Time to sell your home? Here's how to style it like a pro

Investing a little time and money upfront to get the presentation right can add thousands of dollars to the final sale price.

Presentation is a critical part of selling a property as it directly contributes to how buyers feel about your home.

If your property looks fantastic in the photographs used for the advertising, more buyers will be enticed to inspect your home.

Once they are there, great presentation will help them feel good about your property and enable them to imagine themselves living there, increasing their interest in buying it.

You can enhance the appeal of your property at very little cost and with a bit of simple old fashioned elbow grease.

The first thing you need is an objective opinion about what needs to be done.

Your agent's advice is invaluable because they'll be able to compare the presentation of your property with others on the market. Don't take any of the feedback personally - the agent is only trying to maximise the sale price.

When considering spending money to improve your property's presentation, it should come down to a simple cost/benefit analysis. The goal is to get the maximum price for your home while spending the least amount of money.

You don't need to hire a stylist, although their expertise can be invaluable. Styling costs range from $2000 to $6500, depending on whether you hire furniture through them and so on. You can usually get an initial consultation and appraisal for a small fee.

Here are our top tips for presenting your property for sale.

1. Make a good first impression

As they say, first impressions count. If a buyer's first impression is bad, they will often look for reasons to back up that impression as they inspect your home. If their first impression is good, they are more likely to look for reasons to buy your property.

Also, buyers often do drive-by inspections and if your home's street appeal isn't great they may simply cross it off their list. Fading or peeling paint, dirty windows, grimy external walls, overgrown gardens and broken fences are major turn-offs, so make sure you fix these issues before putting your property on the market.

2. Pay attention to detail

Do a room by room inspection and make a list of all the little things that require attention. Look for chipped paint, cracked tiles and stains. If you're repainting, go for light coloured neutral tones. Replace outdated light fittings with modern ones to add a contemporary feel.

3. De-clutter

Clutter is the mortal enemy of good presentation. Less clutter enables the true space of your home to be seen and appreciated. You don't have to part with your furniture and knick knacks, just put them into storage until settlement.

4. Spruce up the garden

The garden and outdoor entertaining areas are important selling features of your home. Buyer looking for a family home will step into the backyard and visualise themselves having barbecues and playing with the kids. Remove any clutter, clean the outdoor furniture and wash the deck. Don't forget to mow the lawn, prune any overgrown shrubs and remove weeds or dead plants. Also remember to tidy away toys and move garbage bins and gardening tools out of sight.

5. Make it shine

Your home should be spotlessly clean for the inspections, especially the bathrooms and kitchen. Sparkling windows are essential - they look great and maximise the flow of natural light. Pet smells are a major turn off so clean and deodorise the carpet and furniture.

6. Set the mood

Create an inviting ambience - tidy up, turn on all the lights and open all the windows. Choose some music to play based on the sort of buyers expected to view your home. Add fresh flowers as the finishing touch.

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