How to Get Your House Ready to Sell in Surrey  

Alongside those essential steps like finding a local estate agent, don’t underestimate the role of home staging in getting your house ready to sell. Find out how a simple refresh could raise your house’s appeal to potential buyers, and with any luck, encourage a sale.

It’s an open secret that properties in Elmbridge neighbourhoods are highly sought-after. With many attractive properties on the market locally, it’s more important than ever to accentuate your home’s finest features to ensure that it sells for the price it deserves.

When you are selling a property in Hinchley Wood or Claygate, or a house in Cobham, presentation matters. If you are getting your house ready for sale in Surrey, read our checklist to ensure nothing is overlooked. 

How to get your house ready for sale    

As you get ready to sell you house, these 12 steps can help you to cover the essentials and let potential buyers see your property’s potential.

1. Kerb Appeal: Make a Strong First Impressions

Make a great first impression by tidying the garden, power-washing driveways and paths, and repairing or repainting the gate, fence, window frames and building exterior. Painting or replacing the front door is often a high-ROI improvement, costing little but potentially adding value. Check for neighbourhood guidelines on front door colour and style first – for instance, Elmbridge Borough Council asks that front doors in conservation areas are sympathetic. Consider replacing the door furniture too, if it’s dated or worn. Add window boxes and planters for low-cost impact, and upgrade the porch lighting if evening viewings are on the cards.

2. Declutter and Depersonalise  

Declutter before photography as potential buyers can form an impression almost instantly. Putting additional pieces of furniture and personal ‘clutter’ into a storage unit can make rooms feel more spacious and avoiding the impression that your property lacks storage space.

Depersonalising allows potential buyers to visualise themselves in the home. Remember that buyers may open cupboards and wardrobes to evaluate the storage space available, so make sure they’re tidy.

3. Deep Clean Everything  

Clean your home thoroughly in advance of viewings – professional cleaning services can be worthwhile. If you do it yourself, make sure you clean everywhere, from inside the oven and dishwasher, to behind appliances, to the kitchen table.

As well as polishing and wiping surfaces, it can be worth waxing floors, replacing discoloured grout and sealant, and finally, swapping used towels for freshly laundered ones. Open the windows to refresh your home too.

4. Make Minor Repairs 

While staging your house, take care of minor repairs inexpensively yourself or call in a handyman. Cracked of flaking plaster and dripping taps are common buyer concerns. Seemingly minor problems like stiff doors, squeaky hinges or missing tiles can leave the impression that the property is in poor condition. A pre-sale survey or snagging walkthrough with the estate agent can pick up repairs you’ve stopped noticing.

5. Freshen Up with a Coat of Paint

Apply a lick of paint to refresh your home – and don’t forget to paint the woodwork and skirting boards. A neutral colour is usually best, with warm whites and timeless taupes offering a blank canvas for potential buyers. Repainting the hallway, living room and kitchen in particular can make a big impact.

This is also a crucial step if you need to stage an empty house for sale, as the décor will be all the more obvious.

6. Stage Each Room for Its Purpose 

A good way to stage a home for sale inexpensively is to arrange each room to avoid mixed messages. Stage the master bedroom as a calming retreat, and remove the children’s toys from the dining room. Set up the spare bedroom with a desk and single bed – the ideal study or sleeping space, rather than a dumping ground. Surrey buyers expect well-proportioned rooms, so it’s worth removing excess furniture to make rooms feel larger.

7. Maximise Light and Create a Bright Atmosphere

Arrange lamps to turn dark corners into cosy ones, replace dull lightbulbs, and make the most of natural light. Clean your house’s windows to invite sunlight in, and add a cleverly placed mirror to make any space lighter and brighter. Switching to warm LED bulbs, making your property more energy efficient for the EPC at the same time.

Schedule viewings during daylight hours where possible, and use floor and table lamps to welcome potential buyers and brighten darker corners for evening viewings.

