I mentioned in this post that Neil & I have sold are flat in Hove now and I wanted to share some key learnings during the selling process.

The first and most important lesson learned was - don't believe your property (however nice it is) is easy to sell.

It's been an emotional whirlwind of hard work to achieve the price we wanted for our flat. Right through from preparing it ready to go on the market, taking our own photos, choosing the right agent, deciding a marketing strategy for our property, cleaning for every viewing and that's all before negotiating prices. It's far from easy.

I'll share many more posts around these topics but I want to start with how we prepared our flat for sale about 1 month before it went on the market.

We tackled one of the most neglected parts of our home first, our patio.

Knowing that garden space is an absolute premium in Brighton, we knew we needed to clean up the grime in our patio and get it looking presentable with as little money as possible in order to achieve a premium price.

Take a look at the mess it was before.

The walls were green, the stairs were thick with moss and crumbling. We had a bare fuschia plant in the middle of the patio growing weeds, it was a slug fest. The back door lacked soul and had a very old broken up cat flap making it an eye sore.

Our plan of action

Neil & I love strategy and planning, and take on home decoration projects in the same way we plan things like holidays. We knew we didn't want to spend a lot of money making the place presentable as every penny spent takes away from the money we make in the sale.

With no vision in mind, a short space of time to make changes and a very small patio to work with, we went to where our best ideas are born, the pub, to discuss our approach over a pint:

1. First things first we thought about a realistic budget.

We scribbled down on the back of a beer mat what costs would be to give the patio a bit of a facelift fast. We budgeted,

£500 for garden furniture we loved and would take with us to the place we buy when we move out
£25 on some exterior white paint to freshen the walls and steps
£50 on sprucing up the stable door to bring out it's character
£30 on plants

2. Then I drew a basic layout plan

People forget that refreshing a garden is every bit the same as redecorating a room. You need a planned layout with measurements in mind before you start shopping. With this, I drew a rough outline of where furniture could fit based on where the best light fell in the evenings.

When we had the flat valued (before we did the garden refresh) every agent said it was highly important to make the garden look as if you use it regularly. Potential buyers need to be able to visualise themselves living in a place and it's easier for them to imagine when there's furniture around so getting furniture layout right was my priority.

3. Weeding, sanding and power washing the walls and floors... in the right order!

Get this order right and you'll save yourself time. We knew we needed to paint the walls so sanded them and patched up the steps well before we power washed the patio (and walls). It meant we only had to do this once as opposed to power washing before sanding the walls and having to do it all over again. Planning actions like this can save time in the long run.

4. Finally, we set to work

Once we had a much cleaner basic garden to work from we painted and shopped around for cheap and effective updates for a "lived in" look.

Plants

On a tight budget I initially planned to use some plastic plant pots on every step, with flowers inside to add some colour. I found these plant pots online which are a steal, but I ordered sizes that were way too big for the steps and decided against the idea. I love the moss green colours though and plan to use some in our next property as they're really budget friendly (and look as if they're porcelain). I noticed The Plastic Box Shop sold plastic drain covers for less than £2! So I nabbed one of those to cover up our unsightly drains.

We ripped up the fuschia plant in the centre of the patio and planted a neat, tranquil green tree from our local garden centre in its place. The compost around the plant just wasn't doing it for me, so I used White Spar Gravel from good ol' trusty Wickes to neaten up the look. I had lots of gravel left over which I plan to use again for separating sections in a bigger garden. Gravel is a fantastic way to divide your patio/garden into zones cost effectively.

The shrub £16.99
Drain cover £1.49
Gravel from Wickes £8.99

Total: £27.47

Revamping the old stable door

I picked a beautiful Bay Tree Satin exterior wood paint from Sandtex for the stable door, which I think has given it even more charm. The oil based paint was a dream to work with providing a waterproof topcoat for rainy weather. And didn't take too long to dry either (in comparison with other oil paints I've used in the past). Neil fitted a new cat flap too. Note that if you're selling your home with a very old cat flap like our previous one, it actually gets mentioned on a home buyers report as it can be considered a security risk/nuisance to fix. I'd highly recommend just replacing an old one with a brand new version to avoid any unnecessary mentions of it in future surveys. It gives the door a better finish too.

Sandtex, Bay Tree 10 Year Satin £17.99 for 750ml
Cat flap bought on Amazon £9.99

Total: £27.98

The Garden Furniture

This was really fun to buy for as I knew anything we ordered we'd bring with us to our next house, so I could choose something quality over quick-fix like the rest of the patio refresh.

Given it's a 1 bed flat we live in, and therefore marketed at couples, we opted for a high quality aluminium (super light weight but no wobbling involved whatsoever) 2 person table and chair patio set from Hayes Garden World. Small but perfectly formed.

I love the olive seat pads that came with the set. The greens tie in with the tranquil vibe I was trying to create, and it's remarkable how much more comfortable table sets are with detachable, shower-proof cushions to accompany them. Having a lightweight aluminium set was important to us as we knew we'd be moving, so it wouldn't be difficult to drag through into a removals van, and it's also rust free. You'd be surprised how sturdy it is on that un-level brick patio too.

Ever since I was a little girl, I'd always wanted a garden bench to sit in the sun, legs up, cup of tea and a period homes magazine in hand.

That was my vision when we opted for this 120cm Teak Garden Bench from Bridgman who do a beautiful range of wooden furniture sets that I'll be revisiting when I'm in need of more table/chair space for guests. The bench arrived flat packed and was super simple to put together (meaning it'll be simple for us to move, too). Again, it's lightweight but quality. My aim is to buy one of their coloured accompanying cushions for the bench once I figure out a colour scheme for the garden in our next property.

Harman Beaumont Bistro table set, £279.99
120cm Teak Club Bench, £329

Total: £608.99

I hope this post has been useful for you, whether you're on a budget looking for simple fixes to cheer up a dull patio, or you're almost on the market and want to achieve the best price for your property.

Stockists to check out for garden revamps:

Bridgman for benches, wooden table sets and modular garden sofa sets
Hayes Garden World for metal bistro sets, fencing, and patio heaters
Wickes for lawns, decking, borders and gravel
Sandtex for exterior paints (available at B&Q)
The Plastic Box Shop for cheap and friendly plant pots and drain covers