If you’re selling this dry season in Cairns, one of the best pieces of advice we can give you relates to the presentation of your property. It is a critical part of the selling process as it directly contributes to how buyers feel about your home.

Presentation counts at two crucial stages of the marketing process:

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

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

Whatever you do, don’t skimp on presentation. 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. If you are interested, you can usually get an initial consultation and appraisal for free.

The facade
As they say, first impressions count. If a buyers’ 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.

Repairs and modern touches
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 Replace outdated light fittings with modern ones to add a contemporary feel.

De-clutter
Clutter is the mortal enemy of good presentation. Less clutter enables the true space of your home to be seen and appreciated. Remove ornaments and extra furniture – your agent can advise you on which pieces should go into storage.

The garden/decks
The garden and alfresco dining and entertaining areas are incredibly important selling features of your home. Many times when we’ve been showing a family home, we have seen the sale made when the buyer steps into the backyard. They look around the garden and visualise themselves having barbecues and playing with the kids. If you have a deck, remove any clutter and wash the outdoor furniture.

Cleanliness
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.

On inspection day
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.

Enhancing the presentation of your home is definitely worth your while. You’ll probably be surprised at how much additional appeal you can create with a little bit of work and expense. Take advantage of your agent’s experience and expertise to guide you on what needs to be done and seek their advice well before the campaign is due to commence.