Prepare your house for sale

It doesn't matter which way to intend to sell your house be it via an estate agent or privately, you need to make sure that your house appeals to a potential buyer.

I'm amazed at how little effort some vendors put in preparing a property for sale, the house is not cleaned, clutter everywhere, personal shrines etc.

When selling your house there are a few things you need to bear in mind.

Make your property appeal to the everyone, by making it neural as possible, so a lick of paint in light colours is more appealing than dark colours. Light colours also give a spacious feeling.

Tidy and pack up. If you are serious about selling, then you need to box any unnecessary items, and keep the property clean and spacious. A potential buyer will not be interested in your 10,000 strong vinyl collection, and keeping the collection on display in the living room will only make the place look cluttered and small.

Freshen up the house, by cleaning all carpets, and getting rid of all pet smells, as these can be off putting. Judicial use of potpourri, fresh flowers or scented candles can give a nice welcome to potential buyers.

Careful placement of furniture and use of mirrors to give the impression of bigger rooms, are tricks that help to persuade a buyer to put in an offer.

Allow a much light into the house as possible, and supplement that with use of house or table lights where necessary.

Sell your home first impressions count!

The first impression of your house that a potential home buyer gets could mean the difference between it selling or not, so make sure the front of your house is taken care of. Get the lawn mowed, the front windows and doors cleaned and if necessary walls painted with a fresh coat of paint, these little enhancements will not cost a lost, but could ensure a sell, especially at your asking price.

The most important point is think what would appeal to the largest number of people? People always like to personalise their dwellings, but prefer to start with a blank sheet, not covering up someone's masterpiece and then starting on theirs, so make sure house is as neutral as possible to have a better chance of a private home sale.

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When to sell your Home

Should I sell my house now? If you are looking to sell your house privately, then the property you are selling is most likely going to be your place of abode, so you usually won't have much say over when you put your home on sale, as circumstances will more likely dictate that than anything else.

There will normally be two broad reasons for wanting to sell your current place of abode.

1. A move on the property ladder either up or downsizing by moving into a smaller house or a flat, change in location, etc.

2. Financial circumstances like inability to afford monthly mortgage payments or health problems resulting in a loss of job or serious drop in income.

Since these circumstances are normally independent of the current property market forces, you can't normally just want to sell your home soley for the aim of making a profit, though if you have owned the place for a long number of years then it is most likely to have appreciated in value.

So to the original question, when is a good time to sell my house? Well unless you have a property that is suffering from Negative Equity, then the short answer is when the circumstances arises that cause you to think about your next move on the ladder. Depending on what is going on in the market, you might need to vary your time a little especially if interest rate cuts are on the market. If in doubt you can always take advice from an independent finacial adviser. It is your place of abode, so you should be choosing when to sell your home privately!