There are lots of villas for sale in Bali. A quick look at the hundreds of websites and social media pages (especially Facebook) will tell you that. But the truth is, only a fraction of them actually get sold.

That's probably not what you want to hear if you're looking to sell your property, so I'd like to share some insights to get your villa noticed in a very busy market place.

Look your best!

It's stating the obvious, but you'd be surprised how many vendors don't present their villa in the best possible light. And if you want to stand out and get noticed you've simply got to look your best!

But how you see yourself isn't necessarily how other people see you. That's why it's a good idea to get someone else to walk through your property and point out, what they think needs to be done to make it look better.

Here are some easy and relatively cheap ideas that can help you do that.

A lick of paint

First on my list is paint. If the last time you painted your place was more than 2 or 3 years ago you need to do it again. It's a fairly cheap exercise and shouldn't take too long to do - but it will make the world of difference.

Polish the floors

Floors, especially terrazzo floors can get stained and look sad very quickly. Re-polishing or deep cleaning will have your floor like new in no time and they're not as expensive as you might think.

Fix the roof

A simple fact of life in the tropics is that roofs leak. Period. Check for telltale stains and fix the leaks that are causing them.

Many villas in Bali have alang-alang (elephant grass) roofs. They look good but also have limited life spans. So if yours looks a bit sketchy replace it.

There's nothing worse for a potential buyer than knowing they're going to have fix the roof before they can comfortably move in to their new place, and it's enough for them to turn around and look elsewhere. Don't give them the excuse to do that.

Tidy gardens

Tropical gardens in Bali can be stunning. Others can leave a lot to be desired. Don't let your garden be the reason a buyer walks. For less than USD 1,000 you can hire professional gardeners who will transform the ordinary into something truly beautiful. This is well worth the money.

Getting personal

Most people would agree first impression count, so consider tidying up your personal stuff before potential buyers come to inspect your villa.

This doesn't take long and may actually save you some time and money in the long run. If you're successful and sell your villa, you've got to do that anyway, right?

A tidy space always look larger and it also gives you the chance to focus on some details.

Your immediate environment

Even though your immediate environment and neighbourhood are not really your responsibility you do need to make sure things like trash bins are not overflowing and garbage isn't spoiling that all important first impression.

And if things get smelly, burn some incense before an inspection!

Professional photos

Once you've fixed the leaks, re-painted, tidied things up and made your garden look awesome hire a professional photographer to take some great photos! Sorry, but cellphone photos are just not good enough. You need a trained eye to compose and light in the possible way. Don't cut this corner as it's possibly the most important one, especially when it comes to marketing your villa on websites and social media.

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