Preparing your house for sale

Is your house going on sale soon? Exciting! After choosing the right sales agent and determining the best asking price, the time has come to present your home in its best light to the world. Making your house ready for sale is quite an art. But how do you ensure that your home appeals to a wide audience and looks good in the agent's photos? Read our golden tips for preparing your house for sale, and attract as many viewers and buyers to your property as possible!

Go directly to:

• General tips for selling your house
• Tips for the hallway (entrance)
• Tips for the living room
• Tips for the kitchen
• Tips for the bathroom
• Tips for the bedroom
• Tips for the garden and garage
• The final check: viewing as a buyer

Getting your house ready to sell in 3, 2, 1…

Below you will find our tips for preparing your house for photos and viewings. Keep one thing in mind while sprucing up your house: preparing your home for sale is not about making your interior prettier or cozier. Adding stuff to your home is not advisable. You want to make your house look as spacious as possible, and taste is subjective. It's actually the art of keeping your home as "neutral" and spacious as possible, so that every viewer immediately sees the potential of the property, without having to look past striking colors, items, and furniture.

Our website is not fully translated, but our (English-speaking) team is ready to help you through the whole thing in case you need help. You can reach us by phone or WhatsApp at 020 244 2790 or send an e-mail to info@mijnverkoopmakelaar.nl. 

General tips for selling your house

Below you will read our tips for selling your property, room by room. But let's start with some general tips to get your property ready to conquer the housing market:

Tip 1: Potential buyers want a bright house

White (or off-white) walls always do well for this reason, making the entire house appear lighter and fresher. If your home doesn't have white walls but you still want to make it brighter, remove as many things as possible in front of the windows, such as photos on a windowsill, large plants blocking the light, and keep window decorations as open as possible. Clean the windows well before viewings, so everyone can see how beautifully the light falls inside. Also, ensure the right (atmospheric) lighting throughout the house.

Tip 2: Ensure a tidy and clean house

If there's one thing that's important when viewing a property, it's that the spaces are tidy and clean. It may be an obvious tip, but we can't leave it unmentioned. Therefore, go through your house with a critical eye when preparing it for sale and store all personal and unnecessary items. Then do a major cleaning or invite your cleaner to come by an extra week. It's totally worth it!

Tip 3: Ensure the right temperature in the house

Buying a house is mainly about feeling. People literally want to "feel at home" when they step over the threshold of the property. A good way to immediately win over potential buyers is by ensuring the right temperature in the house. They might not actually notice it, but they will feel at home right away. And that's what it's all about! So, make your house comfortably warm for a viewing in winter and ensure sufficient ventilation on a hot summer day. If you're not sure about the right temperature, invite someone from outside to test the temperature.

Tip 4: A pleasantly smelling house works wonders

Just like the right temperature, smell is also a dealbreaker when it comes to selling your house. The most underrated reason a viewer 'doesn't feel comfortable' after visiting a property is the smell. So, if you're preparing your house for sale, definitely pay attention to the smell inside.

If you have no time to extensively prepare your house for sale, read our tips on how you can sell your house very quickly.

The absolute no-goes are:

• Smoke and tobacco smell
• Pet odors
• The-trash-bag-has-been-in-the-bin-for-four-days smell

The absolute go's (tips) are:

• Place scent sticks in the house (preferably choose a neutral scent rather than a strong, spicy scent)
• Bread-baking and apple pie scent (if you're not a kitchen prince or princess, don't worry. There are apple pie perfumes available online)
• Cleaning scents: green soap or glass spray

Tip 5: Hide cords and cables out of sight

Once the viewings have started, you want people to be as little distracted as possible by details and minor messes, such as cables and cords. This is often an eyesore during a first visit to a property. No one has ever tried to watch TV or make a cup of coffee during a viewing, so go ahead and unplug all the cords from the devices. This makes the property look much less cluttered to the eye.

Tip 6: Everyone loves flowers

An easy way to make your property attractive for sale is by placing flowers. Just as everyone loves a bright house, everyone also appreciates a fresh bouquet of flowers in the garden or in a beautiful vase. So, give the flowers in the garden or on the balcony some extra love and place a fresh bouquet of flowers in various places in the house. This immediately gives your rooms some color and a fresh look. Make sure you do this not only for the viewings but also for taking photos.

Tip 7: Remove personal items

You undoubtedly have beautiful children and very nice friends. But, sorry not sorry, unfortunately, no buyer is interested in that. Therefore, remove all photos, souvenirs, personal cards, and your children's craftworks. This helps a potential buyer to imagine living there themselves.

Tip 8: Erase traces of your pets

Animals are great, but they won't help you sell your house. In fact, if you're preparing your house for sale, you're better off creating the illusion that no pets have ever lived there. The smell of pets does not sit well with potential buyers, and for some people, a single cat hair is enough to make them run out of the house hyperventilating. So, temporarily place your pets in a guest location and remove all pet items, such as a dog bed, feeding bowls, and scratching posts.

