What Can I Do To Improve The Value of My Home?

As a real estate professional, I'm often asked by homeowners, "What can I do to improve the value of my home?" Often, this question is asked by the homeowner in anticipation of getting the home prepared for sell in today's competitive market. Most prospective sellers are aware of the challenges they will endure in listing their home. However, they want to accomplish there goal as quickly and as affordable as possible.

Here are some tips that can give your home a boost in today's market:

1.  Organize, Organize, Organize! Meaning, remove all clutter and excess furniture from the home.
2. Consider adding a fresh, neutral coat of paint to the home's interior. Paint all trimming too.
3. Replace all worn flooring. If it does not look new and inviting, replace it. Buyers will notice every blemish. Also, it's best to do this before listing. When buyers see a worn floor, it is automatically registered in their mind as a negative. Negative results = a reduction in the offer price.
4. Pressure wash the home's exterior---including decks, sidewalks, and driveways.
5. Keep the home clean at all times.
6. Add aromatic plug-ins throughout the home to add a fresh, appealing smell.
7. When your home is ready to list and show, keep the home's temperature inviting to the buyers. For example, if it's 90 degrees outside, make the home cool and refreshing inside. That will surely keep prospective buyers around longer.
8. Replace worn and torn window treatments and blinds.
9. Throw out anything you do not need. Break down this task by assigning a different day to inspect and remove unwanted items from each room. You can donate your unwanted items to your local donation center, homeless shelter, school or on-line at freecycle.com.
10. Organize all closets---including linen closets and the kitchen pantry. This allows the buyer to see the actual storage space available in these areas. Closet space does matter and can make a tremendous difference in a buyer purchasing your home or selecting another home.
11.  Keep the yard nicely manicured and landscaped. A fresh bed of flowers and a nice cut lawn makes a world of a difference. Also, a wreath added to the door can change the entire look of the home's entrance, making it more inviting.
12. Get all pets groomed and create a small, secure area in your home for your pet to retreat to when the home is being shown.  Many buyers and agents are turned off by unsecured pets in the home.
13. Make sure all linens on the bed are clean and neat.
14. Organize the kitchen and remove all items from the counter space and hardware from the top of the cabinets.
15. Make sure all windows are clean and not in need of repair.
16. Organize furniture throughout the home to accentuate the home's appeal. Consider hiring a professional home stager.
17. Replace all filters throughout the home.
18. Organize the laundry room/area. Consider having 3 covered bins (for towels, whites, colors) in the laundry room to place dirty clothes, keeping them organized and the area neat.
19. To give the kitchen and bath areas an added touch, replace or add cabinet hardware.
20. Organize your office area and remove or secure important/private items/paperwork.
21. Secure toys by adding nice baskets and bins in the playroom or child's closets to keep areas neat.
22. Add a fresh coat of paint to the home's exterior and/or consider painting the front door for a new look.
23. Replace all outdated lighting hardware (ceiling fans, overhead lighting) with new lighting hardware.
24. Organize the garage and remove any items not in use. Consider renting a small storage area from your local storage company. Buyers want to actually see the garage space.
25. Remove broken down cars and debris from the home such as broken patio furniture.