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Presentation is a critical part of the selling process
as it directly contributes to how buyers FEEL about
your home.
Here are 5 FACTS youll need to know and some
HOT TIPS to help you sell your home faster and for
the highest possible price.
1 First
Impression
It is generally accepted that the first impression is the
most important aspect to capturing a connection with
the home.
The majority of potential buyers first point of contact
these days is online.
Photographs of a styled home are more likely to win
their attention and draw them to the home open over
photos of an empty house.
2 Empty
Spaces Dont
Sell Homes
Without furniture in a room it is difficult for most
potential buyers to visualise the space and imagine how
it will be used.
Empty spaces look smaller than those that are
furnished.
Styling can also ensure all the great features in the
home are showcased and the negatives are dealt with.
3 Emotion People usually shop with logic then buy on emotion.
Most people want inspirational living, so its important
to ensure the property creates an emotional connection
for the buyer.
4 Faster Sale Styled properties sell 30-50% faster than non-styled
properties in a similar market.
5 Higher Sale
Price
It has been reported that over 80% of styled houses sell
for the asking price or higher as compared to non-styled
houses in the same market.
How To Sell Your Home For The
Highest Possible Price In The
Shortest Possible Time
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HOT TIPS - PRE-SALE
MAKEOVERS
Odours
If the property looks uncluttered and smells clean
and fresh, it will not overwhelm the buyers and
will form a positive opinion of your home.
1. Pet, cooking and smoking smells are not
what you want to discover when entering a
home you are looking to buy. You might not
be able to detect them anymore so get a
friend to tell you if your house smells or not
and what it smells of. An orange spray, Nil
Odour, or eucalyptus oils used as a surface
wipe or in your floor cleaning water will help
to eliminate any smells. A fresh smell
creates a positive image for a buyer.
2. Refrain from cooking overly fragment meals
a day or two prior to your home open as the
smells remain.
3. If the home odours are quite bad, replace
carpet and paint walls as this will eliminate
most of the smell.
4. Wash all dirty clothes so that these are not
left in your laundry hamper and tumble dry a
rag with a bit of eucalyptus oil on it to
freshen your dryer smell.
5. Old caked on dust also holds a smell so
be sure to clean all those hard to get to
places, wiping over with eucalyptus oil mix
once clean.
6. Hang air fresheners in cupboards and walk
in robes to remove that stale smell.

Clutter
A clutter free home allows buyers to see your
home for what it is.


7. Clear and tidy all surfaces. Remove all
paperwork from vision and remove any
excess items from surfaces such as excess
photos, collectibles, fridge magnets,
childrens art, wall posters, electrical cords,
bathroom bottles and packets,
toothbrushes, kids bath time stuff etc.
Where at all possible, put these (neatly)
inside a cupboard or store in a box in the
garage during the home open. If you are
not sure how far you should go, visit a shop
displaying furniture. Their displays are kept
to only key pieces and your home should
reflect this too.
8. Dont forget to tidy inside your cupboards
and drawers as buyers are likely to look in
there too!
9. Tidy / store all garage and shed items so
that it looks organised and it is clean and
still has room for vehicles. If you have a lot
of stuff being stored, you might want to
look at sending stuff to a friends house or
storage unit for the duration of your home
opens.

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Exteriors and Gardens
First impressions count and could mean the
difference between someone entering your
home for the home open or not.
10. Remove leaves from gardens, gutters and
driveways.
11. Remove dust and cobwebs from doors,
windows and eaves.

