Before selling
1. Repaint walls or facade
"Freshly painted walls can make even an older property appear well-maintained and of higher quality."
A new coat of paint is one of the simplest measures to increase the value of your property. Freshly painted walls make even an older property appear well-maintained and of higher quality. This, in turn, will increase your chances of receiving good offers when you eventually put the property up for sale.
Important to note: If people have been smoking indoors, especially over an extended period, repainting is usually necessary to get rid of the smell.
2. Make small repairs
This includes tasks like renewing grout and joints, installing new faucets, or replacing kitchen cabinet fronts. Even laying down a new carpet is usually doable with moderate effort and expenses. The purpose of these repairs is the same as repainting the walls: to make the biggest difference with the smallest effort. Instead of replacing the entire kitchen, you start by addressing the areas where the most wear and tear is visible, which is typically the surfaces.
3. Major renovations
Of course, there are types of damage that are impossible to fix with minimal effort. Put simply: if there is mould on the walls, a coat of paint won't solve the problem. However, caution should be exercised here because major renovations like replacing the kitchen or bathroom usually do not justify the expense with respect to a sale. They are costly, and there is a significant investment risk because you can't know the future buyer's taste. Thus, what may seem like a value-enhancing investment can easily turn out to be a trap. Depending on the situation, it may be wiser to sell your property with openly declared defects at a slightly lower price and leave the renovations to the buyers.
4. Energy-related renovations
When it comes to energy-related renovations, the same principles apply as with other major investments: they should be carefully considered. However, unlike a new kitchen or bathroom, which may not align with the future buyer's taste, energy-related renovations do in fact reliably increase the value of a property. Common measures for older properties include replacing windows, improving insulation, or replacing oil or gas heating systems.
During the sale
5. Maintaining your garden
"A well-maintained garden suggests that the owner has taken good care of the property as well."
Unless you own a condominium in the city centre, you probably have access to some form of garden space. Surprisingly, this has a much larger impact on the property's value than one might think. In fact, a well-maintained garden can increase the market value of a property by up to 18%. This is because a well-kept garden suggests that the owner has also taken care of the property. On average, this results in more prospective buyers and higher offers.
6. Capture beautiful photos
Nowadays, nearly all prospective buyers discover their future homes through major online platforms like Immoscout or Homegate. When you consider that on these platforms, buyers on average spend twice as much time looking at photos as they do reading text, it becomes obvious that visual content plays a central role. Put yourself in the shoes of a buyer: would you enjoy viewing a listing with blurry cellphone photos?
With poor photos, you lose many potential buyers right from the start. Some might even have liked your property but choose to click on a listing with better images instead. With high-quality photos – and possibly even a modern virtual tour – you gain a decisive edge over competitors and ensure that you don't undersell your property.
Given the ubiquity of digital listings, it's surprising that many real estate agents still cut corners when it comes to photography. Not so with Neho: a professional photoshoot, including a cutting-edge virtual tour and up-to-date floor plans, is included in our fixed price.
7. Charm the visitors
"The key to a successful viewing is: evoking positive emotions."
Tidying up, showing all rooms, and openly answering questions are standard procedure during any property viewing. But what if you want to offer your visitors something extra?
Fortunately, it's not so difficult to stand out during a viewing appointment. The key is to evoke positive emotions. What works best of course depends on the preferences of the visitors. However, the following tricks have proven successful time and again with our real estate agents:
- Empower visitors: Allow prospective buyers to explore at least a portion of the property on their own instead of guiding them around. Even better: hand them the keys and let them unlock the front door themselves.
- Engage all senses: It's fairly obvious that your property should be tidy before a viewing. But don't neglect the other senses. Smell, sound, and room temperature also have a significant impact on whether a place feels inviting.
- Show hospitality: At least keep the option open to entertain your guests. A cup of fresh coffee or tea and a biscuit can make a huge difference with minimal effort and ensure that you and your property will appear at the top of the list when buyers are thinking about making an offer.
The sellling price depends on a lot of factors
The preparation and condition of your property are just two of the factors that determine what selling price can be achieved. How you approach the actual sale is just as important. Have you given any thought to the pricing strategy or how you are going to negotiate with potential buyers?
When it comes to the strategic or sales aspects of selling a property, it's a big advantage to have a real estate agent by your side to provide strategic support during the listing and price negotiations. Contact us if you would like to discuss your sale with one of our agents, free of charge and with no obligation!
