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

Fresh flowers in as many rooms as possible. Oh and mirrors. Mirrors help the light and give the sense of larger spaces. ?

We have bought and done up 4 wrecks (we’re now happily living in the 4th).
When selling the previous 3 they were all decorated in a toned down version of whatever was fashionable at that time. They were all squeaky clean but ‘homely’ with a few well chosen bits about. All the houses sold within 6 weeks. The last one went on to be sold again 5 years later looking exactly the same as when the purchaser bought it from us, to the extent that we had had a red sofa in the sitting room which went to a charity when we moved out. On the subsequent sales photos, our purchaser had also got a red sofa where ours had been, and still had our curtains and colour schemes.
As someone else has commented, prospective purchasers can be wanting to buy into your lifestyle. So how would you feel if you were walking into your existing home and lifestyle for the first time.

Most important is to price realistically in the first place, so you don't have to 'reduce' the price a few weeks later when nobody has been to look around. Don't be greedy.

The smell once I step through the front door can be off-putting. Pets and their baskets, blankets and cages, smoking, kitchen bins (especially recycled food waste) cannot be eradicated by spraying the house with airfreshner, get some windows open.

From my point of view. Make your house as clean abd tidy as possible, know your facts about how old boilers, window, dishwashers etc are. When gutters were last cleaned (not just clean but had debris & old leaves removed). Date of last boiler service. All stuff someone who wants to move in straight away usually wants to know.
Most importantly don't mislead people by saying that your dining room is a bedroom. If your have a garage - it should be able to take a car! Tell the truth. I would buy from someone who didn't lie rather than someone who did.

Declutter and make it tidy and clean.

Initial picture must be inviting. Tidy front lawn/drive etc. House hunters decide whether to view a house or not in the first 2 to 3 seconds of looking at the particulars. Sellers need to get people in through the door. Good luck!

First impressions are the key! Make sure that the front garden/ driveway and entrance are clean and tidy- try to hide the bins!!
Massively declutter, paint everything a light,neutral colour to make it light and airy,move as much furniture as possible to the edges of rooms to give the impression of space. Make sure that rooms reflect there use eg dining table and chairs in dining room.
Place a few nice table lamps around for a cosy look,if it’s winter/cold light a fire and make sure the heating is turned up so its nice and cosy, warm and welcoming.
If you have pets make sure that they and their stuff ( food dishes etc) are out of sight and that the house doesn’t smell of pets! It is a good idea to make your house smell sweet with some hidden air fresheners and some fresh flowers.
The smell of coffee brewing or bread baking in the kitchen is nice too!
It goes without saying that everything must be clean and tidy( repair/ replace anything that is broken) including in the garden. Just mowing the lawn and tidying the edges often does the trick!

really tidy up the front of the place
some people don't even come in if it is messy

They say it only takes 2 minutes to like or dislike the house at first sight. Clean & tidy. Freshly painted. No animals or mess. Smell of a cake painting. No clutter. A well loved house sells itself.

Clean and tidy with a fresh smell always impresses. Clutter is very off putting. Dated decor is less important to me as when moving in you usually want to make it your own and update decor to your tastes.

My tip would be to have a really fresh scent to your home for prospective buyers. No synthetic sprays, just spotless freshly laundered cotton linens, throws, cushions and curtains. I think that creates such a welcoming fresh aroma to any house.

Ask a friend to read your "information" and to tell you if they think there's anything which you need to include/remove. Our friend noticed that we hadn't added the words "no chain", when in fact we had temporary accommodation available to us. Including this point turned out to be a key factor in achieving the sale - and for the full asking price.

Declutter, declutter - and then do some more! It's never bothered me about the state of decor/style but it does to a lot of people (we've always redone anywhere we have bought) - and make the outside appealing, but don't spend a lot on it

A little bit of home fragrance is always a winner when selling a house I feel; subtle coffee scent in kitchen perhaps, something more sweet , floral or cosy in other rooms - wax warmers are brilliant.

Make the home relatively neutral so that the potential buyer can imaging living there. Put away family photo’s, knick knacks and clutter. Keep everything streamlined even if that means storing bits of furniture and decorations. Make the house smell nice and tell the potential users what a great house it is for ....... whatever they are looking for. Above all make the first impression a good one.

Keep the place clean and tidy when people are coming to view. Do not bother with decorating unless it is really bad as the new people will probably not like your decorations. Just have a sort out and get rid of some things you have never liked, clothes that have seen better days. Anywhere that is dirty and smelly needs to be avoided, I once viewed a property shown round bathroom by owner who had not even bothered to flush toilet. Nothing worse in my mind. If asked questions answer truthfully as much as possible.

make the front of the house inviting with a hanging basket or evergreen pot. have flowers in the living room and declutter and tidy as much as possible but retain the 'home' feel

Declutter! I confess to having far too much "stuff" and am doing my best to get rid of as many unnecessary items as I can, If I was buying a new house I would look for neutrally decorated rooms with minimum furnishing so that I could picture my own belongings in place, I would want the garden to be neat and tidy and a storage shed would be useful.

Use a good estate agent with a prominent online presence. Make sure there is sufficient detail in the online listing, including an accurate floor plan. Have a good range of photographs showing your home’s best features. Make sure the photos show a reasonably tidy house- move clutter, coats, toys etc to another room first. House buyers are wise to tricks like flowers, neutral colours etc and prize location, room sizes and numbers and potential. Lastly, put the toilet seat down!

As a family starting to prepare for moving, I know I need to declutter. If I'm looking at a property I know it would be more attractive.
Also prepare for visits - I never forget years ago visiting a property where I assume they didn't know we were going, or had forgotten. There were things on the bedroom floor, which I don't wish to name, but I had to carefully step over them!!

Get rid of the clutter to give the impression of more space but leave some bits so that the house looks lived in. Kitchen and bathroom must be clean. I once baked scones before a viewing...they were inedible but the smell was lovely and the viewers bought the flat

Clear away clutter and have some fresh bread baking in the oven...the smell is so inviting

Haha, don't tell the Council you're selling their house (ps I am only joking)

When ever we have had a house for sale I have always made sure that the approach to the front door has been appealing and the paint work is tidy the porch way displaying a hanging basket with flowers that are not half dead (this has happened to us when viewing).
Decluttering is a given and decor internally touched up throughout the property with everywhere smelling clean.
We have always conducted our own viewings and always let potential buyers to browse around by themselves,we have however always insisted with our Estate Agents not to send us viewers who are not in a position to proceed if they are interested.
One thing very important to do is make sure all relivent paperwork is in order for x-change of contracts there is nothing worse than getting to exchange and not having to planning permission etc for that extention you have had built or the conservatory you have added ( depending on size) these things can hold up a sale or loose a buyer at the final hurdle.