Get Your Home Ready to Sell with Low-Cost Home Improvements
When I am listing a home, I am usually asked by the sellers what they can do to improve their homes to get the best price and a quick sale. Of course, pricing the home correctly for the market and the conditions is the most important factor. However, almost everyone can do something to make their homes more attractive to buyers.
Here are the five most frequently recommended low-cost home improvements for the interior of the home (although each may not apply to everyone):
- Low-Cost Home Improvement #1: If you have hardwood floors, show them off. Many older homes have hardwood floors under the carpet, especially on the first floor. Buyers today love hardwood floors because they are easy to clean and because they are very fashionable right now. Whether you do it yourself or you hire someone to do it, ripping up the carpet will be well worth the effort. And speaking of carpeting, NEVER put it in the bathroom. It is a major turnoff to buyers; bathroom floors should always look like they have just been sanitized.
- Low-Cost Home Improvement #2: If you have old, out-dated lighting fixtures, change them. Home improvement stores have plenty of low-cost, attractive lighting fixtures that will make a big statement. So whether it's the 1970s glass chandelier in the hallway or the strip of round light bulbs in the bathroom, trade them in for a more modern look.
- Low-Cost Home Improvement #3: If the groutlines in the bathrooms and kitchen are not sparkling clean, either clean them off or replace the grout and caulk. No one wants to see grunge in either of those rooms especially, so look over all the surfaces to make sure they are gleaming.
- Low-Cost Home Improvement #4: Check all the walls to see if they need to be repainted. Nothing freshens up a house faster than repainting. Trade out any wild and crazy colors (or old dated wallpaper) for softer neutrals. You can't go wrong with shades of tan, taupe, grey, or light sage, which are warmer and preferable to white. Also, look over the woodwork and ceilings, and refinish those if necessary.
- Low-Cost Home Improvement #5: Clear out clutter and excess furniture. Each room should look as spacious as possible with just enough furniture so that buyers can visualize where their own furniture might go. If the walls are cluttered with too many pictures, consider replacing a lot of small ones with larger pictures or a large mirror. You will be moving anyway, so consider packing the excess up and putting it in storage now.
Of course, there are many other improvements that can be made, but these are low-cost home improvements that can make a big impact.
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Peggy Chirico, REALTOR®
Serving the Greater Hartford Area
Prudential CT Realty
peggychirico@gmail.com
860-748-8900
If you are buying or selling a home in Hartford County or Tolland County, please call me, email me, or visit my website. I would be happy to help you with your home search or provide a market analysis for your home.
Find your dream home now!
Good Points Peggy, also home buyer like to see well maintain properties, so clean clean clean, cut the grass and hedges. Happy Holidays
Peggy, this is a great list for those sellers contemplating listing their home in the near future. These low-cost improvements don't take long either!
Peggy these are all excellent suggestions. A freshly painted room, and the removal of clutter are huge in creating a first impression.
You are right about that, George! And I just read somewhere that the decision is made in the first 15 seconds (or something like that).
love this low costs improvement blog...very nicely written :) I want to re-blog this one.
Thanks for the reblog, Christina!