12. Remove mould, stains and discolouration
from walls, roof, paths and driveways.
13. Trim back overgrown plants, mow the lawn
and trim all path edges.
14. Weed and mulch gardens.
15. Clean your outdoor table (if you have one, if
not, buy one) and display with mats and
other items so it looks as though it is used.
In Australia we have an outdoor culture so a
usable outdoor area is a plus.
16. Add shade to your outdoor area if you dont
have any. This can be temporary by way of
a shade sail or large outdoor setting
umbrella.
17. Put childrens toys away in one storage
area.
18. Clean and/or paint your front door, add a
new and clean mat and add a plant pot
and/or seats if the area is larger.
19. Add a mat or rug to the inside of the hall to
protect surfaces from buyers, making sure
your front door area is inviting.
20. Remove shoes and coats from the front hall
and put them in cupboards or elsewhere out
of sight.
Cleaning Inside and Outside
Clean everything until it sparkles! If you are in
doubt of your cleaning abilities, get in a
professional. Consider it like walking into a
restaurant. If you walk in and notice the floors
and amenities are not clean, you would
reconsider eating there. Same thing applies to
a home. A clean home is much more appealing
to a buyer. A dirty and untidy house leads
buyers to think that the home hasnt been
maintained therefore they will negotiate a lower
price.
21. Clean all of the windows, including the
laundry and garage, carpets and rugs,
polish tiles / lino / wood floors until they look
really clean. You may want to consider a
wood polish if your wooden floors are
particularly bad, as this will give them extra
shine during the home opens. Consider
buying extra rugs and repositioning furniture
if you want to detract from how your floors
or rooms look. A stylist will help you decide
what is required to distract people from the
poorer aspects of your home.
22. Replace carpet if it smells, looks very worn
and or is outdated. New carpet will smell
good and will instantly update your home for
a small cost.
23. Clean under the fridge and dishwasher.
The grime is obvious to visitors but it is not
obvious to sellers most of the time.
24. Clean and polish all woodwork and
cupboards, paying particular attention to
kitchen cupboards (dont forget the
kickboards), bathroom cabinets, dining
tables, bench tops, chairs and handrails.

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25. Clean all light fixtures. That is, take them
down, remove the insects and cobwebs,
wash until sparkling and replace the globes
if they need it.
26. Clean and polish ceiling fans, exhaust fan
covers and air conditioner covers and filters.
27. Pressure clean outside surfaces including
walls, roof, paths, awnings and driveways.

28. Ensure bathrooms are spotless. Get grout
professionally cleaned if it doesnt look
clean after you have finished with it.
Remove any mildew and fix any missing
grout. Seal any other gaps around baths
and in corners that are showing movement.
29. Replace dirty or old shower curtains, scrape
soap scum from glass shower doors (clean
with CLR) and a razor if necessary.
30. Clean your fireplace, gas heaters and pot
belly stoves.
31. Clean your kitchen stove and oven until it
glows.
32. Clean all blinds and curtains. Take them
outside if you can and take to them with
soap and water.
General Maintenance
If it needs fixing, do it. You dont want your buyer
to question what else isnt fixed and therefore
how much of a discount they want if they
purchase your home.
33. Attend to chipped and peeling paint, gaps in
walls, skirtings etc.
34. As a minimum, fix loose wallpaper, broken
taps, peeling laminate, loose tiles and
pavers, fix broken lights or switches, fix
broken windows, paint degraded timbers,
replace or fix broken pergola perspex or
shade cloth, broken fly screens, rusty
gutters and downpipes, broken roof tiles,
sticking wooden doors and windows,
leaking taps and shower heads, paint
discoloured ceilings.
35. Fix stairs and any stair coverings inside and
out and ensure there is enough light in
these areas so that they can be used safely
during the home open.
36. If you have a deck, repair it and oil/paint it
so that it looks renewed.
37. Fix and paint fences. Plant large plants in
front of bad fences or add screening panels
to hide it.

