If you are thinking of selling your home this year, you probably are wondering if it will be worth waiting until later. You could be right. But, if you MUST sell your home now, there are some simple things that you can do to improve your chances of selling, AND your chances of getting the best price. The key: Don't spend too much money getting your home ready to sell!
Number One: Clean it up! Make sure your home is as clean as it can be. That means remove every fingerprint from the light switches & door jambs, and scrub out every corner of every room. Pack up all the extra "stuff" from the room & give it to a charity. Use the energy & time you would have spent having a sale to do the next steps instead!
Number Two: Paint it Up! Put fresh paint neatly on every painted surface. Do not be tempted to paint rooms in dark colors. While the colors may be admired, they will not enhance your home as much a a feeling of lightness and open spaces. You are not selling your decorating, you are selling the square footage. The more you vary from neutral, the harder it is for some buyers to imagine themselves & their furnishings in your home. Big no-no: creative painting & borders. Resist the urge to sponge paint, dapple, or rag paint a wall. The closer to plain, the easier the sale.
Number Three: Spruce it Up! If something is broken, fix it or remove it. You may have been a wonderful caretaker of your home through the years, and yet that missing shade, crack in the mirror, stain in the carpet or loose railing sends buyers a different message. It makes them wonder what else is wrong, that they cannot see!
Number Four: Glam it Up! Take a good look at your floors. If they look great, you are half way home. However if they are stained, scuffed, or torn, if there is any way you can afford to do it, put a new neutral carpet in the livingroom, or even a wood-look laminate floor. These can be as inexpensive as possible, and still greatly improve the look of your home. Buyers want something to look nice, and many people are actually unable to imagine something different than what they are looking at.
Remember: Buyer's are purchasing their "NEW HOME"! The better your home looks, the better choice it will seem than those other homes on the market that are still stained, scuffed & cluttered!
Did you know that your Realtor can offer suggestions on improving the sale-ability of your home? Different regions have their own trends when it comes to getting the best re-sale value for your dollars spent in improvements. Call your Realtor and ask them to come & take a look at your home BEFORE you add improvements that may not help the future sale of your home!
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