Before you put your house on the market you should make sure that it is in the best possible condition, looking and smelling its best. You only get one chance to make a first impression and that first impression is the one which just might sell your property.

That first impression will be formed long before any prospective buyer sets foot in the property. The first time anyone sees the interior and exterior of your home is when they pick up or download your estate agent’s brochure with its gallery of photographs. Nowadays this will show both the interior and exterior of the property, including the garden. It has also become more common for estate agents to produce a video tour of property. It is therefore well worth ensuring that the house looks at its best when the photographer arrives to take his photographs, as an untidy room or area looks just as bad in a photograph as it dos in real life. Your photographer will probably make an effort to maximise the effects of your lighting when he or she is taking photographs, so take note of how they light your rooms and try to replicate the effect in advance when you have a viewing.

As a prospective buyer drives or walks up to your house for the first time, they are already judging the property, so make sure it is looking its best. Ensure that the grass is kept tidy by keeping it well cut and weed free. Try to introduce as much colour into your flower beds with bedding plants in the summer.

If you are selling during the winter, go to the garden centre and buy a couple of winter flowering plants, this just might give you the only front garden in the street with some colourful blooms at that time of year. If you have a drive, get the power washer out and clean the surface area, making sure there are no weeds or moss on show. It goes without saying that any rubbish should be removed and if applicable, try to encourage your children not to leave toys or cycles in the front garden. While you have the power washer out, use it to remove any green algae staining on the outside wall of the property and remember that a freshly painted front door can only boost the appearance of the house.

If your estate agent has a ‘For Sale’ sign in your front garden, make sure it stays upright, don’t let an untidy sign spoil all your good work in making your garden look good. It is important that this tidy up of your front garden is not a one off, or only done when a viewing is scheduled. Most prospective buyers will have walked or driven past your property a few times before they schedule a viewing, so they will be aware of the normal state of your garden.

The overall cleanliness of a house is a big contributory factor to a prospective buyer’s first impression, so your house must be clean and tidy, with a fresh, unnoticeable smell, although a clinical appearance and an “essence of air freshener spray” can be every bit as off-putting. Your home should look homely, lived in and give a comfortable, natural feeling. Make sure that everything has been properly cleaned. All the little nooks and crannies, windows and work surfaces need to be clean and dust free. Bathrooms and toilets should be spotless with a fresh aroma and all the beds made and clothes hung away.

How your home smells is also important, particularly if you have pets. Fabrics hold smells, most of which you will be well accustomed to and therefore probably unaware of, therefore it may well be wise to have someone clean your carpets to freshen those up and get rid of any possible doggy smells. Fresh flowers are also a good way to introduce pleasant, natural smells into your home and don’t be afraid to open windows if the weather allows, but not to the extent of making the house cold.

If there are any areas which just refuse to clean up properly, don’t be afraid to get your paint brush out and give them a quick coat of fresh paint. Similarly, any small cracks in walls should be filled and painted over. Most of these will be fairly shallow, surface cracks, often caused by settlement, particularly in newer properties, so any such repairs will be cosmetic rather than structural. Look dispassionately at your décor and ask yourself, does it look tired or scuffed or is it starting to show its age? If in doubt, give the rooms a quick coat of paint, sticking to a light neutral colour as it helps to give the illusion of space and a prospective buyer is unlikely to have a strong dislike of it.

It also pays to make your home look as spacious as possible by clearing out unnecessary clutter. Too much furniture and furnishings in a room makes it look smaller and more cramped while an overabundance of implements or utensils on a kitchen worktop has a similar effect. It is very easy to gradually add clutter to your home over a period of time without noticing it, but someone walking into your house for the first time may be struck by how cluttered your house looks. It would be worth getting an opinion from your selling agent and acting on it if they feel that you would benefit from a bit of decluttering.

Home working is now a very important part of many people’s lives so if you have a home office or spend some time working from home, make sure that your work space is tidy. A cluttered desktop or a rat’s nest of cables and wires looks every bit as off-putting as clutter in any other area of your home, so keep your paperwork tidy and your cables tucked away. If you don’t have a dedicated office or study, try to accentuate the area of your home where you work from as that may be as important to a prospective buyer as it is to you. There may be a temptation to “clear away” your work space and fold away your laptop when a viewing is scheduled but it is important that you show the viewer that he or she can comfortably work from home if required.

Your outside area is becoming more important, gardens are no longer just a space for drying washing and growing vegetables, they are outdoor leisure spaces where we relax, have lunch, enjoy a drink and entertain friends and family. Looking at the design of many modern homes, patios and gardens are being treated as natural extensions of our inside living space. It is now important that when selling our homes we also sell our gardens. This means ensuring that they are as well looked after and presented as both our front garden and our interior space.

As with your front garden, it pays to have your back garden well tended and your patio clean. Similarly with timber decking a good hose down with the washer and then if need be, a fresh coat of decking oil or paint to freshen it up and keep it looking pristine. If the weather allows, keep your patio furniture in place and make sure any pots and planters around your outside area are looking their best. It is also worth remembering to tidy up any garden sheds or garage space as they help to create an overall impression of your property.

Don’t try to do all this only when a viewing is arranged, try to keep everything as tidy and clean as possible at all times, difficult as that can be when we all have busy lives. If we can keep the house and garden generally tidy, it makes it easier to prepare for a viewing. 

When a viewing is scheduled, prepare for your prospective buyers. Make sure the front door bell is working and don’t open the door to the sound of children being shouted at or televisions blaring, try to give an atmosphere of calm rather than chaos. Most people buy a house when they find one that “feels right”, so always try to make a potential buyer as welcome as possible. Invite the viewer into the lounge or living area rather than trying to talk in the hallway, in the same way that a car salesman always opens the driver’s door of a car inviting you to sit in the driving seat which encourages you to feel ownership. Don’t try to rush a viewer, show them your home at their pace, answer any questions they may have and offer them the option to have a further look round on their own. Give them every opportunity to feel that your home “feels right” for them.

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