10 WAYS TO QUICKLY UP YOUR HOME VALUE FOR A SUMMER SALE
Planning to sell your home this summer? You may have a little – or a lot – to do in order to get your home market ready. But you don’t need a huge budget. These 10 tips can help you get it looking great with little effort, and cash.
1. Paint
Crisp white walls are great in a 1920s Spanish. For most other homes, a splash of color is an easy way to warm up the space, make it look more updated, and banish fingerprints and stains. Use a soft neutral like one of these favorite gray shades for a modern look.
2. Address your front door
A fresh coat of paint on your front door is a quick fix that pops with potential. Use a bright color like red or yellow to differentiate your home from others and make it shine from the street.
If your door really can’t be salvaged by painting it, you’ll be happy to know that replacing it with a new steel door has been shown to return between 75% and 100%+ of your investment. “It’s also a relatively low-cost project,” said Houselogic. “According to the “2015 Remodeling Impact Report,” a new steel front entry door has a national median cost of $2,000 installed.”
Aside from your door, a few easy tasks can make the front of your home look great – important when you’re looking to sell your home since poor curb appeal can keep potential buyers from even coming inside. A new layer of mulch has been called the easiest and quickest way to add curb appeal. Pulling noticeable weeds, giving the lawn a quick mow, and bringing in fresh flowers – if you can’t plant, put a few pots near the front door—can make all the difference.
4. New appliances
Even if the rest of your kitchen needs work, new stainless steel appliances can tempt buyers. This package from US Appliance is just $1,749.
US Appliance
5. Quickie bathroom updates
A new or painted vanity, hardware, fixtures, and lighting can make a tired bathroom look fresh again. Don’t forget the little things – a fluffy set of towels, a nice rug, a modern shower curtain, and sleek accessories can make the space look good, even if it’s really in need of a gut job.
6. New bedding
You’d be surprised how new bedding can transform the look of your bedroom for next to nothing. There are two schools of thought here: get a cheap bed-in-a-bag set that looks nice but probably doesn’t have the thread count you want for everyday use, or spend a little more for something that has the looks and the luxe.
7. Create a guest room
Have a room that’s currently an undefined space? A blowup bed covered in some chic bedding can help buyers envision how they’ll use the room. This is a top tip from stagers, who say that “multipurpose” rooms can confuse buyers, leaving them unsure if a home will work for them.
8. Set the scene outdoors
Everybody is into indoor-outdoor living the days. A few tricks outside can make your place look inviting.
Create a seating area with some inexpensive outdoor furniture. Scour garage sales or catch a sale at Home Depot or Target. Put up an umbrella for shade and use inexpensive pavers or deck tiles to define the space. Stage it for outdoor dining and you’ve just created valuable, usable space buyers can see themselves enjoying.
Polywood Furniture
Hire a professional stager and it can set you back a couple thousand dollars. But you can steal a few of their most important tricks for free. Cleaning like you’ve never cleaned before, decluttering, and paring down your furniture to create inviting seating areas will allow buyers to see the space instead of your stuff (or your mess).
10. Window coverings
If your window coverings are ugly, old, and not doing your house justice, or if they’re keeping too much light from streaming into the home, consider taking them down. Natural light is high on almost every buyer’s must-have list. You can purchase inexpensive drapes at any big box store that you can use to frame the windows – but remember to keep them open at showings, and to clean your windows first!