Selling Houses Australia hosts secret tips revealed

Selling Houses Australia stars Wendy Moore and Dennis Scott have revealed a big error homeowners make when selling – and a cheaper solution to adding value.

Selling Houses Australia experts Dennis Scott and Wendy Moore.

Homeowners are throwing thousands of dollars away making these huge renovation errors, while these cheaper solutions will add value.

Selling Houses Australia’s interior design expert Wendy Moore and landscaping pro Dennis Scott have revealed the huge errors vendors make when trying to get their home ready for a sell, as well as their top budget fixes to aid the sale.

With cost of living pressures, there’s never been a more important time to know exactly what is worth sinking your money into before selling your house and what is a total waste.

BIGGEST INTERIOR MISTAKES COSTING $$

Ms Moore said it was important to listen to the market and not spend money on what you think needs to be fixed.

“You need to have an objective view. Speak to a few different real estate agents and have a few people through your home, you’ve gotten so used to your home you can’t be objective,” she said.

Wendy Moore shares her best tips for renovating and selling.

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People often fell into the trap of fixing the things they want to change or alternatively keeping the things they like, she said.

“I think people get overly attached to things in their house they love … if you are selling, it’s not about you anymore.”

Some of the biggest mistakes include painting walls that weren’t in sympathy with the rest of the house, not decluttering or styling the house.

“You need to style your house,” she said. “If you don’t, it gets compared to a lot of homes that are and that can really hurt your sale.

Wendy Moore is the Selling Houses Australia renovations expert.

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“I’ve seen people walk into homes and say I don’t like that sofa – they’re not buying the sofa but that’s all they can envisage.”

BUDGET FIXES

The cheapest and easiest way to transform a space was a deep clean and decluttering, Ms Moore said.

“Giving your kitchen a really good clean in every single cupboard, you’ll be surprised how many don’t do that and buyers look in every single cupboard and can get put off.”

If the kitchen’s layout was functional, you didn’t need to rip out the whole kitchen, she said.

“People look at an unrenovated bathroom or kitchen and they see dollar figures … but it could be as simple as changing handles or a bench top,” she said. “You can get a company to refresh and respray all the doors, you can pull off all the handles, that can make a big difference, that fixes a multitude of things and that is not a big outlay about $3,000-$4,000,” Ms Moore said.

Another affordable option was adding window furnishings.

“Floor to ceiling sheer curtains, there are lots of lovely options at a hardware store get a simple curtain runner at somewhere like Freedom or Bunnings, they do some great curtains and get a cohesive look with all your windows.”

OUTDOOR EXPERTISE – THE UNSUNG HERO

It was important to not neglect the outdoor space, according to the show’s star landscaper.

“People concentrate on the inside but the outdoor is the biggest room and it’s the first thing they see. If you don’t like what they see the outside they’re not going to look on the inside,” Mr Scott said.

Dennis Scott, the landscape gardener and outdoor renovation expert.

The basics – that were the most important – wouldn’t cost you a cent, he said.

“You need to mow, weed, do your edges and trim back over grown foliage and add mulch, mulch is the unsung hero of the garden world and really, the real estate world.”

Common mistakes Mr Scott saw were people planting the wrong species in the wrong places, gravel the wrong colour that didn’t suit the house and neglecting to touch up paint on the outside.

“Go to your local nursery, take a photo of the spot that you’re looking to plant and they are more than willing to help you out and get the right plant,” he said.

“The plant is important, you can’t just plonk something in the ground and hope its okay, its root system could be invasive or attack your storm water drainage.”

Dennis Scott gardening on Selling Houses Australia’s latest season.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS SEASON

The 17th season of Selling Houses Australia set to air on Foxtel and available to stream on BINGE on Wednesday 5 March was full of highs and lows according to the two experts.

“It was a real roller coaster for properties of us this year, an amazing array of different styles and different environments,” Mr Scott said.

The designers travelled all across Australia including the inner suburbs of Sydney to the Gold Coast Hinterland, Alice Springs and more.

Ms Moore said this season, the stakes were higher with cost of living and market pressures.

“Each have its own challenges, each house had incredibly different story but the overarching theme is there are a lot of people in a financial fix.”

Originally published as Selling Houses Australia hosts secret tips revealed