How to get your home ready to sell

Thinking of selling your home? Time spent getting it sale-ready is likely to boost the chances of it selling well.

If you’re not sure where to start, try our seven steps to get your home prepped for the market.

First things first, find an estate agent to sell your home. Speak to friends and family for recommendations. Look at the homes for sale near you to suss out which estate agents are active in your area. You can do this by looking on the property portals, such as Zoopla, and pottering around your neighbourhood to see which agents’ ‘For sale’ signs are up.

Once you have a shortlist of estate agents, ask them for their professional opinion. It’s a good idea to invite at least two or three agents over to assess your home. Any agent worth their salt will give you marketing advice and a valuation for your property. They’ll also give you an up-to-date view on the housing market in your area. And they should also let you know what experience they have and how they work - plus an idea of what their terms and conditions are.

Once you’re armed with lots of intel, you’ll be in a good position to decide who to hire. Remember that the right estate agent for you isn’t just about their property valuation or their commission. It’s also about who you have a good rapport with. After all, selling a home can be stressful and you want someone who you get on with.

How to choose the right estate agent for you

Are estate agent valuations free?

See what local experts think your home is worth

If you're getting ready to sell or just super curious, we recommend getting a free, in-person valuation from a local estate agent.

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Once you’ve signed on the dotted line with an estate agent, agree on the asking price and marketing strategy. Your estate agent will guide you through this.

The right price may not necessarily be the highest price. Depending on your property, your goal and the local housing market, you may be better off starting at a comfortable price to attract interest. But if the local housing market is hot, you have a highly sought-after home, and/or you’re not in a hurry to sell, you may want to set a more ambitious asking price.

Also decide how you’re going to market your home. You may be in favour of an open day to create a sense of momentum. Or you may prefer viewings on a case-by-case basis. If you want to give your home the biggest possible audience, ensure that your home will appear on the property portals and social media.

The process of selling a home involves lots of legal legwork, known as conveyancing. It’s worth getting a solicitor or conveyancer onboard in good time to avoid any delays once you have a buyer lined up.

Similar to choosing an estate agent, ask around for recommendations of solicitors and conveyancers. Chat to them on the phone or meet them in person to find out how they work and what their fees are. You want to avoid doing this once you’ve accepted an offer and your buyer is itching to press ahead with the transaction.

You can find out more about how to choose a conveyancer or solicitor in our dedicated guide.

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Selling your home involves paperwork - and lots of it. One of the first things you’ll need to do is provide a proof of ID and a proof of address to your estate agent and solicitor or conveyancer.

You’ll need to get various other documents ready too. One of the most important is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which shows the energy rating of your home. You must have one to sell your home.

Depending on your home, you might need to dig out other paperwork. This could include:

• planning consents and building regulations approval for any work done

• gas and electrical checks

• FENSA or CERTAS certificates for windows

• guarantees or warranties.

What documents do you need when selling a house?

There’s also a range of forms to fill in. Again, it’s well worth doing this before the conveyancing starts to avoid any hold-ups.

One of the key forms is a Property Information Form, known as a TA6 form, which holds information about the property. There’s also a TA7 form for leasehold property. Then there’s a Fittings and Content Form (TA10 form), which shows which fixtures and fittings are included in the sale.

Don’t underestimate curb appeal! Now is the time to make sure your property is looking its best for buyers.

Tackle problematic areas, such as damp. If a buyer detects an issue, they could use it to reduce their offer for your home (or worse, back out altogether).

There’s normally plenty of easy wins to improve the look and feel of a home too. It’s about maintenance and repair work. Here are some suggestions:

• fix smaller issues you’ve been putting off, such as chipped tiles

• give your home a lick of paint

• clean the windows

• clear the brambles in your garden and mend that broken gate.

Finally, don’t forget to declutter your home. Hide away toys and other paraphernalia. You might want to move some bigger items, such as furniture, into storage to enhance the feeling of space.

10 things that affect your home valuation

Your estate agent will arrange for professional photos to be taken of your home. They will also organise for a floorplan of your property to be drawn up. They will form part of the marketing material.

Photos are a key part of the marketing. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Consider staging your home to ‘speak’ to buyers. Let’s say your home is in a countryside setting, photos of a tasteful boot room might catch buyers’ attention. And, with many people working from home at least part of the week, it could be worth showcasing your home office in the photos, for example.