What are your top tips for selling a home? - £300 voucher to be won

I think that most people nowadays are savvy enough to know how to present their properties for selling.

Once that has been done it’s all down to price.

If it’s overpriced the buyers won’t get the loan they need to buy it.

Do your homework, with the quantity of new homes being built, most with easy to get Mortgages as part of the package, we will all need to adjust our ideas of the value of our homes, unless you have an outstanding feature which will always be sought after.

In my opinion, take out half your furniture! Clean and don't waste money on making it look false. Keep it looking homely rather than showroomy and price accordingly otherwise it looks like you are trying to get more money than it's worth.

Declutter and clean.
Have a set of clean bed clothes in a cupboard ready to whip on for last minute viewings. Ditto with bath towels. Take the dog to a friends/neighbours- not everyone likes dogs.

As long as it's clean and bright, I don't think potential buyers are usually swayed by all the tricks. Most will have done their homework and checked that the room sizes and the area are what they want. And they'll usually have their own ideas about how they're going to change it, so any money or time spent on doing the house up before viewing is a waste.

My tips would be freshly painted white walls to make the rooms look brighter, flowers are a simple way to brighten up a room; lilies work well as they have a wonderful natural aroma. Also keep the garden well kept as a lovely garden that they can see themselves spending time in is a huge selling point.

First impressions really do count and having an instantly attractive kerb appeal is a must, keeping your house clean and tidy with all clutter packed away is also very important. It is hard for people to see past your own clutter so it's best to remove and pack away elsewhere. Undertaking any diy jobs you can do yourself is always a good idea to present a no fuss home.

Also keep odours out by cleaning, keeping pets outdoors, summer oven clean and use lime oil to keep a fresh scent throughout the home.

Declutter and make the place look larger and more of a blank canvas, as many house hunters are unable to see past someone else's taste in decor. We rented some space at a storage facility and packed away most of our ornaments, books, personal items like family photos and a few bits of furniture. We also took the opportunity to get rid of various things which we gave to charity or gave away on Freecycle. That way when you have a viewing, it's much easier to make sure everything is tidy.

Declutter , as an ex estate agent it the top tip .lots of clutter makes the house look smaller and makes it for harder for potential viewers see it as their prospective home because there is too much of your . Either car boot it, stick it in the charity shop or if you must keep it put it In storage

Ask to check the details that your estate agent is putting out. One that we used (for a short time) put in details about heating and parking that weren't accurate, and lost us a potential buyer

De-clutter and, if you have pets, try to have a relative or friend take them for the day when you have viewings and tidy away their bowls and toys and bedding etc. Make sure rubbish bins are empty and, if all else fails, stuff tools and unused garden items into a shed and lock the door!

So many!

Study Rightmove for a few months before putting you home on the market. See what sells quickly and what hangs around and try to work out why.

Get three quotes from agents and try to get them to be honest about the good and bad points of your home. If you can do something about the bad points do it. If not then price accordingly.

Do the obvious things like declutter and depersonalise. Tidy the garden.

Do not try to copy home magazines unless you know you are good at such things.

If you have an honest, critical friend get their opinion.

Remove pets and any evidence of them before viewings.

If you can do your own viewings, do. Estate agents don't like this but they don't know your home and prospective buyers probably won't trust them as they would trust you. We moved recently and several times came across a man paid by the agents to simply open the door and let us in. He new next to nothing about the houses.

Always remember your house is only worth what someone will pay for it, not what the person down the road got for theirs.

Never employ more than one agent, it makes you look desperate.

Selling houses now is very different from the past, everyone looks on Rightmove and not in estate agents' windows. You can search by price - high to low, low to high or by newest listed or oldest listed. Everyone can see when you put the house on the market so they know if it has been on the market for a long time. If you have priced it too high it won't sell and will look stale so if you haven't had lots of viewings in the first couple of weeks drop the price, don't hang around waiting for a non existent buyer.

Lastly (because this post is already too long) be realistic

We put our 3 bed detached house on the market on the Monday, we had our first viewing on Thursday, same week, saw our viewers 3 bed detached bungalow the next day, job done. Completion due 26th October.

