(Submitted by Lisa Roberts.)
When selling a home, everyone wants to do it as fast as possible, for the best price possible. However, not everyone manages to do this. The people on the lower end of this spectrum don’t realize the importance of getting their homes ready for sale. And this is what makes a world of difference. With just a few upgrades, you can increase the appeal of your home, thus maximizing the sale. So, let’s see some of the best home improvements to make before selling to get the most out of your property.
Two birds – one stone
Remodeling, selling your old Oregon home, and moving go hand in hand. They are all arduous undertakings, physically and mentally. Furthermore, they all demand dedication and efficiency. However, you can make them easier and faster if you chose to move before diving into the rework. Although moving is difficult, Oregon specialists can deal with this without you having to break a sweat. That way, you’ll begin settling in with a head start. At the same time, you’ll enable faster remodel since the house will be empty and, thus, easier to navigate for workers. And, as a bonus point, you won’t have to risk health issues home reworks usually carry.
Painting
Tastes differ wildly. Some buyers love tiny homes; others love huge mansions. However, all of them love seeing a freshly painted home. It helps them envision all the fantastic things they can do to personalize it and make it their own. Coincidentally (and fortunately!), this is one of the cheapest and easiest home improvements to make before selling.
That said, not every color will work to your advantage here. As a rule, neutral colors work much better than their flashy counterparts. With this in mind, you should choose from one of the following:
- For living rooms, warm colors work the best. A safe bet here is brown, beige, pale taupe, as well as their variations;
- Pale shades of blue do wonders to increase the allure of bathrooms and bedrooms;
- The look of the kitchen benefits most from paler shades of brown or blue;
- For the exterior, blue, grey, and greige are a great neutral choice (pale or slight variations).
However, choosing the perfect shade and/or color can be a bit tricky. So, if you don’t have the time or experiment or simply don’t want to bother, you can go with the safest solution. And, that is – grey. It’s neutral, elegant, and easy to improve upon. Alternatively, you can hire a professional to suggest colors or do a complete paint job. It will cost a bit more but guarantees results.
Floors
Did you notice how, in every house-selling advertisement, floors pop out at the very top of the description list? That’s right – it’s impossible to miss it. Flooring is a significant selling point, and the first thing buyers notice as they enter the house. Although most people don’t give them too much thought once they settle in, they’ll pay attention to every single smallest detail during the walk-in. Therefore, your next stop, right after painting, is making sure flooring is presentable.
Now, this is one of the most considerable investments of all. Especially so if:
- The house is large and has lots of rooms with different types of flooring. Although this can look good, buyers usually prefer a uniform look;
- The state of flooring is dismal and in need of complete rework. There’s no painless solution to this one. You either bite the bullet and replace them all, or add a few touch-ups to, at least, make them look decent;
- You’re going for those incredibly alluring hardwood floors. These can get quite expensive, depending on the type of wood and installment cost. Still, they’re sure to skyrocket the resale value.
But, if your floors are in decent shape, a simple refinish can be just what they need to look amazing. Although the work involved is extensive, the return is more than worth it.
Lighting
It’s amazing how small things can have a major impact on the resale value of a house. Lighting is one of, if not the best, examples of this. Bright, well-lit areas make the place feel larger, cozier, and more vibrant. As such, they can invoke familiar feelings of warmth and comfort in your buyers. In other words – they’ll feel right at home. Precisely the effect you want to achieve!
So, what you should consider doing here is:
- Replace old and damaged fixtures;
- Replace all the old bulbs with new, preferably energy-efficient ones;
- Optionally, you can add light dimmers and some recessed and ambient lighting.
This improvement is cost-effective and easy to do. Therefore, you should definitely add it to the list of home improvements to make before selling.
Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most used parts of the home. Therefore, buyers will most often split hairs when it comes to functionality, looks, and sustainability. In other words – everything. For this reason, the kitchen is an area that demands a lot of attention when renovating. Still, this can be quite an expensive escapade. So, instead of doing a full rework, you can opt for smaller to mid-range improvements. These will give your kitchen a nice, “tight” look without obliterating your budget:
- Lighting – The same points we have made about lighting work for the kitchen, too. For a bit more “oomph”, you can install some under-cabinetry lighting;
- Faucets – easy to replace and don’t cost much.
- Hinges and handles – You don’t have to replace cabinets entirely if you ensure they’re functional;
- Cabinetry – Again, you can repaint them to give them a fresh, new look instead of replacing them.
These few small touches can transform your kitchen entirely. And – with virtually no effort.
Bathroom
Recently, bathrooms became a central selling point for homes. Even more so than the kitchens. In fact, more often than not, you’ll see a 100% return on the investment – or more! So, this should be one of the primary areas to focus on when choosing home improvements to make before selling.
For the bathrooms, it’s advisable to replace:
- Tiles, especially if they’re old or cracked;
- Cabinets and countertops;
- Faucets and fixtures for sinks and tubs;
- And, of course, lighting and paint.
Additionally, if there’s space, you may want to add another bathroom. The more, the merrier. Plus, you’ll get that money back, almost guaranteed. However, same as with kitchen rework, bathroom rework can cost quite a lot. So, you can opt for thorough cleaning (grouting included), lighting, and a paint job for the absolute minimum. That’s more than enough for a good face-lift.
Depersonalization
Ok, this is not an “improvement”, per se. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. You will “downgrade” your home to increase its appeal. We know how this sounds counterintuitive (and counterproductive), but bear with us.
Because, here’s the thing: you’re not selling your old home to the buyer. You’re selling their new home. Therefore, you want them to envision themselves living there. You want their imagination to run wild. You want them to have memories before they even put down the deposit. And the best way to achieve that is to remove yourself from the equation.
So, pack your personal items, decor, memorabilia, photos, etc., and put them somewhere safe. Preferably, out of the house entirely. A storage unit is your best bet in this regard. You can find moving companies that offer storage services at quite an affordable price with ease. Once you present your potential buyers with a blank canvas on which they could paint their lives, they will rush come and start browsing through bestlongdistancemovers.com to find the most reliable movers and enlist their help to get them to their new home as quickly as possible.
Prioritize and don’t rush
Home rework takes a lot of effort. As such, it’s not something you should rush. When choosing home improvements to make before selling, it always pays to be organized. Therefore, create a home selling checklist so you can prioritize the improvements. This will ensure each part of the home gets a makeover and, thus, lure in a plethora of different buyers.
