When it’s time to sell your home, you want to be able to ask top dollar. Who wouldn’t? You also don’t want to throw too much into sprucing up the house just to pass it to someone else. If you could afford new appliances, you would buy them for yourself, right? That just doesn’t make sense!
Don’t break your budget making expensive changes when small ones will do the trick. You can change the appearance and value of your home fast with these tips.
Inside:
- Update your bathrooms with fresh grout, paint, shower curtain and a new toilet seat.
- Paint the interior of your home with neutral colors. Potential buyers may not like your chosen color scheme or bold accent walls. Eggshell, cream and white are the most popular colors and will help your rooms look brighter and larger.
- Pack and store your personal belongings, decor and clutter. These can be a big turnoff to potential buyers. People want to be able to imagine their decor in the space, not look at your kid’s eight years of school pictures.
- Deep clean your home. Sparkling clean carpet, floors, walls, baseboards and window sills can make a big difference.
- Polish any hardwood floors to make them shine. Hardwood floors become dull after years of use, no matter how clean they are.
- Install a new entry door. A fresh door with shiny hardware and secure locks is a big value for a small investment. If you can’t swing buying a door, consider painting the door and replacing the hardware.
- Apply weather stripping for windows and doors.
- Make your kitchen look fresh and new with new cabinet hardware or painted cabinets. The backsplash, heat shields, oven hood and vents should all be cleaned and ready to use. (The kitchen and bathroom are major selling points; matching appliances and modern touches where you can afford them are great investments for resale value.)
- Install new light bulbs in every fixture. Prospective buyers may not notice, but they definitely will notice if a light is out. The lighting in each room is part of the overall look and therefore important.
- Clean or replace curtains and blinds. This instantly sharpens up the appearance of your home while helping prospective buyers envision themselves living there.
- Install crown molding to make rooms look more elegant.
- Change outlet and light switch covers. Cracked, dirty or painted over covers can be an eyesore. To really jazz up your lighting, put in dimmer switches.
- Add inexpensive shelves in the laundry room, pantry and garage. Storage space is a huge selling factor.
- Keep essential oil diffusers throughout the house with a welcoming scent like vanilla or cinnamon.
- Label switches so potential buyers and realtors can easily identify which light or appliance goes with which switch. (No one wants to hear the garbage disposal grind when they were aiming to check out the stove hood light.)
Outside:
- Add a new mailbox. It will help make the house feel like a home.
- Make your entrance welcoming. Install planters with flowers beside the door.
- Keep your lawn and landscaping clean and neat. An overgrown jungle leaves the home looking rundown and unkempt. A fresh layer of mulch and seasonal plants can make a big difference.
- Fix loose railings and steps, then put a fresh coat of paint on the porch.
- Powerwash the house and deck areas to make sure everything looks clean and in good repair. While you’re at it, powerwash the garage floor too. You don’t want to leave any old oil stains for the new owners.
- Remove loose nails. While working on the deck and porch areas, make sure to hammer in any nails that have popped up.
- Check your outdoor lighting. Realtors won’t want to show your home in the evenings if it looks like a Halloween haunted house. Make sure your walkways and entrance are well lighted.
- Check and repair or replace any outdoor outlets or faucets. Leaks are an instant turn-off and set off warning bells for water damage.
- Inspect the roof. If there are loose shingles or flashing that needs replacing, fix these problems before listing your home.
- Clean the chimney. When new owners move in, they’ll want to know that they can safely use the fireplace.
You can make your home look inviting, comfortable and ready for a new family to move in without spending thousands of dollars. The tiny ways you increase your home’s value will help you get your asking price either directly or indirectly. Keep them in mind as you look for a new home yourself.
~Here’s to Your Success!
