Preparing your home for the new owners

You have successfully sold your home and that undeniable excitement for what lies ahead has kicked in. Focusing on getting everything packed and coordinated for your move is important. At the same time, it is also crucial to ensure that you leave your home in an acceptable condition for the new home owners. The reason behind leaving the home in an acceptable condition is to minimize stress for all parties involved and to assist the new owners when moving in. A place that is move in ready and neat means that the new owners can place their focus on packing out and making it their home as soon as possible. Below is an easy-to-follow checklist to assist you in making sure your home is new owner ready.

1. Tidy up

Moving into a new home which is cluttered with unwanted items or rubbish can be very frustrating. On moving day ensure that you dispose of anything and everything that you will not be moving with you.

2. Clean Up

Although you might not have the time to do a deep clean, try and sweep or mop each room to freshen it up. If you are planning to prioritize certain cleaning tasks, focus on ensuring that utilities are sparkling clean. Some appliances are prone to accumulating extra grime - such as an oven - try and leave these in an acceptable and clean condition.

3. Gather Keys

There are likely to be spare keys for your property lying around and some of them could still be in the possession of friends or family. It is important to collect all possible keys that you have and label them for the new owners.

4. Check that appliances are working

Moving into a new home only to realise that something is broken or malfunctioning could pose a great inconvenience. Before moving check all appliances and if anything should malfunction, try your best to have it fixed. This approach helps mitigate stress on what is already an intense moving day.

5. Fix cosmetics

During the packing process you might notice some cosmetic imperfections. To ensure the property presents well, try and address as many of these issues that you may encounter. An example of how one can fix an imperfection is that holes in the wall can be patched and repainted or touching up scuff marks on the skirting boards. It is important to note that when fixing holes in the wall and then repainting, one will need to repaint the whole wall in a similar colour from corner to corner to ensure that the paint matches correctly and does not leave splotches.

6. Leave a manual

Moving into a new home and possibly new suburb means that individuals might not be hundred percent in the loop of a few functions. Daily life aspects that have changed could include anything from refuse collection days to being able to work the solar system. This thoughtful gesture allows you to share valuable information pertaining to the property, local surroundings and operational instructions for specific appliances. There is no right or wrong for a home manual, so you are free to add any information you deem to be important. It is very likely that your manual will be highly appreciated.

It is important to remember that the above-mentioned points are suggestions for helping out new home owners and are not pre-requisites. If you are willing and have the time, try and help the new owners to settle in and adjust to their new home as easy as possible.