8. Refresh the Kitchen and Bathroom

Kitchen or bathroom replacements can add value, but they can be costly so consider if you’ll recoup the outlay. There are inexpensive ways to upgrade your home ready to sell by increasing your property’s appeal, for example, refacing the kitchen cabinets, replacing ageing counters and cabinet handles.

Replacing tap fittings is another low-cost upgrade, and regrouting tiles can make a big difference. Adding coordinated towels and accessories to bathrooms can be an affordable finishing touch.

9. Tidy the Garden and Outdoor Spaces

Outdoor space is a high priority for many Surrey buyers, so mow the lawn, jetwash the patio, trim the hedges and clean the garden furniture. It’s also helpful to arrange the bins neatly or conceal them within a bin shed where possible.

Adding simple potted plants can add colour. Finally, help buyers to visualise themselves using the outdoor space by defining the lawn and outdoor dining area.

10. Energy Efficiency and Your EPC Rating 

Sellers are legally required to have an energy performance certificate (EPC) before listing your property, so get ready to put your property on the market by arranging yours. Check the gov.uk register as you can use an existing, valid certificate, or ask your estate agent to arrange one.

While there’s no minimum EPC rating required to sell your house in Surrey, a higher score is increasingly valued by buyers (particularly those with green mortgages which reward more environmentally-friendly homes). Low-cost improvements like swapping to LED bulbs, draught-proofing and upgrading the loft insulation could help to raise your EPC rating.

11. Invest in Professional Photography 

Almost all potential buyers start their property search on property portals like Rightmove or Zoopla or on agent’s websites, and they scroll quickly. Consider professional photography essential – it can often encourage buyers to arrange a viewing instead of scrolling on.

Don’t forget to declutter and style your home for the photo shoot. Ensure the agent marketing your property takes the best possible photos for marketing, includes a floor plan and potentially a virtual tour.

12. Choose the Right Estate Agent and Set a Competitive Price 

Choosing a local agent gives you the advantage of knowledge of the Surrey market. Find the right local agents by asking for personal recommendations where possible, read reviews, and meet with them, and book a valuation. Don’t just compare on fees, look at their experience in selling similar homes, and the quality of their marketing and communications.

You will naturally want the best possible selling price, but staying competitive matters. Rightmove analysis has found that overpriced homes could take twice as long on average to find a buyer.

Don’t forget the Paperwork: Other Steps Before you Sell

We’ve covered the ways you can get your house in the best condition for sale. However, there is much else to do besides this. Remember to consider these crucial steps, briefly outlined below:

• Gather your documents – This includes all property documentation, such as title deeds, planning permissions, and personal documents to identify yourself (such as passport, bank statements and driving licence). You can obtain many of these well in advance. For example, you may be able to look up your existing EPC.
• Get a solicitor – Instruct a solicitor or conveyancer to handle the legal work for the sale of your house (it’s wise to use the same one for the purchase of your onward property, where this applies). Appointing them early can avoid unnecessary delays once you accept an offer.
• Complete property paperwork – This includes a raft of documentation from your solicitor, including the Property Information Form (TA6) and Fixtures and Fittings Form (TA10), for example. These forms provide detail on the property and any contents included in the sale.
• Obtain leasehold paperwork – If your property is a leasehold, you must commission your solicitor to obtain a management information pack from the freeholder (or management company). They management pack contains the management company’s accounting information, information on proposed maintenance works, risk assessments, and details of fees and charges.
• Get mortgage advice – Consider your financial position, and commission a mortgage advisor to help you navigate issues like mortgage redemption, early repayment charges and getting the best deal if you are switching to a new property. This is crucial if you are buying one of Surrey’s more expensive properties.

Feel like you know how to get your home ready for sale in Surrey?

Hopefully our checklist will make getting the house ready for sale a far smoother process, and we will be glad to assist in person too. Read our guides for more information on property sales, from buying and selling a house at the same time, to what happens if you can’t pay your mortgage.

With decades of experience in the Surrey property market, we are ideally positioned for your property sale in Cobham, Hinchley Wood or Claygate.

Contact Davies Property Partners today for a free valuation.