Years of memories make your home priceless in your eyes. Nonetheless, a successful sale depends on pricing your home appropriately for the local market. Read on to learn how you can find out what your home is worth, as well as Jerilyn Wiech’s advice on how to increase your home’s value before you list.
Research Your Home’s Value
Understanding your home’s current value is key for determining whether to make updates before listing. The easiest way to estimate your home’s value is by using an online tool. While not a substitute for a real estate agent’s assessment, it’s a great way to get an estimate of your home’s worth.
To dig digger into your home’s value, research the selling price of recently sold homes in your neighborhood. Homes similar in age and size to your home should be priced similarly. If your home’s estimated value is considerably less than what your neighbors are selling for, pay attention to what those homes offer that yours doesn’t. Do homes with the highest sale prices have remodeled kitchens, outdoor living spaces, or other modern touches that you lack? What about new roofs, energy-efficient windows, or other structural and mechanical updates? This gives you information about features that could increase your home’s resale value.
Make Repairs
Home buyers are shopping for their dream home and making repairs immediately after moving in doesn’t fit into that vision. Minor repairs like these are always worth fixing:
● Squeaky hinges
● Peeling paint
● Cracks and holes in walls
● Ripped screens
● Crumbling or molded grout
● Damaged flooring
While they may seem like small details, making these repairs prevents buyers from rejecting your home over a cosmetic flaw or another minor issue. You can do many repairs yourself or hire a handyman or contractor.
When it comes to major repairs, it’s best to repair or replace aging systems unless you intend to price your home as a fixer-upper. If you’re unsure if it’s worth the expense to make a repair, ask your real estate agent for a second opinion.
Deep Clean and Depersonalize
Cleaning is perhaps the most important thing sellers can do before showing their home. Homes that are not just tidy, but deep cleaned, de-cluttered and depersonalized make the best impression on home buyers. Hire a cleaning service or use Care.com’s step-by-step guide to do it yourself.
Pack early and keep unneeded items in off-site storage. Closets, cabinets and other areas show best when only lightly filled. If you have pets, remove all traces of owning pets on the day of showings. Remove personal decorations from the home, especially in kitchens, living areas and master bedrooms. Kids’ rooms are less important to depersonalize, but should at least be de-cluttered. If walls appear bare after de-cluttering, decorate lightly with simple art prints to match the décor. For help choosing the right art for home staging, read this advice from Professional Staging.
Repainting all interior walls isn’t necessary as long as existing paint is in good condition. However, accent walls and unusual or bright paint colors should be replaced with a neutral color.
Stage
For a long time, home staging was considered the purview of high-end homes. While homes at higher price points are still the most important to stage, all sellers can benefit from staging their home to sell.
If you’re selling a luxury home, you may choose to rent furniture, art and other staging accessories to give your home the well-appointed, upscale feel buyers desire. At moderate price points, sellers should clean, depersonalize, and arrange furniture to define rooms and promote traffic flow. Outside, the front porch and landscaping should be cleaned up to improve curb appeal.
Making these updates doesn’t have to be expensive, especially if your home is in decent condition and you’re willing to DIY minor repairs. And by completing these tasks before listing, you make your home more competitive so it sells faster and you enjoy higher offers than selling as-is. For sellers who want the most for their home, it’s a no brainer.
Article provided by Natalie Jones from HomeownerBliss.info.