Prepare Your House For Sale Well Before You List It!

The preparation of your home prior to listing is very important and will give you an edge over your competition. Your objective is to appeal to the most buyers possible, which will increase traffic and the odds of getting your home under contract in a reasonable amount of time for a good price.

Upgrades can certainly increase your chances of selling your home, but one needs to be careful as to which upgrades will be the most cost effective and increase your chances of selling the home.
By taking the time to do a few cosmetic updates, you’ll be appealing to buyers’ emotions (“Look at this great kitchen!”) instead of competing on price alone.

WHERE TO SPEND THE MONEY

Granite countertops are what most of today’s buyers are looking for and it’s one of easiest and most dramatic things you can do to give your home an updated feel. Replacing brass hardware with brushed nickel and outdated light fixtures with more modern ones can “freshen up” your home.

In this market, if your house lacks some of the basic upgrades that buyers desire, they’ll simply move on to the next home for sale or wander off to new construction. I also have found that no matter how much I might like the wallpaper my sellers have installed, it dates a home and should be taken down. Sorry. Buyers don’t want to have to deal with removing it and an allowance for its removal also won’t cut it. Time and time again, I’ve had buyers take a home off of their showing list, just because of the wallpaper they saw in a picture on line. Hire someone to remove it, and paint those walls in a neutral color to get your house sold.

Paint, decluttering and cleaning throughout the interior and exterior is the least expensive cost in improving a home visually and gives one of  the greatest returns in value a seller can perform. Make that the first self-walk through and list you can.

WHERE NOT TO SPEND THE MONEY

Do NOT spend on upgrades that are not needed. I can’t tell you how many homes, and I’ve literally seen and shown thousands, where I’ve asked myself a number of times, “Why did they do that?”

One example is flooring. There was nothing wrong with the floor, the owner spent thousands on a new one merely thinking it would add value. An interested buyer didn’t like it at all and made an offer below list price to replace the floor or they weren’t going to purchase.

Why replace an aged roof that had nothing wrong with it except it’s lifespan was nearing it’s end. Replace it with an expensive barrel-tile roof and you may not get the value back in the sale of the home. Or, if you put a simple shingle roof on it, a buyer may want to replace it with a slate roof and not think much of that new roof. This is a situation a buyer should be careful in spending money. I’ve recommended successfully an amount of money towards a new roof that worked in the buyer and seller’s satisfaction that at the end of the day didn’t cost the seller in wasted spending.

Solar upgrade? Not a fan (pun intended.) It takes a long time to recover the initial costs and doesn’t help a seller’s bottom line at all.

Upgrading Kitchens and Bathrooms unnecessarily. While these are areas that give the greatest overall return, cosmetically changing them with tastes you as a seller like may be a turn-off to a buyer’s taste. Liken it to you as a seller loving soft pop music and a buyer really into grundge music. We as human beings and being buyers and sellers have different interests, same with regard to upgrades and updates. Don’t overdue it specifically with your own tastes in mind. Play that alternative pop, not as light, not as heavy, just right for both. Upgrade Kitchens and Bathrooms with a fresh look, cleaning, painting. If you feel the need to upgrade, do so conservatively and not expensively.

FINANCES TIGHT?

If updates are a financial burden to you, approach your home in this manner: Focus on how it looks versus the product. If the Corian goes well with the cabinets, backsplash, etc, and is in good shape, I would be tempted to leave it.

Getting a second opinion from me is free, just contact me and I’ll be glad to see if replacement is a worthy way to go in your neighborhood. I should be able to tell you what buyers are looking for and where you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck.

Focus on other cosmetics. Make sure your kitchen is functional: functional – making sure every appliance works (no leaky faucets); operational – working counter space; space creativity involves positioning of tables, chairs, shelving and other floor accessories to invite getting-togetherness during food preparation. It doesn’t have to be “modern”; clean, shiny and nostalgic may often be more appealing. I can’t tell you how many times I took my young family on vacations to North Carolina’s beaches in Atlantic Island, Emerald Isle, Topsail Beach, Oak Island and others and appreciated the cleanliness of the vacation home rather than one with all of the bells and whistles.

It doesn’t have to be spacious – just an appearance of such. Your invitational kitchen will get you a home price which is greater than a house price by doing simple cosmetics.

THE BASICS

And then there’s always the basics: shine windows, mirrors and light fixtures, open curtains for more light, remove excess furniture (to showcase the view and to make the place look bigger as well as to open up the traffic flow amongst rooms). Re-grout (cheap but very effective), eliminate dramatic colors that make rooms look smaller with neutral paint. Caulk…replace that dirty caulk.

Repairs made should be repairs that make a difference.

In terms of adding value, major maintenance items such as replacing the roof, HVAC, and exterior painting will do little to increase your profit at the end of the day, but they will help the home sell faster.

Be objective about your home. Don’t take buyer comments as personal. Remember you are selling your house not your home. Your home are the cherished memories in your mind, your house is that value you want at sale.

De-clutter, de-personalize, and do minor repairs.