Get organised now for a successful home sale

When it comes to selling your Neutral Bay home, it pays to be prepared.

The more work you do in the lead-up to the sale of your home (with the help of your agent), the greater your chances of attracting a buyer quickly.

We have a series of blogs coming up that will cover everything you need to know about getting a home ready for sale, starting with the very early stages of decluttering and organising your house.

Make a great first impression.

One of the first steps to take is to make sure your home looks as close to a display home as possible. If time permits, a fresh coat of paint and new carpets in heavy traffic areas will help to present the home in its best light and can make a huge difference for a relatively modest outlay.

You also need to think about decluttering and ‘neutralising’ your home. People need to be able to picture themselves living in the space. If it is free of clutter and distractions, they will start imagining where their own belongings will sit. A clean and well-presented property also gives them something to aspire to (after all, who wants to live in someone else’s messy home?)

Decluttering serves its purpose for you as well. You have the chance to go through your belongings, donate or sell items that are in good condition and clear out the rubbish. It will help you work more quickly when it is time to pack up and move, as you won’t need to decide what to get rid of and what to keep.

Here are some tips to declutter before you sell your Neutral Bay home.

Work by categories

You may think it is best to work shelf by shelf but many decluttering experts including Marie Kondo recommend you work by item. For example, go through your clothing and decide what you no longer need, then move on to books, paperwork, kitchenware and general household miscellanea. You can then work on crockery in your kitchen, your towels and bedsheets, and so on.

Give yourself ample time and try not to get overwhelmed. Create a list and work through it without worrying too much about which task is coming up next. If you need help, you can also call in a professional declutterer for a few hours. This can be very helpful if you find it hard to make decisions or if you find you have a lot of disagreements with your partner about what to hold on to.

Have a ‘think about it’ box

Not every decision has to be made right away. There can be a middle pile for things you don’t feel certain about. Put things in a box and revisit in a year. If you haven’t used or thought about them, they can probably go.

For things you definitely want to keep, if you don’t use them regularly you may as well pack them so they are ready for your move. Just remember to label the boxes clearly.

Go digital

Some items are sentimental but take up a lot of space. Consider taking a photo and creating a book or album on your computer where you can keep the memories. It’s one way to hold on to the things that are special to you without having to take them everywhere you go.

Another idea, which we also shared in our blog about organising your home, is to scan and save children’s artwork, then turn it into a single book instead of a stack of papers.

And don’t forget you can still sell things on Facebook Marketplace and eBay, which has made life even easier by launching a printer-free labelling service that saves you the trouble of trying to print out labels at home.

Consider storage as an option

Some things will need to be removed from your home, particularly if you are working with a property stylist, but you may not wish to get rid of them. In this case, you can consider putting them into storage. This can be done at a relatively low cost and will help to give buyers a better impression of your home. It also gives you the benefit of being able to retrieve your items at your leisure after you have relocated.

This phase of your home sale should happen ahead of the photographer visiting to take photos. You will probably also be in cleaning mode at this time, viewing the property through the eyes of the next owner and giving everything a good scrub so it looks fresh and as close to new as possible.

If you are thinking of selling, please get in touch with us – we can assist you in planning for your move and are always happy to provide recommendations on the trusted businesses we use to help out clients.