Flooring and Painting
Your home should always present the latest in
colours but making sure 99% of it is neutral with
just a splash of the trend colour(s). This allows
a buyer to envision their taste or style in your
property. If you have one blue wall, some
orange carpet and green tiles its going to take
someone with real vision to see past it.
Surprisingly, very few people have vision and
too much yuk polarises their decisions.
38. Carpet should be neutral but not white or
too light it needs to be able to take a bit of
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wear and tear. Darker carpets (provided
they are neutral eg. Beige, light brown)
are good choices, as are tiles and trendy
lino (yes, lino has come a long way since
the 70s Just check out Polyfloor for
ideas). If the buyer can move straight in
without having to change stuff it works to
your advantage with a higher offer.
39. Paint should definitely be neutral and on-
trend, regardless of home style. This
means cream and boring beige is yukky
but better than blue, green and any other
psychedelic colour. Go for sand colours,
light greys, warm whites, stone colours and
other neutrals. Whilst wallpaper is on-
trend right now, you need to be mindful of
your market when selling. Great for when
you are living in the home, but if it is no
longer on-trend when you are selling, take
it down as your home will appeal to a
broader market.
40. If you are no good at painting, dont
undertake the job! A poor paint job is as
bad as a bad paint colour and really turns
off a buyer because they know it has to be
re-done, which means time and money. To
you, it means a lower offer on your property.
If you are painting yourself, spend the time
preparing surfaces.
41. Always, always, always see a consultant if
you are unsure as to what is in right now.
It will save you a tonne of money and time.
Im not just talking about the cost of the
products, but also the potentially reduced
offer price on your home. A consulting fee
is less than $200 and will save you time and
money so you are not wasting your money
on the wrong things.

STYLING AND STAGING
Styling and Staging
When you live in a home for so long you begin
to lose sight of what looks good and what is just
functional for everyday living. We dont see
how we live but others can so you need to be
sure that it looks as it should ready for a buyer.
The important thing is to get an unbiased
opinion of someone you dont know and that
doesnt live at the house.
42. Take time to look at what the trends are
now. Go to furniture showrooms, look at
magazines and see what people are doing
on the TV. This is a good gauge for how
you should style your home.

43. Present a nice bunch of flowers in a vase in
an appropriate position.
44. Display a good book on a coffee table.
45. Add throws and some nice cushions on the
sofa and beds. Be careful not to add too
much colour.
46. Soften offending views such as that of the
fence or of an untidy vista but always make
sure there is plenty of light coming into your
rooms. All your internal electrical lights
should be on during your home open. You
want your home to be as light and bright as
possible without being brilliant so use
warm coloured tubs and bulbs rather than
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the brilliant white ones. They will give your
home a wonderful softness.
47. Add light where there isnt any. Add lamps
or replace blown globes as required.
48. Add dinner settings to the dining table and
maybe a bowl of lemons or limes to a
display.
49. Clear kitchen bench tops removing excess
equipment, dishes, detergent, brushes etc.
50. Use white, beige or grey for your bathroom
towels and mats or at least match them to
the dcor in the bedroom if your bathroom
is generally neutral. Buy new towels if your
are looking worn.
51. Remove personal photos and wall hangings
during the home opens.
52. Light a couple of smelly candles (stick to
vanilla, lemon/lime or another light smell) to
permeate the home with fresh smell.

53. Borrow stuff from a friends house if you
need pieces for boring corners or want to
replace some of your outdated stuff.
54. Eerie silence during a home open is also a
turn off. Whilst most agents dont
recommend it, I think having the radio or
music on softly helps to give your home
personality and people arent so scared to
talk just in case someone else hears them.


Flow, Proportion and Balance
Space, size, colour, positioning and balance
are equally important, whether it be positioning
furniture in your home, organising a cupboard
or arranging accessories on a table.
55. You should be able to walk around furniture
through a room from one room to the next
without having to squeeze past oddly
shaped or oversized pieces. Furniture
should be appropriate to the size and shape
of the room.
56. Remove excess furniture. Store in your
garage and cover it with a tarp if you have
nowhere else.
57. Pack up anything that is of a personal
nature and only keep those pieces that add
value to the display.
58. Colour should also flow from one room to
the other. It could be a cushion in one room
which is a particular colour that is similar in
colour with a wall in another room, or an
accessory in another.
59. Consider your cupboards for flow and
balance too. Remove excess clothing from
your walk in robe as the space will make
your cupboards appear bigger and not so
stuffed. Try also putting similar size and
colour items together to give your
cupboards some balance.
60. Stack items neatly in cupboards. Plastic
boxes are great to storing those items that
get out of hand such as childrens pencils,
lego, artwork etc.