Reposition. Don't Reduce.
Why are people viewing your house but not buying it?
You're getting viewings. But no offers. Something is putting buyers off. We find out what.
Your agent says reduce the price. But what if the price isn't the problem? A poor first impression, clutter, a tired room, a room that doesn't make sense, or an unfinished repair can cost relatively little to fix, but buyers imagine thousands of pounds in work and disruption.
Only£249100-Point
Home Audit
Home Audit
How MAXVALUE Works
We look. We diagnose. You reposition.
Before your estate agent convinces you to knock £10,000, £50,000 or £250,000 off your asking price.
Four simple steps to understand what is holding your house back and decide what to do next.
1
WE LOOK
We look
We assess your house from a buyer's point of view.
2
WE DIAGNOSE
We diagnose
We identify what's stopping buyers from acting.
3
WE PRIORITISE
We prioritise
We tell you what matters, what doesn't and where your money is best spent.
4
YOU REPOSITION
You reposition
We make the changes that give your house the best chance of selling.
The 100-Point Audit
MAXVALUE SEES WHAT THEY SEE.
We visit your home and conduct a comprehensive audit to uncover what could be stopping buyers from making an offer. Below is an illustrative example of the practical, room-by-room guidance you receive.
Note: All budgets and recommended works shown here are illustrative examples. After your audit, we can provide a tailored quote for our team to carry out the recommended work quickly.
Exterior & Kerb Appeal
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Buyers Notice
- • Algae on the front steps
- • Weeds along the path and exposed pebble liner
- • Excessive plant pots distracting from the house
- • Dirty windows and soffits
- • Broken downpipe, rusty gate and unfinished DIY
- • A sticking gate, loose handle or silent doorbell creating an immediate maintenance concern
- • House number or entrance lighting that is difficult to see from the road
- • A shabby front door with damaged paint, tarnished furniture, dirty glass or a sticking lock
We Recommend
- ✓ Pressure wash the approach and remove weeds
- ✓ Reset the liner and simplify the pots around the entrance
- ✓ Clean windows and soffits
- ✓ Repair the downpipe, prepare the gate and finish visible DIY
- ✓ Test the gate, front-door lock, handle, bell and outside light as a buyer would
- ✓ Make the house number clear and photographable without adding visual clutter
- ✓ Prepare and repaint the door, polish or replace tired furniture and clean all entrance glass
Illustrative Budget:£450–£900
Exterior Repair & Presentation
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Buyers Notice
- • Damaged exterior finishes drawing attention
- • Patch repairs making the frontage feel unfinished
- • Tired paintwork weakening kerb appeal
- • Cracked render, masonry or obvious exterior cracks making buyers worry about structural problems
We Recommend
- ✓ Complete the visible repairs
- ✓ Prepare and repaint the exterior consistently
- ✓ Simplify the final presentation around the entrance
- ✓ Fill and repair the cracking, then prepare and finish the affected area consistently
Illustrative Budget:£3,000
Entrance & First Impressions
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Buyers Notice
- • Chipped paint and scuffed skirting
- • Cobwebs and paint-splattered light switches
- • Hallway used for storage
- • No clear focal point on arrival
- • The front door opening onto shoes, coats or furniture and making the entrance feel narrower
- • The first view into the house ending on clutter, a bin or a closed internal door
We Recommend
- ✓ Repair and touch in damaged paintwork
- ✓ Deep clean overlooked details
- ✓ Remove stored items and open the route through the house
- ✓ Add a simple mirror or artwork focal point
- ✓ Stand outside, open the door and edit everything visible in the first five seconds
- ✓ Keep the strongest room visible from the hall and improve the sightline towards it
Illustrative Budget:£200–£450
Living & Dining Spaces
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Buyers Notice
- • Too many sofas making the room feel smaller
- • Clutter and misplaced furniture interrupting flow
- • Rooms without an obvious purpose
- • Out-of-fashion statement walls and aged wallpaper
- • Too personal artwork
- • Dark decoration, poor lighting or heavy curtains making a good room feel gloomy
- • Furniture pushed against every wall, leaving an empty centre but no usable conversation area
- • A large television, trailing cables or exercise equipment becoming the room's focal point
- • Curtains covering part of the glass even when fully open
We Recommend
- ✓ Remove excess furniture and define each room's purpose
- ✓ Declutter surfaces and improve sightlines
- ✓ Repaint or simplify dated feature finishes
- ✓ Stage with restrained furniture, lighting and artwork
- ✓ Arrange seating to demonstrate how the room is used, not simply to maximise floor space
- ✓ Hide cables, reduce the visual weight of the television and pull curtains clear of the windows
- ✓ Light dark corners and simplify highly personal décor so buyers can focus on the room itself
Illustrative Budget:£500
Kitchen
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Buyers Notice
- • Cluttered worktops and too many appliances on display
- • Marble chip and exposed pipes
- • Scuffed skirting and tired paint
- • Dirty extraction filter
- • Limescale visible inside the kettle
