How to prepare your home for sale

1. Start from the photo date

Ask your agent when the photographer is booked and work backwards. Many buyers see the photos before they see the home, so everything should be finished by then.

2. Walk through as a buyer

Start at the street and walk to the back fence. Write down what you notice, not what you have stopped seeing. Your agent can add what buyers in your area tend to pick up on.

3. Sort the list

Put each item in one of three groups: must fix, worth doing, and leave alone. If a job will not change what a buyer sees or trusts, leave it.

4. Repairs first

Fix cracks, leaks, loose fittings, broken handles and damaged plaster before anyone paints. Repairs left until later usually mean repainting.

5. Paint next

Paint walls, ceilings and trims where they look tired. Soft, neutral colours help buyers picture the home as theirs. You may not need every room.

6. Outside and garden

Clean paths and decks, trim, edge and mulch. The front of the home is usually the first photo and the first thing buyers see at an open.

7. Clean last, then style

Book a thorough clean once the trades have gone. Styling goes in after the clean, ready for the photographer.