Designed to Sell Top Selling Secrets
The Designed to Sell experts' list of top tips for getting a house sold.
Experts from each of the Designed to Sell teams — Los Angeles, Chicago and D.C. — share their tips on how to bring in top dollar from a house sale.
Cook Up Your Kitchen.
Kitchen upgrades will bring you the biggest returns on your money. The kitchen is considered by many to be the heart of the home, so it can really make or break a sale.
Use Counter Intelligence.
Updating the most important surface in your kitchen is a must. "If you want to sell your house, you can not have grungy old kitchen countertops. (Buyers) want to move into the kitchen and chop food on the countertops. If your countertops are not food-chopping ready, you need to change them," warns designer Lisa LaPorta. "If you don't have a big budget, check with local sources to see if you can find granite remnants. Also, a lot of places sell pre-fabricated countertops, and you can get them for as little as about $150 for an eight-foot piece."
Reheat your cabinets.
Paint or stain old cabinets to make them look new again. "If you want to make your kitchen look new, take about $100 and buy some stain, some sealer, some new hardware, and you can make your cabinets look new — huge payoff for little money," says designer Lisa LaPorta of the L.A. team.
The best paint to use is either a high-gloss or an enamel because it dries hard and it makes cleanup easy.
Apply Yourself.
You can't go wrong by installing updated kitchen appliances. "If you buy new appliances for your kitchen, you will get that money back when you sell," LaPorta said. "If you don't want to spend the money, then wrap the appliances with laminate sheeting. Just clean the surface, cut it to size and apply."
Comments(4)