Dirty Tricks- Top Ten Quick DIY Improvements To Sell Your Flat or Apartment

Sell your flat or apartment by spending a little bit of money on key areas. Ten improvements are listed below. Clearly some are more expensive than others. Do not do them all. Obtain blunt feedback from your estate agent from viewings he has arranged. Do not take it personally if he says your kitchen stinks or your blood red living room walls are offensive. Only complete those works that are deemed to be problems or disliked by prospective purchasers. The key point to remember here is the prospective purchasers will only visit your flat once or twice for a viewing. First appearances matter. They are more likely to be put off by a "personalised" or dirty property than a boring clean blank canvass.

1) Fit new kitchen worktops and/or cupboard doors. People genuinely buy a property on the cosmetic appearance of the kitchen! I know it is hard to believe but if the kitchen looks good it will sell.

2) Repaint bathroom walls clean or cover dirty fixtures and re-grout tiles. Dirty old bathrooms are a turn off. Clean or replace that old stained sink, toilet bowl and re-grout or replace tiles and the bathroom is sorted.

3) Plaster or paper over cracks. Where structural repairs and too expensive cover them up long enough to sell. Do not lie however about problems if asked. It is not illegal however to be economical with the truth.

4) Add shower to separate WC room. Nice bonus that sets your apartment above the rest of the market. Make sure you put in sufficient ventilation.

5) Replace carpet with modern wooden or laminate flooring. Sticky, dirty, pet hair ridden carpets are not an added bonus. Prospective purchasers love clean wooden flooring. This is not cheap but a major winner.

6) Replace plastic sockets and light switches with modern brushed metal finished ones. Simple touch that make your apartment seem expensive.

7) Replace/repair damaged or ill fitting doors. Buy cheap doors apply a lick of paint. A door that does not close properly or has a fist hole in it does not leave a good impression. Spend £100 and remove a negative image a prospective purchaser may otherwise have had.

8) Remove unfashionable ceiling hung lights. Replace with a modern fitting. If you are unsure what is fashionable ask someone "is this trendy" if the answer is no then get rid of it.

9) Refurbish wooden window frames by sanding down and painting.Show the view through your best window. Put a table in front of problem windows.

10) Repaint in neutral colors. Front door is the most important and should be to first to be repainted if necessary. Ceilings should always be painted with a white Matt paint to give the impression of space.