Think about this: Can you see the new buyer of your home living with YOUR decor, YOUR taste, YOUR kitchen or bathroom for their first year in your house? - If not it may cost YOU the sale of your home, or reduce the price you achieve.

Top tips for selling your home: Follow the following simple advice to get the best from your home and prepare it for sale.

It may sound like common sense but tidy your home. Empty all your waste paper bins and especially the bin in the kitchen where smells have a habit of hanging around. Remember 'First Impressions' count so fix all those things that you never got around to doing. It could be worth hundreds or thousands of pounds in the long run.

People drive by before they decide to view, you need ‰¥¡Â´ï¿¸kerb appeal‰¥¡Â´ï¿¸ to make them want to come inside. Give the front door a fresh coat of paint or varnish and make sure the front garden and drive is tidy.

Lots of things lying around can detract from the selling features of your home and for prospective buyers who are trying to visualise living in your home. Less is more.
Throw out what you don‰¥¡Â´ï¿¸t use or need. Go to the local town tip and get rid of things that are cluttering up the place. If you have things that don‰¥¡Â´ï¿¸t fit in or you don‰¥¡Â´ï¿¸t use but that someone else may benefit from, then load up your car and take them to your local charity shop. Pack your other items in boxes and seal down the lids and stack them (in the attic) or put them into storage ready for the day that you move.

The Big Clear Out

Clutter can be distracting to people trying to visualise living in your home. Buy a roll of bin liners. Check out your local charity shops. Pack your knick-knacks in boxes and seal down the lids and stack them (in the garage & not the spare room) ready for the day you move.
Clean the window panes and woodwork with a good household detergent. This improves the look of the room and lets in the natural daylight.

Neat Window Dressings: Dry or steam-cleaning the curtains really does lift the room and it removes all those built-up odours. Remove those nets!! Replace them with muslin drapes or blinds. They are less fussy and old-fashioned and if you replace curtains with blinds it opens up the room.

Hall

Make sure you have replaced the bulbs in the light fitting. Keep it clean, light and clutter free. Adding a mirror can make a dark hall seem much lighter and bigger. Don't paint it a dark colour. First impressions count!

Ceilings

Kill Those Cobwebs: Don't forget to look up, your viewers' will. Dust or vacuum those cobwebs away especially around light fittings. If your ceiling has any damage, it's worth spending a few pounds putting it right. It doesn't have to cost much, but it really puts people off buying. It is a major 'Red Flag'!

Walls

Clean & Neat Lines: Wash down emulsioned walls with a soft cloth and a little detergent and use match pots to touch up those damaged areas. Stick down lifting edges of wallpaper. You can crayon in scuff-marks on darker papers. If you do re-decorate to sell, use neutral light colours like cream, pale yellow and always, always use white on woodwork. (Ideally not high gloss, a silk finish is preferable.)

Don‰¥¡Â´ï¿¸t forget that a few pounds spent on fresh flowers will brighten up the house when you are selling. The right aroma can create the right ambience to clinch that sale. Likewise the wrong odour can be a real put off. Fresh Flowers and fruit provide a fresh fragrance and add a touch of colour: The old favourites of baking bread and fresh coffee, Potpourri, scented candles (Arran Aromatics) or incense sticks but remember - less is more. The ideal is good, fresh air. Open all the windows an hour before your viewing.

Children and pets

Get them out for the period of the viewing if you can, especially if the house is small. Partners, husbands/wives and relatives can help you here. Tidy away most of the toys. Take down posters and artwork from children‰¥¡Â´ï¿¸s rooms and off the fridge.

Pets are not a good selling point. Treat your pet to a new bowl, a new bed and a shampoo & set. Clean regularly to keep down the smells and add a little potpourri, scented candles or incense sticks to help.

Present your garden as a room outdoors. No matter how small the garden, make room for at least one seat or bench. The garden will be somewhere to retreat to on a summer's evening with the G&T. Mow the lawn, fix the fence and keep the weeds to a minimum. Plant some pots with flowers, don't forget - you get to take them with you when you move. Make a room from the garden. Create a seating area. A simple bench can be purchased for less than ￸£80.

Lighting

No matter what the time of day your viewers arrive, put on the lamps in the house. One in the sitting room can create a welcoming feeling. Make sure you have two in the bedroom, one on each side of the bed. This creates a cosy ambience and makes the room more inviting.

If your kitchen was put in during the 1980s or before, it could be suffering from 'drab kitchen syndrome'. This is where the carpet tiles are brown, the tiles are an off cream, and the units are dark wood with a battered, melamine work surface. You don't need to spend thousands updating it, but your viewers may look at your kitchen and add thousands to the cost of putting it right and that could lose you the sale. With new primers becoming available you can paint on wood, melamine, concrete floors and even tiles.

Care

No matter how small the front of your house is, this is where you get 'drive by' before you get viewings. Make it attractive and you can get them inside. Edging the grass, mend the gate, making the house number or name visible from the road. Even a hanging basket can make your house stand out from the rest in your street.

Viewers don't want to be reminded of weekly chores when viewing a property. Remember not to have the washing hanging out in the garden. Remove the washing line temporarily if you can. It can be an eyesore in the garden.

First impressions are absolutely critical in the housing market. From the moment the estate agent comes in the door to value your property, to the moment when the last viewing is over, you have to think about how your property appears to others.

If your ceiling has any damage, it's worth spending a few pounds putting it right. It doesn't have to cost much, but it really puts people off buying. It is a major 'Red Flag'!