How to prepare your house for sale: guide and checklist

Preparing your house for sale involves checking its condition, presenting it well, gathering the paperwork and setting a well-reasoned asking price. In Catalonia, it is advisable to check the habitability certificate (cédula de habitabilidad) well in advance, as it is required when a home is sold, subject to legal exceptions, and to have the energy performance certificate and its label ready for advertising where they are mandatory. Careful presentation helps buyers understand the property and arrive at the viewing better informed.

This guide summarises the process we follow at Costa Brava House with the houses, flats and masias we market between Begur, Palafrugell, Pals and the rest of the Baix Empordà, and includes a final checklist so nothing slips through the net.

What do you need to do to prepare your house for sale? Summary in 8 steps

If you only have a minute, this is the recommended order. Each step is explained in more detail below.

1. Check the actual condition of the property and carry out minor visible repairs.
2. Depersonalise and declutter: remove personal items and reduce furniture.
3. Give the house a deep clean and get rid of odours.
4. Spruce up the exterior: façade, garden, terrace and pool.
5. Consider whether home staging, physical or virtual, is worthwhile.
6. Gather all the documents needed to sell.
7. Set an asking price based on a professional valuation.
8. Prepare photos, video, a floor plan and, where it adds value, a virtual tour; get the house ready for every viewing.

Step 1: look at the property through the buyer's eyes

When you have lived in a house for years, you can stop noticing defects that a buyer will spot during a viewing. A damp patch, for example, raises questions about its cause and the cost of fixing it.

Walk through the property as if you were going to buy it and note down anything that stands out. Fix simple faults, investigate the cause of damp or cracks and leave matters of taste to the buyer.

Repainting can greatly improve presentation if the walls show wear. Neutral tones help buyers appreciate the space and make for cleaner photos. Before painting over a damp patch, identify and resolve its cause.

Should you renovate a flat before selling it?

Renovating before selling is not always worthwhile: the cost, the time involved and the likely price increase should be assessed case by case. If there are defects that prevent you from obtaining the habitability certificate, or that could complicate the buyer's mortgage, consult a surveyor first and decide what to resolve before marketing the property.

Step 2: depersonalise and declutter every room

The aim is for buyers to picture their own life in the house, not yours. Family photos, collections or travel souvenirs are distracting and make rooms look smaller.

• Personal items: remove photos, trophies, fridge magnets and religious or highly personal objects.
• Furniture: remove pieces that get in the way or make it hard to appreciate the size and layout of the room.
• Wardrobes: tidy them and show their real storage capacity.
• Surfaces: clear worktops, tables and bathrooms, with two or three decorative items at most.
• Storage rooms and garages: tidy them too. A full storage room suggests the property is short of space.

If you are in the middle of a move or the house is a second home, consider a storage unit when the amount of belongings makes it difficult to present the rooms well. Weigh up that cost against the expected benefit for the sale.

Step 3: deep cleaning, odours and natural light

A deep clean, paying special attention to windows, grout, the oven and the extractor hood, improves the perception of the property's overall condition. Depending on the house, it may be worth hiring professionals. Pay particular attention to three points:

• Odours: tobacco, pets, damp or stuffiness are the most off-putting. Air the house daily and tackle the source rather than masking it with strong air fresheners.
• Natural light: open shutters and curtains, clean the windows and replace dark curtains with light, sheer ones.
• Artificial lighting: replace blown bulbs and make sure the light in each room is consistent and sufficient for photos and viewings.

Step 4: spruce up the exterior, the first impression

In a house with a garden, the viewing begins before you step inside. The façade, the terrace and, if there is one, the pool are part of the property's presentation and should be looked after for both photos and viewings.

• Façade and entrance: clean the front door, repaint the railings if they are rusty and check the letterbox and doorbell.
• Garden: lawn mowed, hedges trimmed, leaves cleared and irrigation working.
• Pool: if the property has one, keep it clean and in good condition for photos and viewings, including out of season.
• Terraces: a few pieces of furniture in good condition that show how the space can be used (outdoor dining, chill-out area).
• Effect of sea salt: in properties close to the sea, check metal window frames, railings and outdoor air-conditioning units.

Step 5: is home staging worth it when selling a property?

Home staging is a property presentation technique that involves decorating and furnishing the home in a neutral, appealing way so that potential buyers see it as their future home. It can be physical (with real furniture and decor) or virtual (digitally furnishing photos of empty rooms).

Published evidence on home staging comes mainly from other markets. In a 2025 US survey by the National Association of Realtors, 83% of buyers' agents said it helped buyers picture the property as their future home; 49% of sellers' agents saw less time on the market and 29% reported offers between 1% and 10% higher. These are the perceptions of agents in the United States, not a forecast of results for a house on the Costa Brava.

Home staging may be particularly worth considering in these cases:

• Empty properties: some buyers need points of reference to understand the scale and use of each room.
• Second homes with old or mismatched furniture.
• Mid-to-high-end properties, where competing listings on property portals are very polished.
• Properties that have been listed for months without generating viewings.

Virtual staging can help present empty rooms in photos. Always state that the images have been digitally recreated, so buyers don't expect to find the property furnished that way when they view it.

