How to prepare your home for sale

– Many who have bought will one day sell their home, how do you do that? Asks Head of Communications at Bonum, Nikolaos Farmakis.

– It's wise to prepare it for sale, and not just think you'll sell it as it is. Put simply, it's very important to tidy up a bit, but not tidy too much. You can very easily tell if a home has been styled for sale. I think it's more important that when you come in for a viewing you should think "someone lives here". They should actually see the solutions you've chosen for storage, cupboard space, that you can hang up pictures. You should think "someone lives here, and I could live here too". In many homes now that are styled, there are no chests of drawers, there are no cupboards, and you automatically think "where would I put my things". It's much easier to relate to a home if someone lives there, answers Cornelia L'orange, interior architect at Bonum.

– Should there be some personal items? What about pictures, and a bit of clutter and decorations? Asks Nikolaos.

– Yes, I think there should be some personal items, absolutely. Perhaps not too personal, but it's important that you've made the bed, that there are some fresh flowers, perhaps some fresh herbs. Not fake herbs, you can tell very easily. It's a trick, people try it every time. It's also important that if you have some blinds that you've had for a very long time, which perhaps aren't so nice, just take them away. You're selling your home anyway, you'll manage those weeks without the ugly blind that's a bit damaged and hanging slightly crooked, says Cornelia.

– And then I'm very curious, should I renovate before I sell? Comments Nikolaos.

– That's a very good question, you must assess it a bit, preferably check with the estate agent. What's the market like, what are people concerned about? But if, for example, you've painted your wall bright pink, then perhaps you should consider painting it white again, or another colour that might appeal to a lot of people. Grey is always a classic winner, although we may now be moving a bit more towards earth tones again. But if you have lots of pink elements, or orange or green elements around your flat, then perhaps people will think "this is cool!" instead of "that was a bit odd, that green or pink wall". It depends very much, I think you know yourself well enough, if you have a very distinctive taste that I should probably paint that wall, explains Cornelia.

– And the big question, for those who are short of time, just before the sale, how well should it be cleaned? Asks Nikolaos.

– Well, very well. You'll probably sell the flat for just as much, but if you have a dog and there's dog hair lying around, you get a bit of a bad feeling when you come in for a viewing, concludes Cornelia.