About pre-sale presentation
Pre-sale presentation is the outside work that happens in the weeks before a property is photographed and opened: a soft wash of walls and eaves, windows and glass balustrades cleaned, gutters cleared, roof moss treated, the driveway and paths pressure cleaned and sometimes sealed, decks re-oiled, the garden cut back and mulched, lawns edged, rubbish gone and the small repairs done. Agents ask for it because buyers decide on the kerb, and a clean, cared-for exterior reads as a house without problems even when the buyer plans to renovate. We match each part of the job to vetted local tradies, who quote you directly.
The housing stock sets the work. Paddington and Woollahra terraces have cast-iron lace, rendered facades and sandstone steps and fences that need low-pressure washing and sit in heritage conservation areas, where external changes can need council approval. Harbourside houses in Mosman, Rose Bay and Clontarf have glass balustrades hazed by salt and decks grey from the sun. North Shore houses in Gordon, Turramurra and Lindfield come to market under gums with gutters and roofs full of litter. Bondi, Coogee and Dee Why apartments can only have the exterior touched with the owners corporation's approval, since walls, windows outside and common paths are common property.
Several rules sit behind the work. Wash water that carries detergent, sediment or paint flakes must not reach the stormwater system, so tradies capture or divert it. A house built before 1990 may have asbestos cement in its eaves or fibro walls, which must never be pressure washed or sanded. Work at heights needs fall controls. Any repair valued above the Home Building Act threshold needs a licensed contractor, and electrical and plumbing always do. A property with a pool needs its registration certificate and a compliance or non-compliance certificate attached to the contract of sale. Each tradie we match has passed identity, ABN, licence where relevant, insurance and conduct checks.
What the job usually includes
How it works
- Tell us about the campaignGive the property type, the date of the photography and the first open home, and the list your agent has suggested. Add photos of the front, the back and anything that bothers you. Mention a pool, a heritage listing, strata, or a house old enough to contain asbestos.
- We match a tradie to each partWe send each part of the job, from house washing to garden clean-up to repairs, to vetted, independent tradies who do that work in your suburb. Each has passed identity, ABN, licence where required, insurance, work-history and conduct checks.
- Written quotes for each jobTradies who want the work contact you directly and quote in writing under their own business name, with the dates they can do. You can take all, some or none, and you can ask one tradie to sequence their work around another. Nothing is booked until you choose.
- The work, in the right orderA careful sequence runs rubbish and garden first, then roof and gutters, then the house wash, then driveway cleaning and sealing, with windows and balustrades last so nothing is splashed afterwards. Soft wash on render, low pressure on sandstone and heritage facades, wash water kept out of the stormwater drain, fall protection on roofs, and no pressure washer near fibro or asbestos cement eaves.
- Before the photographerWalk the property from the street the way a buyer will, check glass, edges and the corners the camera will see, and ask for touch-ups while the tradie is still on site. Then tell us how each match went; your feedback is part of how tradies stay in the network.
Presentation is sequencing and restraint, not hiding problems
The order matters more than people expect. Gutters cleaned after the house wash drip dirt down clean walls; a driveway sealed before it is properly washed and dry traps the grime under the coat; hedges cut hard a week before photos look bare and cut edges brown off. Good tradies plan backwards from the photography date, allow drying days for sealers and oils, and keep windows and balustrades for last. On sandstone and heritage render they use low pressure and the mildest chemistry that works, because high pressure etches the stone and strips lime render, and that damage shows in the photos too.
Restraint and honesty keep you out of trouble. Presentation means clean, tidy and working; it does not mean painting over rising damp, pressure washing fibro, or jamming a sticking door so it looks fine on the day. A tradie who spots a problem should tell you so you can decide how to handle it with your agent and conveyancer. On apartments, nothing on the facade, common windows or shared paths is touched without the owners corporation's say-so. Wash water is captured, not sent to the street, and neighbours get a heads-up about parking and noise.
Questions worth asking the tradie
Frequently asked questions
Two to four weeks is comfortable. Garden clean-up and rubbish go first so plants recover and mulch settles, gutters and roof in the middle, the house wash and driveway a week or so out with drying time for any sealer or deck oil, and windows and balustrades in the last few days. If the garden has been neglected for years, start earlier.
Usually several. Exterior cleaning, window cleaning, gardening, deck oiling, driveway sealing and handyman repairs are different trades with different equipment and insurance. We match each one with vetted tradies who do that work locally; some cover more than one, and the quotes will tell you. Many homeowners ask one tradie to act as the point of contact for timing.
Inside your lot, anything. Outside, the facade, external window frames and glass on the outside, balcony structure, common paths and driveways are generally common property, and work on them needs the owners corporation's approval through the strata manager. Balcony tiles and finishes may be yours. Ask the strata manager early; a pre-sale facade or common window clean is sometimes something the whole building wants.
In NSW the contract of sale must include the pool's certificate of registration and either a certificate of compliance, a relevant occupation certificate issued in the last three years or a certificate of non-compliance. Compliance certificates are issued by council or an accredited certifier and last three years. If you sell with a certificate of non-compliance, the buyer has 90 days after settlement to fix the barrier. A clean, balanced pool helps the photos; the certificate is what the lawyers need.
Often, on coloured concrete, exposed aggregate and pavers that have gone dull, because a clean, sealed surface photographs well and reads as maintained. It only works on a thoroughly cleaned, dry surface with the right product for the material, and it needs dry days to cure, so it should be scheduled early. If the existing sealer is failing, it may need stripping first.
Cleaning and repairs that do not change the appearance are usually fine, but external changes such as new colours, replacing lace, rendering brick or altering a fence can need council approval in heritage conservation areas across Woollahra, Mosman, Ku-ring-gai, Hunters Hill and North Sydney. Check with council before anything more than a clean, and use low-pressure methods on sandstone, lime render and old brick.
