Selling your home can be complicated and everyone wants to get the best deal they can. It is often the little things that make the most difference. Here are some easy and inexpensive ways to improve the value of your home to help it sell faster and gain top dollar offers:
Listen to the experts – The absolute best thing you can do to increase the likelihood that your home will sell quickly and at a price that makes you smile is to listen to the realtor. Oddly, many people hire professionals to help them with various projects in life and then choose to ignore the experts’ advice. When you do this, you are shooting yourself in the foot. Why hire an expert if you are then going to ignore their advice?
Stage the house for selling- Yes, they know you still live there, but the idea is to keep the house from looking lived in. When you have family photos still on the wall or Fido’s dish by the back door, potential buyers still see the house as yours and often won’t even make an offer. Staging helps a potential buyer to imagine the home being their own.
Keep the house clean and remove as much of the personal stuff as possible- This is basically free, but can greatly improve the likelihood that your home will sell quickly.
Mow the lawn- If the landscaping is out of date or overgrown, consider inexpensive improvements to the lawn. Replace outdated shrubs with new plantings, plant fresh grass and add new mulch. The landscaping doesn’t have to be extensive, just neat and appealing. Help potential buyers imagine pulling into the driveway and being happy to be home.
Paint and clean the walls – Scuff marks on the paint or fingerprints on the wall accumulate when you live in a home, but the new buyers don’t want to see them. The best option is to add fresh paint in a neutral color. If painting is not in your budget, at least take a magic eraser to the old paint until it looks new. Good old fashioned elbow grease works just fine for most people.
3 Things to Never Do as These Quickly Decrease the Value of Your Home
Sometimes making decisions not to do something is the best way to save money where selling your home is concerned. Here are some things to consider:
Major Renovations – Although major remodels seem like a great idea to increase value, most often they end costing far more than the potential increase in value. You have to be extremely cautious about expensive improvements and really be selective about the ones you undertake. One good reason for this is because you may not have the same taste as the new owner. Think about how much it would stink if the new cabinets that costs thousands ended up costing you a sale?
Skimping on cleaning or maintenance – This can also decrease the value of your home or the likelihood it will sell. Keep the cobwebs out of the corners, make sure there are no dust bunnies under the bed and change furnace filters as if you were planning to live there another 20 years. It will likely save you from having to do a lot of little repairs to make the buyer or home inspector happy. A fresh coat of paint on a rotting wall is never going to work out for you. Fix the basics and then worry about the aesthetics.
Smoke indoors – Smoking leaves a lingering odor. Even if you can’t smell it, it can leave nicotine deposits on furniture, walls, light fixtures and more. Smoke outside and make sure to keep your butts cleaned up.
What tips do you have to improve the value of your home on a no or low budget?
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