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Introduction
Are you thinking about selling your home? The prospect of putting your property on the market can be daunting, especially if you’re new to the process or you need a quick sale. Of course, we all want the best possible price as well. The good news is there is plenty you can do to maximise your chances of success on that front.
This really centres around making sure your property is as presentable as it can be before you list it for sale. Investing some time and effort to increase its attractiveness to buyers can really pay off, especially if you want to achieve an upper end asking price and secure a buyer in a timely fashion.
Just remember to try and see things from the perspective of a potential buyer when deciding what improvements to invest in.
The first thing you need to know is the value. Do you know how much your property is worth today? You can use our free instant online property valuation calculator to find out in minutes.
Then it’s a case of determining what improvements are needed or worthwhile. Read on for our top 10 tips for adding as much value as possible to your Leicester property before listing it for sale.
Resolve any defects
If you’ve lived in a property for a while, the chances are you might not notice that chipped bit of skirting board, broken roof tiles or corner of peeling paint anymore, but potential buyers will.
Many viewers will be looking with a critical eye for all the work they’d have to do upon moving. This list of items will be used to compare your house to other properties they might be considering.
How does your home fare? Sorting those basic, but long overdue, DIY tasks that stick out like a sore thumb are an easy and hopefully cost-effective way of adding value to your house before selling. Obvious defects such as leaking pipes, loose wires and wonky cupboard doors could just leave people wondering what other issues might be lurking that they can’t see. Safety and stability are usually top priority buying factors.
Get your gardening gloves on
There’s a lot to be said about kerb appeal and, if you have a front garden, this is the first thing buyers will see when approaching your home, or looking at pictures online. A well-kept front garden is something many homeowners aspire to, so sell them that dream!
If it needs any TLC, now is the time to put the effort in, whether your lawn needs a bit of attention to get it looking green and lush again, or there’s weeding that needs doing. Perhaps you can easily brighten it up with some new bedding plants or plant pots. It’s important to keep this maintained while your property is listed too. A well looked after front garden is the first indicator of a well-kept home.
Invest in renewable energy sources
There’s a huge focus on energy efficiency and saving the planet with the ‘green’ agenda being rolled out through rules and regulations in many aspects of life.
This, combined with soaring energy costs, has put energy efficiency right at the top of a potential buyer’s list of priorities.
The direction of travel also looks set to favour homes with an EPC rating above C, so make sure you have the correct insulation in your roof space and the walls are insulated if economically possible and don’t forget those low energy light bulbs.
Repaint your property
You’ll know yourself that a fresh coat of paint can do wonders for your house. You might be wondering whether it’s worth the hassle if you’re moving anyway, but this really can add value and help you get the best price. Even if someone would plan to repaint as soon as they move in, that fresh, blank canvas will help people to envisage themselves in your property.
It can be quite difficult to see beyond someone else’s stained, scuffed, scratched walls. You can also take the opportunity to update your property if needed to the latest fashionable colours. According to Google Trends, ‘home improvement’ searches are up 380%, so it’s obviously something a lot of people are motivated by. The only danger is you won’t want to sell!
Convert the spare room into an office space
Another potential way to add value is to create an identifiable office space in your home. If you already have a spare room that’s perhaps being used to store junk or exercise equipment, it’s worth considering converting it into a home study area. Research suggests this could add up to 10% on the value of your home.
Lasting changes brought about by the pandemic mean that many people are now looking for a home office. It could be they are now permanently working from home, or have a hybrid home/office work arrangement. Others may simply want to be prepared in case the worst ever happened again. If you don’t have a spare room, you could look for ways to reconfigure space elsewhere, or perhaps you can use part of a garage or conservatory.
Add a conservatory
After being confined to our homes for so long during the pandemic, we’re all about the space at the moment. Buyers are looking for as much space as they can get for their money and different areas of the home where family members can separate off also hold appeal.
A sunroom or a conservatory is often a lovely place to sit and relax that has a completely different vibe to other rooms in the house. TV property expert Phil Spencer says it can add up to 7% on the value of your home, but this of course depends on the property and how well a conservatory would fit. Whether to invest in a conservatory would depend on factors such as how well it would blend, how much garden would be left over and crucially, the cost versus the potential added value.
Install clever storage spaces
Another feature buyers look for in a new home is storage space. Somewhere to tuck away any unwanted clutter to gain valuable space, or even to put that home office area out of sight while trying to focus on family time.
Do you have much storage space in your house? Are there any awkward nooks you could convert into cupboards perhaps? Is there somewhere you can put some shelving in? The more you can show people, rather than relying on them to visualise, the better.
Revamp the kitchen
For many families, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s the place where people will be spending a large chunk of their time and buyers are therefore often looking for a kitchen that is functional, modern and clean.
Updating the kitchen doesn’t have to cost that much, but it’s a worthwhile investment. It could be a simple case of a really deep clean of the oven top, counters and units, or eor even a fresh lick of paint to give the units a new lease of life in line with current trends that turn a home into a dream home.
We all love gadgets, so investing in some smart storage units or other clever gadgets could just be the thing that tips your property into the upper end of the price bracket you’re looking for. Research suggests updating your kitchen could add at least 10% onto the value of your property.
Improve your kerb appeal
We touched on kerb appeal before when talking about your front garden, but this extends to the rest of the exterior too. The front of a house is often the first thumbnail image people will see on a property website listing and if they don’t like what they see, they might not even bother clicking through to the internal pictures, especially if there’s a similar property for sale nearby where the kerb appeal is better.
Think about cleaning the windows and the front door, giving them a lick of paint if needed and appropriate, making sure any concrete areas or the path out the front is swept and de-weeded, hiding your bins and highlighting any available space for parking. If your window sills are full of trinkets or clutter, and your kids’ bedroom window is covered in unicorn stickers, now is the time to clear that out.
Declutter as much as possible
Decluttering is probably the easiest and cheapest way to add value to your home. While you’re not making any fundamental changes, it’s amazing how hard it is for a potential buyer to see past your years of accumulated items and furniture. Clean, tidy, open rooms attract buyers, and particularly in photos, which is where they get their first glimpse of your home.
Think about putting items out of sight, buying storage tubs if necessary and even moving excess furniture out of the property while you sell, if possible.
Thinking of selling? We can help.
Obviously, you can’t do everything, and there will be a ceiling price for your type of property in your area, so you don’t want to spend more than you stand to make in return. It’s about getting the balance just right; so that your property is better than a similar one round the corner and therefore attracts the highest possible price. If you’re not sure what to focus on, our highly-experienced Leicester property experts can help.
Another way to get ahead of the game is to get matched with the right buyer. There will always be those people out there who want the exact type of property you’re selling – the trick is making sure they see your home. And that’s where a really good estate agent comes in. At Readings, we’re passionate about our matchmaking ability to bring buyers together with their dream homes.
View our PDF brochure, or find out how much your property could be worth using our online valuation tool. If you need any advice at all on adding value to your Leicester home, or getting matched with the right buyer for you, please get in touch.