Step 6: gather and check the documents needed to sell in Catalonia

Gathering the documents in advance lets you spot discrepancies, charges or outstanding procedures before agreeing the deposit contract (arras). Not every document on this list is mandatory for every sale: some depend on the type of property and its circumstances.

The habitability certificate: check its validity in good time

In Catalonia, Law 18/2007 on the right to housing requires a valid habitability certificate when a home is sold, except in the exemption cases provided for. Decree 141/2012 sets a validity of 15 years for the second-occupancy certificate. Before ordering a new one, check whether the property already has a valid certificate in the certificate search tool. For second-hand homes, express exceptions can be agreed, for example if the property is to be refurbished or demolished, or for later delivery in exceptional circumstances with the registered application and the required technical certificate. These conditions must be reviewed for each transaction.

If you are selling a masia or a property with old extensions, ask a surveyor to compare the reality with the description on the Spanish Cadastre's online portal, the Land Registry extract and the municipal planning documents. A difference in floor area does not always have the same cause, nor is it always corrected in the same way; it is best to detect it before committing to terms of sale.

The energy performance certificate, required from the first advert

Royal Decree 390/2021 requires the energy rating and label to be included in sale advertising when the property is subject to certification. The registered certificate is attached to the sale. It is valid for a maximum of ten years, except when the rating is G, in which case it is five years. Order it in good time and check the label in the ICAEN register before advertising.

Step 7: set a realistic price before going on the market

Good presentation alone does not make up for a misjudged asking price. If enquiries and viewings fall short of expectations, review the price together with the presentation and the marketing strategy; holding on to a figure that is hard to justify can drag out the sale.

A reasoned valuation compares completed sales where available, competing listings and specific features such as location, condition, views and potential uses. On the Costa Brava, two houses of similar size can command different prices because of their surroundings and features. An agency that knows the local market can explain those differences; on our page about selling your house on the Costa Brava we describe how we prepare the valuation and marketing.

Step 8: photos, video and preparing for viewings

Photos are usually the buyer's first contact with the property. Take them in good light, after tidying, cleaning and preparing each space. A professional photo shoot can be especially useful when the property has spacious rooms, views or outdoor areas that need to be shown accurately.

• Photography: wide angle without distortion, tidy rooms, shutters open and all lights on.
• Time of day: for properties with views or a garden, exterior shots in the late afternoon make the most of the golden Mediterranean light.
• Floor plan: helps buyers understand the layout and judge whether the property suits them before booking a viewing.
• Video and virtual tour: a video summarises the property; a 3D tour lets buyers explore the rooms and understand how they connect. At Costa Brava House we use Matterport when the property warrants it. You can see examples in our 3D virtual tours. It is especially useful for people making an initial shortlist from another city or country, and can help them decide whether to request an in-person viewing.

Before each viewing, air the house, open the shutters, adjust the lighting and temperature, and decide what to do with pets. If possible, let the agent show the property without the owner present, so buyers can ask questions and comment freely.

What is different about preparing a house for sale on the Costa Brava

Selling on the Costa Brava involves nuances that generic guides on preparing a flat for sale don't cover:

• Seasonality: the market may be busier in spring and early summer. If you plan to sell during that period, prepare the property and paperwork in advance; don't rely on a fixed date such as Easter.
• Second homes: if you don't live in the property, arrange regular maintenance (airing, garden, pool) so it is presentable for viewings at short notice.
• International buyers: if your property's buyer profile includes people living outside Spain, have the paperwork organised and a clear description in the languages needed to make their initial assessment easier.
• Holiday rental property: if it is licensed for this activity, gather the registration number, the documents relating to the activity and, if available, its rental history. For some buyers interested in this use, that history can be decisive. Also check the municipal planning situation and the procedures required when ownership changes; being registered does not in itself guarantee that the buyer can continue renting it out on the same terms. Consult the Generalitat and, where applicable, the prior planning permission regime.

Common mistakes when preparing a property for sale

• Leaving the habitability certificate and energy certificate checks until later: the first must be in order to sell, subject to legal exceptions, and the energy label must appear in advertising where required.
• Investing in a renovation to your own taste that the buyer was planning to redo anyway.
• Publishing dark or distorted images, or photos taken before tidying and cleaning the property.
• Setting the price according to what you need to get rather than what the market will pay.
• Hiding known defects: as well as undermining trust, it can lead to claims for lack of conformity with what was agreed or disclosed to the buyer.
• Neglecting the property once it has been listed, especially if it is a second home.

Final checklist to prepare your house for sale

• Minor repairs done: taps, shutters, sockets, grout and damp.
• Walls painted in neutral tones where needed.
• Personal items removed and furniture reduced.
• Wardrobes and storage rooms tidy and half empty.
• Full professional clean and no odours.
• Exterior, garden and pool ready.
• Title deed, nota simple, IBI and, as applicable, community, mortgage and ITE certificates gathered.
• Habitability certificate checked and energy certificate registered with its label, as applicable.
• Professional valuation done and asking price set.
• Quality photos and floor plan; depending on the property, video or Matterport virtual tour.

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