The phrase “you get out what you put in” rings true for a lot of things, and it certainly applies to real estate too. Your level of commitment - whether it be financial or just time, can influence the amount of interest in your property and ultimately the speed at which you secure a sale.

But individual circumstances play into the process too. The speed at which you need to sell, and your budget for the campaign are all factors that need to be considered. So, what are the differing levels of commitment, and what does the sales timeline and process look like for each of them?

A LITTLE IN

This situation applies to vendors who choose to remain in the house during the campaign, and don't spend money on extras like staging or extensive renovations.

Bayleys Takapuna Branch Manager Kathryn Robertson says this is a commitment to sell and a commitment to present your house as best you can for as little cost as possible.

It also includes small fixes to show off the best parts of the home. Robertson says that means a big cull and declutter which is one of the cheapest ways to elevate your property.

“You need to remove the majority of your personal items, like an abundance of family photos, but it’s important not to remove all of them as it needs to still look homely and relatable.”

“In the decluttering phase, it’s a good policy to remove about 80% of your personal items to create a blank canvas and space for buyers to visualise living there themselves. You can hire a storage unit to manage the overflow, or I’ve even had vendors who would take the worst clutter, put it in their car and drive it around during open homes.”

The garden is also another area that can be improved for next to nothing.

“If you leave that undone then there's no first impression, or the first impression is negative. Just having the front entrance way looking as nice as possible makes a huge difference even if the exterior of the house still needs a fresh coat of paint.”

While it is an economical way to sell your property, depending on market factors, it can make the sales process a lot longer.

“In the hard market that we’ve seen over the last few years it could absolutely slow down a sale because if you haven't done as much as you could do, and you don't get the buy-in you want you’re likely to ask yourself the questions - could I have done more and could it have sold for more?”

“If you haven't presented as best you can for potential buyers in a hard market, buyers will just move onto the next property and won’t give your home a second thought.”

But in a fast market, you could potentially get away with doing less and still have the demand for the home, which is why Robertson says it’s important to seek advice on the best approach from your agent.

“Deciding on what direction to take is always something people should nail right at the start because if you wait till part-way through a campaign to make improvements you might miss the chance to capture a buyer’s attention.”

But if it doesn’t sell, the time in between campaigns is a great opportunity to take feedback on board and make any changes.

Robertson says being ‘a little in’ is better suited to those without a pressing need or motivation to sell immediately.

“They might think that they’ll list and if they get the right price, then they will sell.”

“But that can be a tricky void to fill in a tougher market as sellers who are unwilling to budge on price will likely lose their buyers to competing homes that have vendors who are more aware of current values and are more motivated to sell.”

HALFWAY IN

This scenario applies to a vendor who still lives at the property but decides to stage the home.

“In this half situation they would be more likely to do a partial stage of the home rather than a full stage. The main reason for that is the inconvenience of living with someone else’s furniture and storing your own, also because a lot of staging companies won't allow owners to live in a house with all their furniture, especially if they have children or pets.”

“More often than not, a stager will come in and add things like fresh plants, a new rug, bed linen, cushions, fresh towels, throws, or an occasional chair to really make it pop. Or they’ll just reconfigure things from a style point of view to breathe new life into a space.”

Robertson says adding items like that can add in the wow factor to a home.

“It means it still has that personal, homely feeling without being overbearing.”

This scenario also includes more cosmetic renovations like paint jobs which can make a huge difference to a home’s aesthetic.

“A lot of vendors will do that, because they want top dollar and don't want to go through the process and not achieve the best possible price they could.”

Robertson says this sales scenario will often give you the best return on your investment.

“The difference it could make to your sales price is huge because if you get more than one person engaged because of how the home looks then the question is how much extra will they pay to secure it?”

In her experience, Robertson has seen homes fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars more.

“It sounds crazy but even adding in a single piece of furniture can be a game changer for your sale. I’ve seen that happen.”

Robertson says a ‘halfway in’ approach is one of the most common scenarios, with the vendor profile being someone who has either bought another home that’s conditional on selling theirs, or someone who has decided they are definitely keen to sell and move on immediately.

“They are committed to selling, committed to the campaign and they are going as hard as they can with the budget, they have to get the best result they can.”

“The ideal scenario here would be a campaign of, ideally, three to four weeks.”

ALL IN

Roberston says the last scenario isn’t as common and mostly applies to high-end property or someone with a larger budget to work with.

It involves a vendor moving out completely during the campaign and fully staging the house.

“It’s also a common scenario if you’re an investor and the tenant is gone, or if you’re an overseas vendor.”

Because the home would otherwise be empty, Robertson says staging it not only opens the space and makes rooms look larger, but it can also help to evoke emotion from any potential buyer.

“In the past when I've sold deceased estates or empty homes, full staging has been a great way to divert the eye from any imperfections but also help people to imagine themselves within the home.”

“Generally, a bare home is less likely to fill someone with the urge to spend as much money as they could have, especially if you can see there’s work to be done on it.”

Having a vacant sale property can also strengthen the likelihood of a faster settlement. It also leaves more room for an agent to work with, especially when it comes to showing people through the property.

“Marketing, selling, and showing a vacant home is much easier, especially if you're in a particularly fast market. It means that buyers who want to see it right away can, and we don’t have to work out timings with the owners.”

HOW MUCH DOES THE MARKET COME INTO IT?

If you’re deciding which direction to take, Robertson says it’s important to seek advice from an expert especially since market factors will have a huge influence.

“There are so many variables when it comes to selling a house, but the state of the market is a huge one. You could be competing in a buoyant market, or one that's saturated with stock.”

“For example, you might have ten really good buyers in a suburb but if there’s 20 properties for them to choose from, how are you going to stand out?”

That means if you’re only a ‘little in’ on the sales process you may find it harder to strike a deal.

But if you’re on the other side of the coin with less stock and more buyers, it might be easy to do less to your home when going to market.

“I personally went to market unexpectedly last December, because I knew in the next year I wanted to sell my house, but I could see there was no stock in my suburb at that moment.”

Robertson capitalised on that and because of there being less competition she decided to hang onto the money she otherwise would have spent doing up her house before sale.

“Because I knew there was no one I was going to be competing with and I would actually be selling that do-up potential as part of the package, it was an easy decision.”

Ultimately, Robertson says working closely with your sales agent will make it easier to decide on your sales direction, and how to get the most bang for your buck.