There comes a time in everyone’s life when they’re ready to sell their house. Perhaps your children have moved out of the nest, you want to enter retirement, or you’re tired of having a vast space. No matter your reasons, you want to make sure your house sells fast and gets you a great return on investment.
However, before you put up a “For Sale” sign in your front yard, you have to make sure your home is worth being sold. From the condition of your bathroom to the paint on your cabinets, every inch of your house contributes to its value. Therefore, to pass on your precious space to its new owners for an excellent price. Here are some home improvement tricks you need to do:
- Tidy Up Your Space
It is not unusual for clutter to gradually build up over time. You may have old toys, heaps of newspapers, clothing, and furniture you don’t use often lying around. Even if this clutter doesn’t look messy, it can still discourage potential buyers from offering you a higher price if they don’t like how your space looks. So, if the rooms have way too many items, look small, and can make it hard for you to walk around, start tidying up.
Cleaning up doesn’t mean tossing your possessions into a garbage bag and putting it in the garage. Instead, you should rent a mini storage unit and move material goods into a safe and convenient location. Figure out the capacity of your storage unit and accordingly label items you wish to put away. These can include family photo albums, treasured clothing like your wedding dress, and memorabilia like newspaper clippings on important events. You may throw-away items that are no shape to be reused, have a stench, or are ripped at various places.
- Let A Real Estate Agent Take A Look
A real estate agent is your best friend during the home selling process. These professionals know the market rate and peak selling seasons and can get you a good deal on your property. But, to match with an expert, you need to do some research and decide how much you are willing to spend to secure a skilled agent to help you out. The search engine is an adequate space to start.
You can meet with professionals near your venue using filtered results and enabling location services. Once you have a few names in mind, send out emails and arrange for an in-person meet-up or call them. This gives you an informed view of who you will be working with and gauge the level of compatibility. Reviews, comments by previous clients, and certificates available for viewing on their website also help make your choice. When you decide on a professional, get to work. Your property gets determined by various factors but primarily by its location. For example, houses by the cul-de-sac are usually in higher demand than those near busy roadways.
- Play Cinderella
While cleaning is a tedious part of the process, it is essential. Your house is not ready to hit the market without deep cleaning it first. A thorough deep cleaning can take up to a day or more, depending on your house’s size. So if you have several rooms to tackle, you should start right away. Focus your attention heavily on the kitchen and bathrooms since these are the two most frequented areas by buyers.
When dealing with ceramic sinks and walls, you should use mild cleaners that don’t leave scratches or discolor the surface. Abrasive cleaners are best for hard to remove stains such as food particles in the oven and on top of the stove. Pillow covers, curtains, and drapes should be both dusted and washed. If you have carpets with stains, treat them with a stain remover or remove them. You should check for mildew and mold before wrapping up. These grow in humid and damp spaces like the bathroom and behind the shower curtain.
- Beauty Lies On The Outside
Even if you spend tenfold money improving your indoor space but neglect your entrance and yard, buyers may choose to skip or offer you a lower price. Your garden and front porch introduces a buyer to what lies on the inside. If your yard is well kept, has blooming flowers, looks neat, and has sufficient lighting, you add a solid appeal to your house. Gardening is an extensive process. You need to know your way around greenery to make an impact. Hire a professional gardener to tidy up your space if your budget allows it.
Long grass needs de-weeding and moving to look under control and neat. You may also need to trim the grass growing on the sidewalk to add to the tidiness. If you have a front yard, invest in making a pathway of flagstones or use concrete to create a deviation between the yard and passage. If you have a knack for DIY, you can use a wooden shelf to hold flower pots like orchids or use a wheelbarrow to create a makeshift flower bed.
- Out With The Old In With The New
Cleaning and rearranging are only one side of the coin in your improvement project. It would help if you also did some repair work. Therefore, take out your tools and transform yourself into a handyperson.
You may be adding a new bathroom, combining two rooms into one, or adding a staircase to build another story. While knocking down a wall, you can cause accidental foundation damage, and an insurance policy can compensate you. Loose pipes, leaking faucets, and rusted outlets all need to go. You will also need to visit your HVAC system, ensuring the vents and filters are clean and the thermostats work perfectly.
You may need to paint cabinets, buy polished doorknobs and even repair the windows. Old appliances that are a part of the house should get replaced with newer and more modern versions. This can be a better stove, an environmentally friendly shower, or an electricity-saving microwave. If you have never tried your hand at repair work, now is not the time to experiment.
Final Thoughts
As you prepare to sell your house, take the timeout to invest in improving your property. This is the quickest trick to securing a suitable buyer and paying for your efforts. Home improvement projects take time and planning. You will need to investigate how much you’ll need to invest. Therefore, begin the grunt work by getting rid of clutter and seeing your house from a buyer’s perspective.
Real estate agents are professionals in their field. Their expertise and experience enable you to enhance the outlook of your house you may have ignored. Part of the improvement process is cleaning up outdoors, fixing your indoor problems, and making your home a presentable lodging. With these tips in mind, you’ll get a sweet deal.
