Preparing Property for Sale

Property Cleaning

To successfully sell any property, it needs to be made as attractive as possible – just like in car dealerships where all cars are polished, clean, and beautiful, and in stores where all products are arranged in the right places. Real estate, although sold secondhand, is perceived by people as a permanent and long-term investment, not like a car that few buy for 20 years or a lifetime. At this stage of sales, the main thing is to put as little as possible into the property to get more when selling it. Getting more doesn't always mean money, but an even more valuable resource – time.

The main and first way to improve property, regardless of its condition – whether it's freshly renovated or abandoned and uninhabited for 30 years – is cleaning it. The property you're selling should be cleaner than it ever was in your use. This investment isn't expensive: spending a day of your time or paying a cleaner, the property value can "grow" up to 30%. This, of course, cannot be proven, but selling countless dirty, unkempt apartments that get stuck on the market for months or even years, I can say – the ROI from cleaning your apartment, house, or tidying up the land plot you want to sell is the biggest on this list.

Property Renovation

One of the most frequently asked questions when selling your apartment or house is – should I renovate this apartment/house, because then I can get more for it? The answer – of course, you'll get more for an apartment that's renovated, and it can also be sold even faster than an unrenovated one, as potential buyers more often look at properties with ready renovations. But if you're not a renovator yourself and you don't have "arranged" cheap building materials somewhere, then in today's market, most likely, in the end result you'll receive less than if you simply sold without renovation – even if you don't count your time as expenses, considering material prices, it's difficult to do.

Another matter – if major renovation was done 5 years ago, the property's condition is preserved, but a tile fell in the bathroom, the child drew on the wall in the living room, and the dog chewed the door handle. In this case, if you determine that by repainting the walls in the living room, replacing all door handles, adding tiles, and cleaning up the property, you can make it almost close to what it was 5 years ago, investing less than a thousand euros – I'd 100% recommend doing it. Potential buyers, viewing your property, will feel like shopping for a new product in a store, they'll have fewer reasons to haggle, and the impression will be much better.

Sometimes more expensive renovations are also acceptable, for example, if the apartment is beautifully renovated some time ago, but poor quality laminate is laid, then you can consider replacing the laminate. Here it should be evaluated – a good real estate sales agent will be able to accurately determine how much it's worth investing in the property.

"First impression is like a book cover – it doesn't determine everything, but often decides whether it will be opened."

I know that the first impression of property is crucial. People mostly make emotion-based purchases – if the property seems suitable enough to the potential buyer, then other details no longer matter.

Many buyers, when purchasing property where the seller takes furniture along (which is agreed upon between them), feel cheated and confused, because sometimes furniture fits so well into the property and is part of it that when removing it and when it also appears what happens behind that wardrobe or what floor is under the sofa, scratches and other signs of use become visible. Therefore, it's better to always precisely agree on what stays in the property and try to suppress emotions when first viewing the property.

Legal Status

The most common problem is unapproved reconstructions. It's important that they be approved by the building authority. Why is this important? Because for buyers who finance with bank credit, banks will finance only when insuring the property. If the property isn't approved by the building authority, then the insurer may refuse to pay compensation in case of an accident if everything isn't as in the inventory file.

Credit buyers are the best buyers – if the property is "clean" in the land register and has no encumbrances. When buying property, they'll pay money to the bank for an average of 15-20 years – for them haggling a thousand isn't as significant and noticeable as for buyers with their own money. For credit buyers, the main thing is that the valuation matches the purchase price and to move in faster, not paying rent but already a mortgage.

Mortgages and notes in the land register – the more there are, the greater the chance that the potential buyer will be scared to buy the property. A Latvian resident according to statistics buys property once in their life, so you need to be careful talking about any notes or mortgages. If possible, they're best settled before starting the sale. If there's a mortgage from a recognized bank on the property, then, correctly explaining how the transaction will happen, the buyer shouldn't have doubts about the property's legal status. More about legal issues – read here!

Bills

A very relevant topic is bills. When selling property, it's desirable to have both winter and summer bills, even better – all of them. Many property managers offer to get them online, which are also desirable to print out and give to the potential buyer to view. Now it will also be desirable to ask the property manager for a certificate about payment of all bills, because from January 1, 2026, the debt won't follow anyone but will stay to "live" with the new owner. More about this – here!