- • Overfilled glass-fronted units and open shelves making storage look insufficient
- • Bins, pet bowls, tea towels and cleaning products visible in listing photographs
- • Mixed bulb colours making cabinets and paint finishes look inconsistent
- • Greasy cupboard fronts, missing handles, damaged worktops and dated finishes suggesting a full replacement
We Recommend
- ✓ Clear and lightly stage the counters
- ✓ Repair the chip and box in or finish exposed pipework
- ✓ Touch in paintwork and skirting
- ✓ Degrease the extractor and descale visible appliances
- ✓ Edit visible shelves and leave some empty space to suggest adequate storage
- ✓ Remove practical daily-use items before photographs and viewings
- ✓ Use one consistent warm-neutral light temperature throughout the room
- ✓ Repair visible damage, replace missing handles and deep-clean cupboards before considering wholesale replacement
Illustrative Budget:£250–£700
Bedrooms
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Buyers Notice
- • Bed positioned against the natural flow of the room
- • Tired bedding rather than fresh white linen
- • Child's room styled too specifically for the likely buyer
- • Stained carpet and cluttered storage
- • A bed that is too small making a double bedroom look narrower than it is
- • Wardrobe doors blocked by furniture or unable to open fully
- • Bedsides without lamps making the room feel temporary rather than settled
- • Highly personal colours, murals or collections making the room harder for buyers to reimagine
We Recommend
- ✓ Reposition the bed to show scale and circulation
- ✓ Use fresh white linen and simple layered textiles
- ✓ Edit highly personal decor and clarify the room's potential
- ✓ Professionally clean the carpet and remove surplus storage
- ✓ Use the correct bed scale where possible so buyers can judge the room accurately
- ✓ Check that every door and drawer opens and add balanced bedside lighting
- ✓ Simplify personal decoration where it overwhelms the room's size, light or likely purpose
Illustrative Budget:£250–£650
Bathrooms
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Buyers Notice
- • Soap scum and biofilm around taps
- • Limescale on fittings and screens
- • Tired sealant and unfinished paintwork
- • Toiletries and cleaning products left on display
- • A slow drain, dripping tap or noisy extractor suggesting neglected maintenance
- • Bath mats, toilet-brush holders and bins dominating a small floor area
- • Stained grout, damaged bath panels and poor or mismatched fittings making the room feel ready for refurbishment
We Recommend
- ✓ Deep clean taps, screens, grout and sanitaryware
- ✓ Replace failed sealant and finish paint repairs
- ✓ Remove everyday products and stage with fresh towels
- ✓ Check ventilation, drainage and minor leaks
- ✓ Run every tap, shower, flush and extractor before viewings and resolve small faults
- ✓ Clear the floor wherever possible so the room reads at its full size
- ✓ Repair bath panels, refresh grout where cleaning is not enough and replace conspicuously damaged fittings
Illustrative Budget:£150–£450
Walls, Floors & Maintenance
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Buyers Notice
- • Damp marks or historic water staining
- • Water stain on a wooden floor
- • Broken cornice and unfinished repairs
- • Flaking window paint and visible maintenance gaps
- • Loose handles, squeaking doors and cracked socket plates implying wider neglect
- • Different white paint shades revealing partial repairs in daylight
- • Scuffed walls, holes, peeling wallpaper and chipped skirting creating an overall impression of neglect
- • Old or grubby carpets with visible wear, stains or retained smells dating the whole property
- • Dripping taps, broken switches, missing trim and sticking doors accumulating into a larger maintenance concern
We Recommend
- ✓ Confirm the source of moisture before decorating
- ✓ Repair and refinish the affected flooring
- ✓ Make good cornice, trim and incomplete DIY
- ✓ Refurbish windows and complete paintwork consistently
- ✓ Walk the house slowly and test every handle, hinge, latch, blind and curtain
- ✓ View repaired walls in natural and artificial light before calling the finish complete
- ✓ Fill holes, secure loose wallpaper and finish damaged walls and woodwork consistently
- ✓ Professionally clean salvageable carpets and replace only where wear, staining or smell remains obvious
- ✓ Complete the small unfinished jobs buyers will otherwise count as evidence of wider neglect
Illustrative Budget:£500–£1,600
Window Refurbishment & Painting
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Buyers Notice
- • Flaking window paint
- • Dark or weathered finishes distracting from the view
- • Visible maintenance making buyers anticipate larger repairs
- • Dirty or misted glazing, failed double-glazed units, rotten frames or cracked putty
We Recommend
- ✓ Prepare and repair the affected surfaces
- ✓ Repaint the window consistently
- ✓ Clean the glass, frame and surrounding trim
- ✓ Identify failed units and decayed timber early, then repair or obtain suitable specialist advice
Illustrative Budget:£375
Stairs, Landings & Internal Routes
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Buyers Notice
- • Laundry baskets, vacuum cleaners or furniture narrowing the route between rooms
- • A loose runner, lifting carpet edge or noisy stair tread interrupting the viewing
- • A dark landing making the upper floor feel enclosed
