Painting your house before selling: this pays off most

Begin with what a buyer sees in the first minute. That is the front door, the frames on the street side, the fascia boards and the entrance. Indoors, the living room, the hall and any walls with a bold colour come on top. A peeling front door raises the question of what else has been left.

So you do not necessarily have to do the whole house. Often a painted front door with the front facade frames is enough to change the photos and the first impression. The back and the attic can wait if they are in reasonable condition. We check that together with you.

The planning starts with the date on which your estate agent's photographer comes. The scaffolding must be gone by then and the lacquer dry. Exterior painting depends on the weather, and in the winter months there are fewer days suitable for it. On painting weather in Friesland you can see how that works out per month.

If your house goes on the market in winter, you can carry on indoors and limit the outside to what is really necessary. If a lot still has to be done, consider postponing the photos a little. Always keep a generous margin anyway, because one rainy week pushes everything back.

A coat of paint over soft wood looks good for a few months, but the rot carries on underneath. In a sale that is extra risky. A seller has a duty to disclose: what you know about defects you must tell the buyer. A structural survey can also bring it to the table anyway, and then the conversation suddenly becomes about the price.

So have wood rot repaired back to sound wood, or disclose it. At the site visit we probe the known spots, such as sills and the bottom of stiles. On spotting wood rot you can already see a lot yourself. If you doubt what you have to disclose, ask your estate agent.

For a sale you do not choose a colour for yourself, but for someone you do not know yet. Light, calm walls make a room look bigger and photos come out better. A deep green or brown wall can be beautiful, but a buyer sees work in it straight away.

Outside, classic white with perhaps a dark accent colour stays safe, as in the combination of RAL 7016 and RAL 9010 in Sneek. If the colour suits the neighbourhood and the year of construction, the house stands out in the right way. In doubt, hold two options against the facade during the site visit. Then you see it straight away.

That order differs per house. Your estate agent knows what buyers in your area expect, so feel free to ask them too.

• The planned date of the photos and the viewings
• Photos of the facades, the front door and the walls you want done
• The year of construction and the last paint job
• Any comments from your estate agent or a structural report
• Whether the home is empty or lived in during the work

Measurements do not need to be exact, we measure at the site visit. During that visit we also discuss what you are best leaving alone. You then get a fixed quote, which is handy too if you have to discuss it with a co-owner.

Nationally, an exterior window frame starts from €50 each, walls from €15 per m2 and exterior painting from €35 per m2. That is a market guide, not a price from us: at MJA you get a fixed price after the site visit. On what a painter costs you will find more to compare with.

The size of the amount depends mainly on the preparation: good wood you paint quickly, wood rot and thick old paintwork take time. On a home that is two years old or more you pay 9 percent Dutch VAT on the painting. With us you do not have to hire scaffolding by the day, it is in the quote for a fixed price.

In a sale you do not want fuss with an unclear plan. That is why with us you get the agreed work on paper, and you can put the quote and invoice in your sales file. If a buyer asks what has been done recently, you can simply answer.

Mohamed is the point of contact and we are rated 4.8 on Google from 25 reviews. Customers mention the neat masking and the quick responses, and that counts when there are viewings during the work. You do not deal with changing faces on the phone.

Is your sale not yet definite, or does the date still have to come? Then you can go through it with us beforehand. A good site visit also gives you an honest picture of what your house needs, before the estate agent's photographer comes.

Request a fixed quote or call 06 3006 0558. Tell us your desired end date, and we will see whether it is feasible. If it is not, we say so honestly and look at what is possible.