Putting your home up for sale is a big step. You’re not just selling a property, you’re selling a home. Our homes are where we create some of our best memories and so making that decision to sell can seem quite daunting.

However, what you need to remember is that you may sell the physical property, but those memories will remain no matter who owns the house. Plus, moving to a new property allows you start making new memories, ones which you will treasure just as much as time goes by.

So, once you have overcome any initial hesitation about selling, you’ll need to get things in order before your house goes on the market. This is especially true if you have decided to save yourself some money and sell your home privately rather than use an expensive estate agent.

With that in mind, here are five things to do before listing your home for sale privately:

1. Declutter

Before you do anything, have a good sort out of your belongings.

You need to make your house look as good as it can possibly be. That means reducing clutter, either by throwing things away or by moving things into storage. The more space you can create in your home, the more it will appeal to potential buyers.

2. Spruce Things Up

Now you’ve got rid of any items you don’t need or that were making your property look cluttered, it’s time for a spring clean!

Start by looking at whether any rooms need decorating. If they do, keep the colours as neutral as possible to appeal to as broad a range of buyers as possible. Now’s also a good time to fix any issues you’ve learned to live with. That dripping tap, that sticking door, and that creaking floorboard should all be addressed.

Once you’ve done this, give everything a deep clean to make your home look as pristine as possible.

3. Get A Valuation

A lot of people make the mistake of getting a valuation carried out first. The problem with this is that if you haven’t completed steps one and two and you use an external valuer, they will not be seeing your home in the best possible light.

Sure, property professionals are much better at judging properties on their merits rather than their aesthetics than most normal buyers, however, they are still only human. It’s not worth having your property being valued at a lesser price just because you haven’t yet given it a lick of paint or a tidy up!

Of course, you don’t have to use an external valuer. There are several ways you can value your property yourself if you know where to start. This free online valuation service is a good place to start.

4. Become An Expert On Your Home

When you are selling your home privately, you’ll need to be prepared to conduct your own house viewings.

This may sound like a daunting prospect, but, once you know how to conduct your own house viewings you’ll realise it’s not as difficult as my first seem.

You’ll already know a lot more about your house than you give yourself credit for, but now is a good time to go back through the information you were given when you bought the property. Find out when it was built, what time of heating system you have, how old the boiler is, when the electrics were last updated, and so on.

You don’t need to know every last detail. It’s perfectly OK to tell buyers you don’t know the answer to a question they ask, as long as you try and find out the information they need later.

The more you know about your property, the more confidence you’ll ooze when showing people around your home.

5. Prepare Your Property Listing

The last step before you can put your property on the market is to prepare the listing that will be used on the property portal. This will consist of photos of your home, a description, and ideally a floor plan (or at least some measurements).

The photos should give the best view of your home as possible. Borrow a digital camera with a wide-angle lens, if possible, as this will make rooms appear larger. Photos taken from low to the ground often work the best although you may have to experiment to find the best angles and views of your rooms.

When you write the description, you should try and be engaging yet factual. Try and avoid anything too emotional, buyers usually just want to know the key facts about your home.

However, it’s still worth putting in a few gems such as it being close to shops, having good transport links, etc. Although you are trying to avoid being too ‘salesly’ in your description, you’re still trying to make your home sound appealing to those who read about it!

That’s it. Once you’ve completed these five preparation steps, you’re ready to list your property for sale privately!