You’re considering selling your home and want to get top dollar for it. You’ve watched all of the HGTV shows and they make updating a house look pretty easy, right? Let’s be honest here… The homeowners in these shows spend thousand of dollars to renovate and recreate their home for selling and are doing it with the top experts in the field. Our reality is most of us don’t have that kind of money just laying around for a risky investment and probably are not friends with the Property Brothers to ask their advice on what to renovate to get the most return on our investment.
The good news is there are many things you can do to spruce up the look of your home that cost little or no money and these things can bring a huge return on your investment. Updating your home may not be as expensive as you may think. Small changes add up to create buyer-friendly rooms that can sell your home fast for a great price and best of all… much of it is do it yourself.
Curb Appeal – Making a Buyer Want to See More
You never get a second chance to make a first impression so cut the grass, trim the bushes, remove twigs and dead branches and refresh the mulch. These simple “free” fixes opens the door for a buyer to want to see more.
As an added bonus, plant some flowers. Don’t worry if you don’t have a green thumb. Use container gardening to sprinkle seasonal plants throughout your landscape. Then, if you accidentally kill a plant you can easily replace it.
If the front door is faded, refresh the paint. You won’t need more than a quart. Often, you can get lucky finding a great color on the “oops” shelf at your local hardware store. You can sometimes save up to 75% on this type of paint.
If the outside of your house needs refreshing, power washing can take years off of a home.
If your mailbox looks like this… replace it. Also replace worn looking house numbers. You want everything on the outside of your home to look and feel new.
Mi Casa Es Tu Casa – Making the Buyer Want Your Home
Put away all personal items (like photos) to help potential buyers envision your house as their home. Make sure each room has a purpose (no dining rooms with a table and a desk). Clean, Clean, Clean and when you’re done, clean.
Organize all of your closets so they appear to have more space. Also, organize all of your cupboards (people look). If you find you have too much “stuff” consider a storage unit to house your extra’s until you get the house sold. Avoid storing things in the garage. You need to treat it like a closet. Keep items to a minimum so the garage appears spacious.
The Key to Kitchens and Baths is Shine
Refresh wood kitchen cabinets and vanities with a product such as Old English. I have had buyers ask if they were new cabinets after putting a little Old English on the them.
In the bathroom, replace old shower curtains with new ones. If you have a white tub, consider using a darker color such as navy to make the bathroom “pop”. Also, remember to polish cabinet hardware and door knobs. Be sure and replace any broken items such as toilet seats and paper holders. Then, as a finishing touch, roll fluffy white towels up and place them around the room. This little touch will give a buyer the feeling of home.
Let The Light Shine In (And Where It’s Dark… Make Light)
Clean all of your windows and window treatments. (Remove them if they block too much light). Then, use lamps to highlight darker areas (at least one lamp/light every 100 square feet.) Replace globes in light fixtures and use Edison style bulbs in fixtures when appropriate. If your budget allows, replace outdated light fixtures with inexpensive current fixtures.
Even if you cannot complete all of the suggestions, completing a few will make a difference.
Don’t worry if you cannot afford to replace carpeting or repaint the interior. Often times offering a flooring or other “allowance” as part of the sale is a better idea anyway.
If you are considering selling your home call me at 843-707-6956 or email me at missy@lowcountry-living.com. I can prepare a Price Trend Analysis for you and answer any further questions you may have about selling your home.
Leave a Reply