- • Family-photo galleries drawing attention away from the architecture and onward view
We Recommend
- ✓ Clear the complete walking route a buyer will take through every floor
- ✓ Secure floor coverings and address conspicuous squeaks before viewings
- ✓ Use consistent bulbs and keep doors to the strongest rooms open
- ✓ Edit wall displays so stairs and landings feel calm, bright and connected
Illustrative Budget:£100–£400
Storage, Utility & Cupboards
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Buyers Notice
- • Overfilled cupboards suggesting the property lacks storage
- • Coats, cleaning products and bulk purchases falling forward when a door opens
- • A boiler or consumer-unit area hidden behind unrelated clutter
- • Utility spaces presented as overflow storage rather than useful working rooms
We Recommend
- ✓ Expect buyers to open fitted cupboards and reduce contents by roughly a third
- ✓ Group retained items neatly and leave shelves and hanging rails partly visible
- ✓ Keep boiler, meters and consumer-unit access clear without attempting cosmetic concealment
- ✓ Show the utility's function with clear surfaces, hidden laundry and unobstructed appliances
Illustrative Budget:Owner action
Flexible Rooms & Home Working
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Buyers Notice
- • A spare room combining office, laundry, gym and storage with no clear purpose
- • An oversized desk making a potential bedroom appear too small
- • Multiple monitors, extension leads and visible cables dominating the room
- • A room counted as a bedroom but not presented with a believable sleeping layout
We Recommend
- ✓ Choose the use most valuable to the likely buyer and stage only for that purpose
- ✓ Use correctly scaled furniture to prove circulation and usable wall space
- ✓ Reduce equipment to essentials and conceal cables and paperwork
- ✓ If marketed as a bedroom, show how a suitable bed and storage can fit comfortably
Illustrative Budget:£100–£500
Lighting, Smell & Viewing Conditions
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Buyers Notice
- • Cool-white and warm-white bulbs mixed within the same sightline
- • Dark corners making rooms feel smaller even during daytime viewings
- • Strong plug-in fragrances causing buyers to wonder what is being covered
- • Pet, cooking, laundry or damp smells that occupants may no longer notice
- • Cigarette, drain, mould or musty smells making buyers nervous about the property's condition
- • A house that feels noticeably cold, overheated or stuffy on arrival
We Recommend
- ✓ Standardise bulb colour and replace failed bulbs before photography
- ✓ Light lamps in darker zones rather than relying only on ceiling lights
- ✓ Remove artificial fragrance, ventilate properly and deal with the source of odours
- ✓ Ask someone who does not live in the property to give an honest smell check
- ✓ Investigate persistent damp, mould, drain or musty smells rather than attempting to mask them
- ✓ Set a comfortable temperature and air the house before each viewing
Illustrative Budget:£50–£200
Garden & Outdoor Space
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Buyers Notice
- • Garden bins visible from key rooms or the approach
- • Leaf build-up and overgrown bushes
- • Scattered mulch and untidy bed edges
- • Seating areas that do not feel ready to use
- • The view from inside landing on bins, hoses, broken pots or the back of furniture
- • Boundary gates, shed doors or outside taps that do not operate cleanly
- • Dead plants, broken fencing and dirty patios making the garden look like work rather than an asset
We Recommend
- ✓ Screen or reposition bins
- ✓ Clear leaves and cut back planting
- ✓ Reset borders and redistribute mulch evenly
- ✓ Clean and stage one simple outdoor seating area
- ✓ Check the garden from every important window, not only from outside
- ✓ Test gates, shed locks, lights and taps and complete obvious minor repairs
- ✓ Remove dead planting, repair obvious fence damage and clean patios and seating areas
Illustrative Budget:£300–£850
The wider picture
MAYBE IT'S NOT YOUR HOUSE.
MAYBE IT'S YOUR ESTATE AGENT.
Not every estate agent is right for every property.
One may dominate your local market. Another may be better at character homes. Another may have better photography, stronger marketing or access to the right buyers.
As part of the audit, we look at your current agent and marketing strategy. If you are with the right agent, we'll tell you. If not, we'll help you identify better options.
THE RIGHT PROPERTY. THE RIGHT PRICE. THE RIGHT BUYERS.
Practical staging
STAGING ISN'T ABOUT MAKING YOUR HOUSE LOOK LIKE A SHOW HOME.
IT'S ABOUT MAKING BUYERS WANT TO LIVE THERE.
People don't buy houses on measurements and floorplans alone. They buy the feeling they get when they walk through the door.
Where a room needs more than rearranging, we can provide appropriately scaled furniture, carefully selected antique feature pieces, artwork and plants for the marketing period. The aim is to give every space a clear purpose, improve its scale and flow, and make it easier for buyers to imagine living there.
The objective is to make the property more saleable, not to chase interior design awards.
BeforeAfterMAXVALUE 100-POINT HOME AUDIT
Property Tips
Practical advice before you sell.
Practical guidance on preparation, buyer perception, pricing conversations and making the most of your next steps.
BOOK 100-POINT AUDIT — £249