There are many steps you can take to get your home ready to sell and increase the value of your property. Many of them are practical, like giving the home a fresh coat of paint and putting in new carpet (or, at the very least, deep cleaning the existing carpet). In many instances, however, it is the decorative touches you add that convince an investor to buy your home. Remember, staging is an important part of the house selling game!
Furniture
One of the most important factors in staging your home is your home decor. From your furniture to your tchotchkes, prospective buyers notice everything and it all factors in to their ultimate decision of whether or not to make an offer. This is no time for the “lived in” look. If you can afford it, stage your home with new and coordinated pieces of furniture. Build an overall aesthetic that ties the entire home together.
If you are on a limited budget, think about renting furniture or buying and sprucing up thrift store finds. Either way, new stuff in, your old stuff out. In addition to helping sell your home, this gives you a head start on moving (if you haven’t done so already).
Claim up to $26,000 per W2 Employee
- Billions of dollars in funding available
- Funds are available to U.S. Businesses NOW
- This is not a loan. These tax credits do not need to be repaid
Landscaping
The outside of your home matters just as much as the inside. Nobody wants to drive or walk up to a home with an unkempt yard. It just adds to the work that will have to be done to the property after the new owners take possession of it. Give your front, side and back yards a thorough sprucing up. You can do this yourself, of course, but if you really want the yard to look perfect, hire a landscaper to give it a makeover. This might be expensive, but you can add it to your asking price because fresh landscaping increases property and home values.
Wash Your House
Seriously. You already know about the deep cleaning that has to happen inside the home. Guess what: the outside needs a deep cleaning as well. Remember, prospective buyers will be looking at every inch of your home’s structure. If they see clogged gutters, dirty (or worse, molded or mossy) siding, etc. they’ll leave before they see the inside of your home. Power-wash the outside of the house to get rid of any grime or gunk that might have built up on your siding or along your windows. This includes your porches and decks.
Add Light
The more light you can add to your home, the more valuable it will seem to prospective buyers. Adding dimmer switches to allow new owners to manage the mood/feel of a room is a great way to do this. Increasing the amount of natural light within your home is another. Before you panic about the cost of putting skylights everywhere, consider sun tubes. Sun tubes are tubes that are placed in your roofing that are covered in domes and use reflective materials to bounce natural light from the dome down into your house. They cost a fraction of a traditional skylight.
The First Seven Seconds
Spruce up your front door area and your entry way. It is realtor lore that most home buyers make up their minds about a house within the first seven seconds of seeing it. This means that you have to create a fantastic first impression. Take some time to really dress up the paths into your home. Focus on the front door, of course, as that is where most prospective buyers will enter. If you have side doors or a door in the garage, make sure those entry ways are also clean and polished looking.
The simple fact is that you probably don’t want to pour your next home’s down payment into elevating the value of the home you already own. Thankfully, you shouldn’t have to do that if you use these simple and easy tips to make your home more attractive and appealing.