Tip 9: Carry out small repairs

A broken window, a wobbly door handle, a burned-out bulb, or a loose baseboard. This seemingly "small" neglected maintenance makes the house appear poorly maintained. It's a good idea to carry out small repairs before viewers come and photos are taken. If things in the house squeak or hinges are stiff, lubricating oil or WD-40 is your best friend.

Tip 10: A neat frame is nice

Frames are the way to see if an owner has maintained the property neatly. A coat of paint works wonders. Don't have time to paint all the frames? Understandable. But do clean the frames when preparing your house for sale. It only takes you 30 minutes, and it makes a world of difference to a buyer!

Finding the best agent to sell your property?

A good sales agent knows the neighborhood like the back of their hand, has a large network, and helps you determine the best selling price, plan the viewings, and sell your house to a reliable buyer as quickly as possible. Need some help choosing the right agent to sell your property? We're happy to help - no strings attached!

Leave your details below and let agents from the neighborhood know you're likely selling your house soon. They'll leave a response for you: they'll share their thoughts on the property, its sales prospects, and what they think the property will fetch in a sale. You'll see right away where the sales agent is located and what the costs are. Everything is completely free and without obligation.

Tips for preparing the hallway (entrance) for sale

You only get one chance to make a good first impression. This might sound a bit cheesy, but it's true, of course. Do you want house hunters to fall in love with your house immediately? Then you'll need to make a smashing impression the moment the door opens for the first time. This is how you can enchant viewers from the moment they enter:

• Wipe the front door and ensure the doorbell works. If you don't, you're already at a disadvantage.
• Ensure the garden looks tidy. Remove weeds, park bikes and cars off the driveway, and sweep the path clean.
• Don't overload the coat rack and remove all shoes from the hallway. Hang a maximum of 2 to 3 nice coats on the rack and store the shoes, for example, in a closed shoe rack.
• Hang or set up adequate and atmospheric lighting. Install beautiful (atmospheric) lighting in the hallway lamps and ensure spotlights are on.
• Create a pleasant scent right at the entrance. This immediately gives viewers a good feeling.
• Clean the windows. This makes your house look more luxurious, cleaner, and brighter.
• Welcome viewers with a fresh bouquet of flowers in the hallway. Give them fresh water before the viewing and place them in a beautiful vase.

Tips for preparing the living room

The living room is one of the most important spaces in the house. This is where people gather with the whole family, relax, and where - nowadays - often work from home. A place where so much time is spent must not only feel good but also look attractive. These are our tips for preparing your living room for sale:

• Less is more when it comes to interior. You're selling the living room, not the furniture. Print this in your mind when you're sprucing up the living room for viewings. Remove that extra chair to create more space.
• Remove personal items. Think of photos, trinkets, and souvenirs.
• The bookcase tip. If you have a bookcase in the living room, as cool as a nicely filled bookcase is, it often looks a bit messy. So, prevent your bookcase from becoming a 'wall of books' by alternating rows of books with small stacks of books. This breaks up the line of upright books in your bookcase. Choose books with a nice title, as people will unconsciously read this.
• Set the table with nice dinnerware and a good set of (wine) glasses. If you own nice dinnerware and a good set of (wine) glasses, that's great! A beautifully set dining table creates a homely feeling and a welcome atmosphere. Maybe it gives the doubters just that extra push to make an offer.

Tips for a kitchen that sells itself

The kitchen can be a real dealbreaker for potential buyers. People want a clean and spacious kitchen with enough storage space and room to prepare meals. To show your kitchen from its best side, follow these tips:

• Remove as much as possible from the countertop. Of course, make sure the dishes are done and no food traces are left. But also try to place as few (extra) kitchen machines and appliances as possible. Choose the most beautiful and most-used devices, and hide the rest in a cupboard. This shows how much space there is on the countertop.
• Straighten cabinet doors. You enter your kitchen every day, and it might not stand out to you, but cabinet doors often hang crookedly. A potential buyer sees the kitchen for the first time, and it might stand out to them. Your kitchen looks much more luxurious and neat if all the doors hang straight. So grab a screwdriver, or ask that handy neighbor for a favor, and straighten all the cabinet doors.
• Clean tea towels are a must. When you're busy preparing your kitchen for sale, you might not think of the small items. But often, it's precisely the small details that can deter a potential buyer, like a dirty sponge, dishcloth, or used tea towel. Therefore, ensure clean tea towels and towels, and store sponges and dishcloths as much as possible. Simple and effective!
• Stainless steel must shine. Is the stove, faucet, or fridge made of stainless steel? Make it shine. Remove splatters and polish it with a cloth!
• Dress up the kitchen. Although you want to keep the kitchen as empty as possible, a fruit bowl, a luxurious knife block, a nice cookbook, or a good bottle of wine can do wonders for the appearance. These items bring the kitchen to life, as it were.
• Empty the trash can and make the fridge (as much as possible) empty. The last thing you want is an unpleasant smell in the kitchen. Therefore, empty the trash cans and all food items that can start to smell overpowering.
  
