If you are thinking about putting your home on the market for sale, you will no doubt be wondering about how to raise your homes value for the best price possible; and if this is your first time, in particular, you will likely be looking around for inspiration on how to achieve this.

A common misconception for home sellers is that preparing your home for sale can be very expensive and time-consuming. There are some inexpensive things that you can do that don’t involve breaking the bank or undertaking time-consuming major renovation projects.

Enhance the kitchen

For many people, the kitchen is an important focal point that they will pay special attention to when viewing the property, even if it’s a virtual viewing. As a result, it’s very important to make sure that the kitchen looks squeaky clean before anyone sets foot inside the front door.

While it is true that upgrading the kitchen will give you a big boost when it comes to selling your home, not every seller will be in a financial position where they can invest in this. Upgraded kitchen appliances and furniture don’t come cheap, and so many will avoid such an expense. However, not all is lost because there is still a lot you can do to make your property attractive to buyers.

For example, giving your old cabinets a fresh coat of paint will immediately lend the kitchen a clean and fresh new look. For a uniform look, painting all the cabinets the same but in a neutral colour that won’t be off-putting to some sellers that dislike strong colours, will also help cover up any imperfections like scratches.

Make a point of keeping your kitchen’s equipment clean and tidy. If any of your kitchen appliances are broken, don’t put them out on display.

Have a cleaning check list 

You can safely assume that homebuyers will want to closely view all the rooms in the house, perhaps even take some photos or videos for later viewing and discussing at home.

If you want a buyer to make a serious offer on your home, it needs to be immaculate. Do not anticipate a decent offer from home buyers who aren’t concerned about the state of your home’s cleanliness. Customers are concerned about buying a property that the previous owners could not properly maintain. They will be wondering what else has been neglected!

Once you are sure that you have got all the necessary cleaning equipment and materials for the task, you will then want to go ahead and devise a checklist to make sure nothing is missed, and everything is looking as you want it to. You should consider adding things like:

Walls

Dirty walls are very off-putting to homebuyers, so give them a good scrub with some warm water and dishwashing liquid.

Furniture

Check that all the furniture is clean and tidy, especially if you have listed them as part of the fixtures and fittings included in the sale.

Lastly, don’t forget to declutter all the rooms, including excess furniture that might make them look cramped and untidy.

Hire a professional cleaner

You may want to consider hiring a cleaner to help prepare your home for sale. There could be several reasons for this, including having the time available to do the job yourself and that they will have experience with this type of home preparation, so they know what sorts of things to check and look out for.

Furthermore, specialised cleaning services for things like carpets and sofas can help with the more difficult things to clean. They will have access to specialised cleaning equipment and materials that will get rid of those stubborn stains that domestic equipment will struggle to do.

Create a home office space

Remote working is nothing new, but the pandemic has massively increased the need for this as businesses everywhere seek to adapt to changing circumstances. If you’re selling your home, you may want to consider installing a home office before you put it on the market, as remote working looks to be a permanent feature of working life.

Consider turning a modest bedroom into an office or study if it’s available. An office may be set up even if you don’t have spare space in your house. The hallway or even outside the house may be a possible location. Many people have turned their outbuildings, like sheds, into office space.