If you have lived in your house for a few years, it might need some “spiffing up” to get it ready to sell. While your home is structurally in tact and has several great features, a potential buyer does want to see your home at its best.
They actually feel more comfortable purchasing a home that seems to have been well maintained. And, they are more impressed when the home has a little sparkle to it.
Getting Your House Ready to Sell
It is good to keep things in balance, however, because you don’t want to overspend as you are trying to straighten up your home to sell. The idea is to put a little money into it where needed most in order to move the home. A Realtor can give you great advice based on his/her own experience. They know what appeals to buyers and what makes homes sell most quickly at a higher price. So, ask your Realtor how much you should spend, how you can improve the exterior of your home and its curb appeal, and ask for tips on improving the appearance of the inside of your home.
A Realtor will help you stay focused on fixing the things that really need to be fixed in order to sell the home. For example, while investing in a brand new roof might impress your potential buyers, you most likely will not get the money back when you sell the house.
Unless your kitchen is sadly outdated and almost not in working order, there is probably little benefit in installing a whole new kitchen. Most likely, you will not get that money back when you sell the home. Instead, potential buyers will be impressed by inexpensive touches such as, new and updated hardware on cabinetry and fresh painting done in neutral colors.
Don’t Forget To Spruce Up The Exterior!
In tending to the outside of your home, take care of your yard: trim your hedges, pull weeds from your lawn and your gardens or flowerbeds, prune your trees, edge your lawn—water and cut it regularly. Also, take a walk around the outside of your home and look for cracks in the foundation, outdoor steps and walkways. Look at the outside lights, doors, windows, and gutters of your home.
Can you clean them up a little? Do you have a chimney? If so, is it in working order and is it clean? Take a look at your siding; you may need to repair or repaint some panels. Similarly, you could do a little repair or replace loose or missing shingles on your roof. If it is winter and snowy during the time that you are trying to sell your home, shovel and de-ice all of your driveway and walkways; also, feature pictures of your yard when it is springtime or summertime so that potential buyers can see the beauty that surrounds your home when the snow is gone.
Create Curb Appeal
Or, if it is summer, it would be suitable to place a few beautiful potted flowers near the front door or on the deck, and while you’re at it you could add a fresh paint of coat to the front door. Try to keep your garage door closed while your house is on the market, and certainly don’t have extra cars or RVs all around the curb of your home; those should be stored somewhere else during this time.
These suggestions are minimal in cost and maximum in impact upon your potential buyers. And that is the goal—that you attract potential buyers by increasing the beauty of your home without having to put money into the home that you are about to sell. Obviously, there may be some features of your home that absolutely need to be replaced or repaired in order to get your buyer to make an offer, but some of that can be worked out once you have attracted your home’s next owner. Take your Realtor’s advice, and move forward!
If you’re interested in learning more about selling a home, you can visit Aaron Seekford’s real estate Arlington VA website where you can search MLS listings in Arlington Virginia. You can also check out the competition in the local Arlington VA neighborhoods.
