Getting your home ready to sell: what pays off and what you can skip

Getting your home ready to sell rarely means you have to renovate first. It means a prospective buyer walks in and finds few reasons to haggle. In Belgium that also involves paperwork, because a number of certificates have to be ready before the first viewing. Below you will read what really pays off, what you can safely leave alone and in which order to start.

Start with the paperwork, not the paint roller

Documents take time, and that time is gone once a buyer wants to sign. The energy performance certificate has to exist before your home goes online, because the label belongs in the advertisement. In Flanders you also apply for a soil certificate from OVAM and, for homes built before 2001, an asbestos certificate. The electrical installation has to be inspected before the sale. At the municipality you request the town planning information, and if work has been carried out since May 2001, a post-intervention file goes with it.

Count on a few weeks before that package is complete. An asbestos expert or inspector needs an appointment and the municipality works to its own deadlines. Someone who can already put the file on the table during the first viewing sends a different signal than someone who still has to arrange it. Buyers read that as a sale that adds up, and that counts in the negotiation. A good agency keeps an eye on that list with you: compare estate agents from your municipality before you sign anything.

Small jobs weigh more heavily than big ones

The biggest effect comes from work that costs little. Clear out until every room has a clear function. A bedroom that doubles as an office, a junk corner and a guest room reads as a small room to a buyer. Take away family photos, collections and surplus furniture, so the space itself stands out and not your interior. Painting in a neutral colour does more than a new floor: it costs less and the buyer immediately sees a blank base.

Then repair the small things that stand out during a viewing: a sticking door, a dripping tap, discoloured grout, broken lamps, a loose socket plate. Every detail that does not work suggests that more does not work. Make sure all the lights come on and open the curtains, even for an appointment in the late afternoon. Do not forget the outside, because the first impression starts on the pavement. A mown lawn, a clean front door and a facade without green growth do their work before anyone is inside.

When a big renovation does pay off

A completely new kitchen or bathroom is usually not something you earn back in full on a sale. You choose the taps, the colour and the layout, and the chance that the buyer would have chosen exactly the same is small. Anyone who installs expensive finishes shortly before the sale often pays part of it out of their own pocket.

There are exceptions. A leaking roof, damp in the cellar, an outdated electrical installation or a broken boiler are not matters of taste but risk items. Buyers charge for those more heavily than the repair would cost you. Solve them, or take them into account in the asking price and communicate openly about it. If you are unsure whether a job pays for itself, have the value determined first. With a free valuation of your home you know where you start, and only then do you decide whether an investment really moves that figure.

Energy helps determine your asking price

For many buyers the EPC label has become the first filter. In Flanders, residential buildings bought since 2023 with label E or F carry a renovation obligation: the new owner has to reach at least label D within five years. Buyers know that, factor in that cost and bid accordingly. A weak label does not make your home unsellable, but it shifts the discussion to the price.

If you still want to do something about it, look at the jobs with the best ratio: roof insulation, replacing single glazing and insulating pipes. Those are limited works with a noticeable effect on the label. Have a new certificate drawn up after the work, otherwise your advertisement stays online with the old figure. Starting a full energy renovation shortly before the sale is rarely a good plan, because the work overruns and you are not selling in the meantime. The rules are adjusted regularly, so ask what applies at the time of your sale.

Timing and the choice of your agency

After the summer holidays, autumn is one of the busier selling moments in Belgium. Families who want to move before the next school year start looking as soon as September approaches. Anyone who wants to be online in that period is best off taking the photos now, with the light and the greenery of late August. Wait until November and you photograph a bare garden.

The final step is choosing the agency that presents your home. That choice determines the photography, the floor plan, the text of the advertisement and the way bids are followed up. The differences between agencies in the same municipality are bigger than most sellers expect, both in commission and in approach. So ask several agencies for a proposal and lay them side by side. Through ImmoMakelaarVergelijker.be you compare up to three estate agents from your region, free and without obligation, so that you choose on what they actually propose.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get a home ready to sell?

Count on two to six weeks. The certificates set the pace: an asbestos certificate and an electrical inspection require an appointment, and the municipality needs time for the town planning information. You declutter, paint and do small repairs in the meantime.

Do I have to paint before I sell my home?

Only if the colours are very personal or the walls are damaged. A neutral shade in the most used rooms is one of the cheapest jobs with a visible effect. Repainting the whole house is usually unnecessary.

Which certificates do I need when selling my home in Flanders?

As a rule an EPC, a soil certificate from OVAM, an asbestos certificate for homes built before 2001, an inspection report for the electrical installation, the town planning information from the municipality and, for work since May 2001, a post-intervention file. Your agent or notary will go through which documents apply to your property.

Do I earn back a new kitchen on the sale?

Usually not in full. Buyers have their own taste and rarely count a recent kitchen at its full cost price. Invest instead in repairs that remove a risk, such as a leaking roof or an outdated electrical installation.

How to start this week

Fix the order: apply for the certificates first, then clear out, repair the small defects and paint at the end. Decide on major work after you know what your home is worth today, not before. Then ask several agencies for a proposal, compare commission and approach, and have the photos taken as soon as the house looks its best. Ready to sell is not a renovation. It is a file that adds up and a home a buyer has little to criticise.