What are the Best Home Improvements to Sell a House?
Helene Kelbaugh of Keller Williams Realty Baltimore
Home sellers need to focus only on the home improvements that should be made. How do you know what are the best improvements to sell a house? It depends. Things like time of year, location and competition play a role.
The are no hard and fast rules, but creating a memorable first impression with home improvements pays off.
In addition, it's important to remember the top five areas that most home buyers are looking at:
1. Exterior Home Improvements
Buyers won't even come inside if the exterior is too shabby. Take a peek at the exterior. Cracked sidewalks? Exterior paint chipped? Leaky Roof? Most of these are easy to fix and should be done prior to listing your home on the market.
2. Flooring Home Improvements
One of the first things a buyer notices is the flooring. Is the carpet, hardwood or laminate in good condition? Is there tile or linoleum in the bathrooms? Most buyers are looking for high quality flooring. Floors can be easily updated to appeal to buyers. Steam clean the carpet!
3. Paint Home Improvements
Neutral colors, like off-white and beige, are traditionally the best colors to paint a home to sell. Steer clear of bold or gender-specific colors like purples, reds and oranges. Be sure the paint is done by a professional. Home buyers can be picky and do not want to have to fix a sloppy paint job.
4. Kitchen Home Improvements
The kitchen is the costliest room of the house. Home buyers will shy away if they feel the kitchen needs to be remodeled or repaired. Therefore, the home seller must take an inventory of what needs to be replaced in the kitchen and determine the cost vs. value. In many cases, taking the time to update appliances, upgrade countertops or cabinetry can make or break the sale of a home.
5. Bathroom Home Improvements
Second to the kitchen, the master and guest bathrooms are the costliest rooms of the house, and buyers will be looking at items such as the shower, sinks, toilets and fixtures to make sure they are in good condition.
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