Lewis Potter of EweMove Ashby discusses what you need to do inside and out before your house goes on the market.

Get your home sale ready! De-clutter, clean, repair and decorate!

When it comes to cleaning your home, there are certain things that you will do on every occasion before a viewer arrives.

For example:

1. Vacuuming

2. Putting away clothes and unloading the washing machine

3. Emptying the dishwasher

4. Tidying rooms

But there are certain "deep cleaning" items that you need to tackle head on before you can put the property on the market.

This is to make sure that it's shipshape and ready for when your buyers arrive.

Remember, as soon as your property goes live online, it's likely that you'll get the most interest straight away, so there's no time to wait. These "deep cleaning" items include:

1. Wash down all window frames and clean windows inside and out

2. Wash around light fittings and scrape off any wall paint

3. Wash down all woodwork including skirting boards

4. Clean window blinds

5. Re-grout and re-whiten all tiles in the kitchen, bathroom and WCs

6. Remove any personal hygiene items from the bathroom. Nobody likes to see a used toothbrush, toothpaste or razor when they are viewing someone else's home

7. Make sure that the house is clean, paying particular attention to the bathroom and kitchen. These rooms should be washed down with lemon fresh bleach, leaving a nice fragrance

8. Vacuum the house

9. Wash/deep clean carpets

10. Clean all of your kitchen appliances

When potential buyers look around your home, they are going to be taking a very keen interest in every minor detail.

Anything that is not in working order or requires repair, is going to flag up in their minds as another cost. It's going to present itself as a problem which they'll have to deal with at some point.

This does not mean that you have to decorate your house from top to bottom. Look for certain areas that may need freshening up.

Heavy duty places such as a living room, dining room or stairways are often parts of your home that get the odd marking and discolouration from use. Here are some handy tips for decorating your home by keeping it neutral:

1. Ceilings - Matt white - This brightens the room, creating the illusion of more space and light

2. Walls - Very pale grey - It's bright and simple and easily blends with other colours

3. Woodwork and skirtings - white gloss - It's clean, bright and complements the room

4. Carpet - pale grey - This makes the room look light and bright and it is consistent with the neutral colour scheme

We believe that it's almost always in the best interest of a client to do whatever reasonable works can be done to make the house shipshape and ready for sale.

If you're looking to sell your home, it is never too early to have us over for a free no-obligation valuation where we can discuss your next steps in more detail.

To arrange an appointment, please visit our website www.EweMove.com/AshbydelaZouch, call us on our 24/7 number 01530 442356 or email us on [email protected]