outdoor furniture, borrow, buy or hire some.

 If you have a pool, keep it clean so it looks inviting. Clear away any pool accessories and equipment.

Inside

Make it sparkle 

Get professional cleaners in to give your home a ’spring’ clean and have carpets and rugs steam cleaned. 

Check all lights are working and replace bulbs if necessary, to ensure rooms are light and bright.

Address minor repairs

Buyers are put off by a long list of repairs so replace cracked tiles, patch holes in walls, change burned out light bulbs, fix leaky taps, and make sure all your doors and windows open easily and quietly.

Fresh paint

Consider a fresh coat of paint to walls. Choose neutral tones that will appeal to a wider audience and make it feel light and bright. Colourful feature walls can give a home a lift and create the look of a designer’s touch.

Ensure skirting boards, architraves and doors are free of marks; wipe down and touch up, if needed.

Maximise space

Less clutter gives the impression of more room so pack away items you don’t need to make rooms appear more spacious.
Less is always best

Reposition furniture to make rooms look spacious and don’t hinder movement and flow around your home.

If existing furniture is mismatched or the property is vacant, consider hiring furniture for the period your home will be open.
Kitchens & bathrooms

Scrub bathrooms and make them sparkling clean. If necessary re–grout dated bathrooms for a quick facelift and fix any dripping taps.

For older style kitchens, new door handles or bench tops can make all the difference.