How to prepare your home for the autumn market

Autumn is a busy time of year for the property market. The nights are drawing in fast and the kids are back at school but your home may not be looking at its best after a busy summer. Here are our top tips for preparing your property for the Autumn market.

1. Pack up and put away your holiday paraphernalia

Pack up the ‘clobber’ you take to the beach; the picnic blankets, the buckets and spades, the bats, balls and snorkels. Say goodbye to the sandals and espadrilles in the shoe pile and then generally declutter the house and pay a visit to the charity shop or nearest recycling centre. Give the house a good clean ensuring the feather duster reaches all those cobwebs.

2. Clean the carpets and polish your floors

If you have rugs and carpets, it’s amazing what a difference it makes to have them cleaned to take away any unsightly spots and stains. Give your wooden floors a polish and if the wood is badly scratched or marked it’s worth considering a light sand and refinish to give them an entirely new lease of life.

3. Lighten and brighten

Properties are best seen during the daytime, but as the days get shorter it’s important to ensure that your lights and lamps are on for viewings. Check that all bulbs are replaced before you even start viewings. Get out the ladder and replace even those ones that are hard to reach. Think about where to place lamps in key rooms to add atmosphere. Just because the days are shorter it doesn’t mean the sun won’t shine and so you must still get those windows cleaned and your curtains and blinds too if you didn’t do them earlier in the year. Sun exposes every bit of dust on windows and blinds.

4. Tidy the garden and add some late season colour 

Now is the time to stash away garden toys, trampolines, sandpits and paddling pools in your loft or shed.  Sweep up the autumn leaves as regularly as you can and do some end of season weeding, cutting back and mowing. Also try to add a splash of late season colour with the addition of a few pots or new plants in the borders. Your local nursery or garden centre will advise on the best picks to beat the first frosts.

5. Air the property regularly 

At this time of year, most of us want to close the windows and snuggle up under a blanket. A lot of us are also drying washing inside which creates extra moisture in the air. Ensure you air the property before viewings by opening a few windows to get some fresh air in. This rule especially applies if your property has been empty for any amount of time as it may smell musty at this time of year. Make the places smell lovely; we recommend you buy some quality reed diffusers from Diptyque or Bamford at Daylesford.

6. Make sure the place feels cosy

Now is the time of year to bleed your radiators to make sure your heating is working as well as it can and that there are no leaks. Make sure your property is cosy and inviting by putting the heating on at least 30 minutes before any viewings or if you are not around just set the programmer so that the heat is balanced throughout the week. If you have open fires, wood burners or gas fires, get them lit everywhere to create that welcoming feel.