Enhancing Your Home's Sales Appeal
A Fresh View
When you put your home on the market, you have to look at it more
objectively, the way a prospective buyer would. It's understandable
that you've invested time, money and effort to decorate your home
to suit your tastes. However, your goal as a seller is to make it
easy for a buyer to visualize his or her own belongings in the same
space. That means keeping things as neutral as possible.
For instance, if you're going to give your home a fresh coat of
paint, choose a neutral hue and keep it consistent throughout the
house. Avoid experimenting with trendy wall treatments or colors
that could turn off a potential buyer. Also look for (and remove)
excess clutter that may have accumulated over time. It can make
it harder for a buyer to see your home's good points.
Beauty Boosters
The home inspection experts at AmeriSpec
are accustomed to looking beyond the obvious when evaluating a house.
They offer these suggestions for making your home more appealing
to prospective homebuyers:
- Tidy up closets, cabinets, and storerooms.
- Clean the floors and give them a fresh appearance.
- Make sure the house doesn't look cluttered. Leaving a book out
makes a house looked "lived in," but a stack of out-of-date magazines
is distracting.
- Make sure your kitchen sparkles. Clean every appliance, every
door and the inside of all cabinets and pantries. Check to see:
is the oven dirty? Is the refrigerator cluttered with old food?
A potential buyer could look anywhere!
- If you have leaky faucets, a toilet that doesn't flush properly
or a loose toilet seat, fix them. Expect a buyer to check out
every aspect of your bathroom, including the medicine cabinet
and linen closet. For an inexpensive bathroom update, consider
hanging a new shower curtain and towels. Ask your real estate
agent about a home warranty from American Home Shield to help
protect you and your buyer from potential repair problems on covered
systems and appliances.
- Clean the windows, inside and out. A bright sunny room is more
appealing.
- Make sure all light switches and light bulbs work.
- Take a tour of your garage and basement. Are they tidy and dry?
If not, your potential buyer could be wary of a purchase.
- Remove unpleasant odors such as pet odors or tobacco smoke.
There's nothing worse than a bad smell that chases off a buyer.
In fact – why not bake cookies right before the house is
shown?
Enhance Drive-up Impressions
It's frustrating if a potential buyer doesn't like the exterior
appearance of your house. To anticipate and hopefully prevent negative
reactions, stand on the curb and look at your house objectively.
Walk up to the door and try to notice anything that would look unattractive
or disturbing if you were considering buying this house. In particular,
focus on these outdoor items:
- Improve your landscaping to enhance instead of hide the property.
- Repair the driveway, if there are cracks or breaks.
- Clean the garage and keep the door closed until the buyer inspects it.
- Trim and edge the lawn, and make sure to remove all debris.
- Replace damaged paving blocks on walkways and repair damaged fencing.
- Make sure the front entrance sparkles. Scrub it or paint it if necessary.
- Repair or replace broken doorbells, creaky hinges, ripped screens,
cracked windowpanes, or chipping and peeling paint. These are
signs of poor maintenance that can scare off a potential buyer.
- Remove any objects lying around the exterior of the home – children's toys, garden tools, etc.
- Sweep the driveway.
- Trim the shrubbery if it is overgrown. It can start to look unkempt even in winter.
- If you can't afford to paint the whole house, give the trim and shutters a new coat.
For a complete assessment of your home's condition that can ease
a potential homebuyer's concerns, schedule
a home inspection from AmeriSpec.
Please note: the above are merely suggestions. AmeriSpec cannot
be responsible for any damages arising from any action or inaction
taken pursuant to the referrals provided herein.
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Let the professionals from AmeriSpec help you get your home ready for sale.
Schedule a home inspection today, and ease a potential homebuyer's concerns.
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