  

Benefits of choosing an agent via Mijn Verkoopmakelaar

Choosing a good agent to sell your house can be a daunting task, but not with Mijn Verkoopmakelaar! Find the best agent in your area by entering your postal code below. You will receive - entirely without obligation - responses from the best sales agents in your area. Choose the agent that best fits your needs!

Are you still in doubt? Discover the benefits of choosing a realtor through Mijn Verkoopmakelaar:

• You sell your house faster and for a higher price. We keep track of how quickly agents in your area sell houses and what the proceeds are. Based on your most important requirements, you can easily and objectively choose which sales agent best meets your needs.
• You save costs. In their response, the agents immediately tell you what they charge for their services. You thus have an immediate overview of the costs that agents charge in your area and the services they offer. On average, there is a difference of no less than 1,700 euros between a cheap and an expensive agent!
• You save time and can easily compare. This is the easiest way to get a good overview of the agents that best suit your needs. You don't need to contact them one-on-one, but you will receive a proposal from them. No hassle!

Tips for a bathroom that appeals

The bathroom is the place where you start and end your day and where you want to feel comfortable. Because it's the place where you freshen up, the bathroom - naturally - must also feel fresh. Since you can't change much about the layout and interior of your bathroom, there's one thing you must focus on: everything must shine! As if you're stepping into the bathroom of a luxury hotel.

• Let faucets, showerheads, tiles, and mirrors shine. So grab that bathroom cleaner, mirror cleaner, and that bucket of soapy water, and get to work. Do this both for a viewing and a photo session.
• Place scent sticks. These emit a pleasant scent in the bathroom.
• Remove all shampoos, shower gels, and toothbrushes. The calmer the bathroom, the more luxurious - and sale-worthy - it looks.
• Ensure the spotlights turn on immediately. Spotlights in a bathroom instantly make your bathroom shiny and give it a luxurious look. If you have spotlights in the bathroom, also ensure the agent can find the light switch! Replace energy-saving bulbs with LED bulbs. The light must turn on immediately when the potential buyer presses the button.
• Put the toilet lid down. This is a small effort, and no one likes looking into the sewer. So, put the toilet lid down.
  
  

Tips for preparing your bedroom for sale

The best tip we can give you in this area is: turn your bedroom into a hotel room. When the bedroom door opens, you want people to feel like they've stepped into a luxury hotel. How do you do that? Follow these tips:

• Make your bed tightly. Under no circumstances should there be any spots on the bedding. Choose clean and impersonal bedding. You want your bedroom to feel like a hotel room, not a guest room.
• Hide all personal items, such as photos, books, and clothes.
• Use calm colors. We understand that you're not going to repaint the entire wall of your bedroom, but at least choose calm colors for your bedding.
• Close all closet doors. Make sure no clothes or items are visible in the closet. This looks less neat and is distracting.
• Hang something nice on the wall. To give the bedroom a bit of coziness, you can hang something nice on the wall. Choose a painting or print with calm colors, which under no circumstances contains sensitive content (such as a politically charged slogan or a complicated artwork). Play it safe.
  
  

Tips for an attractive garden and garage

In addition to the hallway, bathroom, living room, and bedroom, the other spaces of your house must also look attractive for the viewings and photos. This includes the garden and garage. Below you will find tips for preparing these spaces for sale:

• Nice weather outside? Prepare your garden furniture for sitting. This point depends somewhat on the weather. But if it's dry, make the garden cozy. Place cushions on the garden furniture and neatly slide the garden chairs under the garden table.
• Ensure the garden is neatly maintained. Remove weeds and clean the stones with a high-pressure cleaner. Trim overgrown bushes. As the cherry on top, place a beautiful flower arrangement on the garden table.
• Keep the garage as empty as possible. The garage is a residual space in a house. So, it's handy to keep it empty, so viewers can see how much space there is for their extra stuff. Therefore, remove the car, bikes, and other large items from the garage.
• Store small products as much as possible in closed boxes or crates. This gives the garage more overview.
  
  

The final check: viewing as a buyer

Have you followed the above tips (as much as possible) and think your house is now truly ready for sale? Take the proof of the pudding and test how it feels to enter your property for the first time. Grab your house key and walk outside. Now enter through the front door and try to see the property with fresh eyes. What do you notice? Is there, for example, something on the roof of the shed? Do you see some dust lying under the couch? Or is it perhaps a bit too warm in the house when you come from outside? This is the moment to adjust these things!

Tip: It can be difficult to look at your own property with fresh eyes. Therefore, invite someone else who can walk through the house with a critical eye. That can be very helpful!

Read more about selling property in The Netherlands:

A step-by-step guide on selling property in the Netherlands

A step-by-step guide on selecting estate agents in the Netherlands

How it works

How to sell house quick & fast in the Netherlands

Frequently asked questions about getting your house ready to sell

• What are the best tips for preparing your house for sale?

  • Light in the living room
  • Pleasant scent in the hallway
  • Shiny bathroom
  • A welcoming garden
  • Neat frames
  • Flowers on the table