You own a three-bedroom house in England, you want it on the market by spring, and you’ve been told to “declutter and paint”. To prepare your home for sale properly, you need to order an energy certificate before you advertise, a clean and neutral home for photos and viewings, and a paperwork folder ready for your solicitor. This guide sets those out in a timeline you can follow.
This is general information about property and money, not personal advice. The legal steps below cover England and Wales; Scotland, Northern Ireland and other countries have different rules, so check local guidance and take advice from a solicitor or conveyancer.
Know the timeline before you start
GOV.UK’s guide to selling a home says selling “takes about 5 months on average”, and longer if you’re in a chain of buyers and sellers. The main steps it lists run from checking your mortgage balance and estimating your home’s value, through choosing an estate agent and a solicitor or conveyancer and preparing paperwork, to setting a price, handling offers, exchanging contracts and completing the transfer.
Preparation sits at the start of that process, and what you do in the first few weeks affects how smoothly the rest goes.
Get the energy certificate first
GOV.UK’s page on Energy Performance Certificates says you “must order an EPC for potential buyers and tenants before you market your property to sell or rent”. An EPC rates energy efficiency from A (best) to G (worst) and is valid for 10 years. You pay an accredited assessor, and the page says you can be fined if you don’t get one when you need one. You can check whether your home already has a valid certificate with the find an energy certificate service.
Order it before the photographer arrives, because you have to have it ordered before you market the property.
Your pre-listing timeline
| When | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 8 to 10 weeks before | Check your mortgage balance, get two or three valuations, order the EPC, start decluttering | Price and paperwork depend on them |
| 6 to 8 weeks before | List small repairs, book tradespeople, choose a solicitor or conveyancer | Trades can be booked up |
| 4 to 6 weeks before | Repairs and painting, deep clean, garden tidy | Done before photos |
| 2 weeks before | Gather documents, stage rooms, book photographer | Photos are the first viewing |
| Listing week | Photos, floor plan, viewing schedule | First impressions decide who books a viewing |
The timing is a template, so shorten it if your home needs little work. The sequence matters more than the numbers: certificate and repairs first, photographs last.
Buyers decide in the photographs before they decide on the viewing, so the work that shows up in pictures comes first.
How to prepare your home for sale: declutter, then clean
Buyers need to picture their own things in your rooms. Clear worktops, empty half of each cupboard, and put away personal photographs and anything with strong personality. Put the extra items in a storage unit or a friend’s house, or box them neatly in the loft or garage if you can keep those tidy, and don’t just shove them into a wardrobe, because buyers open wardrobes.
Example: if a kitchen has 30 items on its worktops, aim for five: perhaps a kettle, a bread bin, a plant, a chopping board and one nice jug. The number is an illustration of how much to remove.
Clean everything once, properly
A deep clean is worth more than a coat of paint on a dirty skirting board. Windows inside and out, oven, grout, extractor fan, switches and door handles are the places people look at. Remove smells at the source: wash bins, empty the fridge, air rooms, and avoid heavy air fresheners that suggest something is being masked.
Fix small things before a buyer’s surveyor finds them
Buyers notice little faults and wonder what else is wrong. Fix dripping taps, loose handles, cracked tiles, sticking doors, blown bulbs and chipped paint. Keep a list and tick off each repair. If you’ve done larger work, such as a boiler replacement or an extension, find the receipts and certificates now.
Paint where it helps
A fresh coat in a light, neutral colour makes rooms look brighter and gives buyers a blank canvas. Prioritise the hallway, the living room and any room with marks or strong colours. Test the colour on the wall and look at it in the morning and evening light before you buy ten litres.
Make the outside count
Buyers see the outside before they see the inside. Tidy the front garden, trim hedges, sweep the path, clean the front door, and make sure the number and the bell are clear and working. Remove bins from view. If you have a drive, clear it so viewers can park.
Gather your paperwork
You’ll be asked for documents early. GOV.UK says to give buyers “the right paperwork, including an Energy Performance Certificate”, and your solicitor or conveyancer will tell you what else is needed. Start a folder with:
- The EPC
- Proof of identity and address for your agent and solicitor
- Planning permission and building regulations certificates for any work done
- Guarantees and warranties for the boiler, windows, roof or damp-proofing
- Recent gas safety and electrical certificates, if you have them
- Service charge and ground rent details, if it’s a leasehold property
The GOV.UK guide also warns about fraud: check who you’re communicating with, confirm bank account details before sending money, and limit what you share on social media. Don’t post your sale plans with photos of your home’s layout.
Prepare for photos and viewings
Photos
Photos are the first viewing. Open the curtains, turn on the lights, put the toilet seat down, tidy the beds, and take the cars off the drive. Choose a bright day if you can, and have the photographer shoot the best room first.
Viewings
- Tidy the house in the hour before each viewing.
- Open windows briefly for fresh air, then close them.
- Turn on lamps and the heating if it’s cold.
- Leave the house, and let viewers look in peace.
- Have your notes ready: what you’ve done to the house, what’s included, and what you’ll miss about the area.
Common mistakes
The first is pricing by hope. Get more than one valuation, ask each agent for similar recent sales, and be wary of the highest figure if it’s far above the rest.
The second is over-spending on improvements. A fresh coat of paint, a tidy garden and fixed minor faults cost little, but a new kitchen may not return what it costs, so ask your agent which jobs buyers in your area care about.
The third is delaying paperwork. A missing certificate found at the offer stage slows everything and can put buyers off.
The fourth is taking low offers personally. Treat each offer as information, and ask your agent what the buyer’s position is.
Your checklist
- EPC ordered or confirmed valid before marketing
- Two or three valuations compared
- Solicitor or conveyancer chosen
- Declutter finished, with items stored off-site
- Deep clean done, windows included
- Small repairs completed and receipts kept
- Paperwork folder complete
- Front garden and entrance tidied
- Photographer booked for a bright day
Room by room
Hallway and entrance
It sets the tone. Clear coats and shoes to a minimum, make sure the light works, and leave a clean doormat and a tidy shelf.
Living room
Remove surplus furniture so the room feels larger, arrange seating around one focal point, and keep cushions and throws to a few that match.
Kitchen
Clear the worktops, clean the oven, hob and extractor, and fix loose cupboard doors. Empty the bins before photographs and viewings.
Bathrooms
Re-grout or re-seal where it’s black or peeling, replace tired shower curtains, put out matching white towels, and hide toiletries.
Bedrooms
Make the beds, empty the tops of wardrobes and drawers, and clear the floor. Buyers check storage, so leave cupboards half empty.
Loft, garage and outbuildings
Buyers look in them too. A tidy, clear space shows that the property has room to spare, and you’ll have less to pack later.
The takeaway
Order the energy certificate first, spend your effort on cleaning, decluttering and small repairs, and have your paperwork ready before the first offer. On average the sale takes about five months, so a calm start saves weeks later.
