A couple of things I’d like to make clear. You need to walk around your house with fresh eyes. In fact, that’s something I think you should do each year. Walk around your house as though you’ve just bought it. What would you do? What are the things you’ve always wanted to do?

I suggest, you make a list. Now this doesn’t mean we’re going to do them all. I see TV programmes where the answer to getting homes sold is to repaint the bedroom some special shade of yellow. This is rubbish. The first thing to look for is things that buyers will ‘HORRIBILISE’ – the little things that they make a huge issue out of. The doors need painting? Five thousand off the market! The back yard is a mess? Lower the offer! These are the things we need to fix first.

Finish the unfinished things – rooms that still need a wall, the room you stripped off but didn’t get around to painting. Do those things straight away or the buyers will ‘horribilise’ them. You started putting in a bathroom but haven’t put the fixtures in yet? Yes, it will be at a cost, but otherwise the buyers will cost it in, and more, to finish it.

Tidiness is a real key – the first-impression stuff. So tidy up and finish what needs finishing first. Let’s do another coat of paint? Nah, don’t do that. A new kitchen? Hmmm… be careful here. Get the agent up sooner in all these cases and ask them what you should be doing. New kitchens, build a garage; dodgy stuff in terms of getting your money back.

Another reason for saying this is I don’t want you to put yourself under stress here. Enough of that comes with a normal shift. We don’t want deadlines to work to that just are a hassle. That’s another reason to get an agent up sooner, so you have the time to do this sort of thing, if required.