Pressed post too soon. Clear clutter, but leave the house looking lived in, dust and vacuum, clean bathrooms thoroughly, make sure the kitchen plug hole is clean, open curtains really wide to let in the light, I like a nice understated smell of cleaning products, not air freshener or bleach.

I'm selling and make sure there are fresh floweres in the main rooms and everything is clean and tidy.

On buying, I looked for an apartment that is new or fairly new, as I don't want to have decorators in for months.

Bring in light, e.g. open curtains wide (or pull up the blinds) in rooms that are dark.

A friend couldn't sell her flat for love nor money, the main bedroom looked straight on to a patio wall and was quite dark. She removed the blind altogether (the room is private anyway) and hung a plant pot on the patio wall directly opposite the window, planted with beautiful bright flowers. The next viewer bought the place!

The right photos make a huge difference, accurate agent details are essential.

Be realistic over price and the positive aspects of your home. Identify your target market and present accordingly. Families look for things that older people may not find helpful

Clean, tidy, as light as you can make it along with a welcoming exterior. If you are managing a viewing or at home when viewers call be welcoming, smile, don’t talk too much, give them space to look, see their own items in place of yours and feel ‘at home’

Dont be offended by people who obviously don’t love your home as much as you do, we don’t all like the same things, do listen to and act on consistent feedback. If several people comment negatively on something easily changed its probably best to change it.

All of the above really, except, no lilies. They have such a strong scent, and make me feel sick. The pollen can also be damaging to clothes, if brushed against.
We are not moving, although I would like to move nearer our town centre, but financially it would not be worth it.

Walk around your house, room by room thinking- would I buy this house in its present state- if not why not and if it is DIY tasks, get them sorted. Like others, de-clutter and clean. Have the garden tidy and the front respectable with a trough or two with flowers and hanging baskets.

Get rid of cluttered furniture and other belongings that make rooms appear much smaller than they are, so that prospective viewers can move freely around the home. Also ensure that the kerb appeal of the home is well maintained and welcoming to others. First impressions are really important.

make sure the property looks good from the outside as many prospective buyers do a drive by first. Always remember first impressions count!

Most of the above. Having sold my big old family home recently, smile sweetly and be honest, unlike a number of would be purchasers who loved the house but then admitted they couldn't afford it and put in stupid offers of more than 100,000 under the asking price . Did I really look that stupid? Stick to your guns. Oh and make sure there are no cooking or animal smells. Fish was a no no for the duration! (It sold for over the asking price btw..)

Remember that your house will not appeal to everyone but it will appeal to someone. People can - and do -see beyond the decor.
But tidy it and clean it!

I worked for an estate agent for a few years and found the whole process fascinating. Certainly videos online of the properties seem to have more impact with buyers than the written word, and attract people to go and view a property, which otherwise they would have rejected. Also beware of many online agents ( with very flashy TV ads) who promise the earth, but take fees upfront - No sale no fee is a big incentive to agents to keep on trying.

Something I forgot to say is please, please read the small print. Some companies ( on TV with high profile) sign you up to a loan Company if you choose to 'pay later' and you are not the able to change agent, if unhappy - you still must pay them even if they are not involved in sale. Lots of advice from Martyn Lewis etc online.

Many years ago we took part in a university research project on the process of house buying and it was interesting (shocking?) to see exactly how different our original ‘essentials’ list changed when we found our new home, and how easy it was to accommodate these changes.

First essential is a good estate agent who understands you and can match your expectations to reality. Location, kerb appeal and price are first priority for most people.

Next establish your potential purchasers; ours is a family sized home near local private and state run schools in a small village so that’s our target market.

I think we can all see through the art of strategically placed flowers and the smell of freshly brewed coffee/newly baked cakes! Just keep it clean, tidy and well cared for - remember your are ‘selling (or buying) the dream’. How would I feel looking round: is it a loved, well cared for home with a ‘happy feel’? A chaotic, untidy, messy home tells me it’s not been cherished. For me, ‘Gut feeling’ rules.......