Preparing Your Home For Sale – Part II

In the first part of this blog post, in preparing your home for sale – part 1, we looked at the first impact rooms of your property in Malta – the front and facade; the hallway; the living room. Here we will proceed through the Maltese home to work our way objectively and purposefully, reviving each room at a time.

Preparing your bedroom for a sale

Preparing your bedroom prior selling your property is of utmost importance. All potential buyers visiting your home for sale will for sure want to see the bedrooms on display and hence, need to look attractive. Bedrooms sigh a huge sigh of relief every time the bed is well-made, the disorderly clothing is put in its place, the toys picked off the floor, and the books are put on the shelving. 

Declutter your bedroom

Utilise large cane baskets to group things together – shoes, toys, extra pillows. Put smaller baskets on window ledges with all the paraphernalia that usually accumulates in children’s rooms. Don’t leave knick-knacks such as jewellery or hair accessories or ties, belts, or bags hanging from the bedpost or on the front of a wardrobe door. 

Replace bedroom accessories

Again, if bedroom carpets look old, remove them. Change curtains and replace them with lightweight sheers that allow more light inside. Remove mismatched bed linen and pillowcases. Now is a good time to use the brand-new bed-linen sets you have hidden away in the closet – these will give the room an instant face-lift.

Preparing your bathroom for a sale

Preparing your bathroom is a must-do before listing your house for sale. The bathroom needs special attention too, especially where mould has set in the shower or bath corners, on ledges and where water tends to accumulate. 

Purchase purposely created products to destroy black mould marks – household bleach may not be strong enough. It is amazing what a difference the right products make in old bathrooms which seem to shine anew. Change torn and miserable-looking towels; replace tired mats; throw away mouldy rubber bath mats; include new baskets for all the extra hand towels or shampoos or dirty linen. Add some fragranced candles and humidity-loving natural plants.

A good trick is to try and use a same-colour code around the bathroom. So, if your bathroom has blue and white tiles, remove anything that is not in a shade of blue or white. Hide other coloured items, and display only that which is in harmony with the basic colour scheme. Complement with one other colour at most, for example, in a blue and white bathroom, add a pop of yellow. 

Preparing your kitchen for a sale

Look at the cushions on the kitchen or dining table chairs – worn, soiled and falling apart, are they? Those are three good excuses to throw the cushions out – better to have no cushions than ugly ones. And do de-grease the cooker and oven; wipe down the front of the fridge and remove all those fridge magnets. 

Take care of the kitchen – this is one room that can become overtaken with gadgets, crockery, glassware, cookery books, and the lot. A huge de-clutter must start from inside those cupboards to release invaluable space. Consider every de-cluttered area as getting you one step closer to less packing time when moving out. A definite must is removing kitchen curtains and washing them to destroy the lingering smell of burnt toast and boiled cabbage.

Preparing your outdoor area 

Any outdoor area around your home is a plus to the sale. This is because it can increase the value of your property for sale, especially in Malta’s real estate market. Therefore, you should really put in some elbow grease to maximise its impact prior to selling your property. 

Gardening your outdoor area

Make an enthusiastic effort to do some gardening and if you’re just not interested but have an overgrown garden of weeds, get a professional gardener to clear it up and instil some order. If yours is a small courtyard that is way past its glory, better to give away the half-dead potted plants than to leave them in agony. They just make the space look miserable. Group healthy plants together for maximum impact or alternatively purchase some lively flowering plants to add a dash of colour.

Garden decorations

Purchase a pretty watering can, add some wind chimes, put out a deck chair….. make the space look welcoming and usable, but if it is pretty small, don’t cram too many things. Keep a balance. If you have been using the courtyard as an open-air shed, then it’s time to get rid of the junk. 

Selling your property with RE/MAX

Perception plays an important role in the value of your property for sale in Malta or Gozo. For further inspiration about increasing the value of your home when selling your property, scour our property and home improvement blog section on our website. There are surely other things you will spot around the house that definitely need improving. It will only take a small expenditure to revive the works and make your house come that much closer to being a saleable property. Read more about the importance of presentation when selling your property in Malta and Gozo.