There comes a time in many people’s lives when they are finally ready to part with their home or simply need to move somewhere else. Selling a home is not hard business, but it is ideal that you sell it for a good price and not miss out on potentially great offers. Even though your home may already be highly desirable on the real estate market, there are some general tips that are easy to follow and that will definitely boost its value for any potential buyer:
1. Fix Anything That’s Broken
This goes without saying – when selling house, you must make sure that everything is running smoothly and that you are not passing on all sorts of faults to the next owner, thus risking to sell for lower price than what you hoped for. Check your tiles, make sure there aren’t any cracked ones, test your door knobs and your cupboard doors.
Make sure your doors don’t squeak, your walls are moisture-free and all your light bulbs are up to date. Sure, a prospective buyer will not pass on your house because of a flickering light bulb, but he or she will surely feel more like at home without any pestering inconveniences.
2. Revive Any Pale Colours
Look around your home. Does it have a fresh, popping look or does it feel like it’s been lived in for five decades? By this we don’t mean slapping on some lime-colored paint on the walls, but simply reviving already existing colors and softening too stark ones. For example, you can repaint your walls so they make the room feel brighter and more spacious once more.
If you can’t afford to replace older furniture, consider applying a fresh coat of paint – it will definitely give it a crisper look. Also make sure to check your curtains and your rugs – consider replacing them if they look beaten up. It’s so little, but it can do so much for a first impression.
3. Don’t Underestimate Smells
Just as the visual aspect is a powerful influence over someone’s first impression of home, smells are the unseen and underestimated forces that govern our perception. For example, if you are a smoker and are trying to sell your home, chances are that the tobacco smell has persisted in time and your prospective buyer may feel put off by it. This can be easily avoided by placing vinegar bowls around the house a couple of days before the viewing – this way you are allowing for both the cigarette and vinegar smell to dissipate in a timely manner. Bad smells can also come from clogged drains, old bed sheets, cooking items and so forth. After eliminating these, you can go the extra mile by providing alluring smells with flowers, incense sticks and why not, even fresh coffee.
4. Declutter, Declutter, Declutter
Your most important objective is trying to make your home appear luminous and spacious. This is also achievable by throwing out any unnecessary items that you might have kept for sentimental reasons – they won’t matter to the new person coming in to live in your house and it will only clutter the place up. However, this doesn’t mean it needs to look sterile and bare, but rather airy and in good taste, with no unnecessary stuff left around to fill up space. Leave a couple of items that define your personality, so the place can still feel like a home with an edge.
5. Update Your bathroom and Kitchen
These two rooms are so important to prospective buyers that they can make or break the deal. Of course, you can’t put in a shower cabin apart from your bathtub, just to please as many contenders as possible. But you do need to check your plumbing and inspect your sanitary ware. Get rid of rust or any limestone deposits.
Similarly, check that everything in your kitchen is running smoothly, disinfect everything and make sure the fridge has no unpleasant smells. Replace your set of chairs and table or upgrade your countertops to something snazzier, if it is required – anything your budget allows you to. You are guaranteed to have a greater return on this type of small investments once you sell your home.
These are small pick-me-ups that your home can definitely use in order to gain a fresher look and become more attractive on the market. Just make sure you think as a buyer and imagine what you would like to see when browsing for new homes. Whatever the changes you apply to your home, make sure to keep it simple and uncomplicated.