Last Updated on November 15, 2024 by teamobn
Regardless of the number of years, or even decades, that you’ve owned your current home, it’s extremely likely that you will eventually reach a point where you’ll decide to turn it over to someone else.
Whether you’re looking to transfer to another community or upgrade to a bigger – or downsized – home, you’ll need to put your property up for sale and encourage people to place their offer. How quickly your property sells will be determined by multiple factors – some outside of your control but others well within your influence.
At the time of writing this post, we are still in a sellers’ market. Demand for housing is outstripping supply. But it’s a regular cycle where it can quickly switch to a buyers’ market – one where there are more homes on offer than buyers in the market. This can even be regional where one region is a seller’s market while another less popular area (because of climate, employment opportunities etc.) can be a buyers’ market.
Regardless of the current cycle when you decide to sell your home, two things are certain:
- You’ll want to achieve the best possible price for your home, and
- You’ll be wanting to sell as quickly as possible!
So whether you are selling in a sellers’ or buyer’s market, you need to ensure your home attracts people who are willing and able to pay a good price for your asset. This would largely depend on the renovations and improvements you will undertake to make the property stand out in a competitive market. That said, here’s your guide on how you can draw in buyers.
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Why Spruce Up Your Home Before Selling?
You might think that major home improvement is unnecessary since you will be bidding goodbye to the property. It might come off as a waste of money, but in reality, there’s a lot you can gain from setting aside time and resources for sprucing up.
- Increase home value
- Some improvements might not nudge up the resale price of your home, but there are those that would add many hundreds or thousands of dollars more at closing.
- The right aesthetic and structural improvements may seem costly on the surface, but they’re well worth every cent and second.
- You can also say the same for repairs and upgrades of outdated features.
- Attract more buyers
- In a tight market, the best situation you should find yourself in is a bidding war.
- That’s when multiple buyers interested in your property will try to outdo each other by putting out higher offers.
- By sprucing up your home, you’re effectively inviting more people to ask about the property and have them compete for ownership.
- When everything goes well, your property could sell well above your initial asking price.
- A faster move-out
- If you’re in a hurry to sell your home, making it attractive to motivated buyers ensures that you will be able to move out within your timetable.
- Anyone who’s excited to move in would insist on closing the deal with little time for back-and-forth discussions.
- Not only will you get a higher price for your home, but you also get to move on to the next chapter of your life within just a few weeks.
- Less time on the market
- Nothing can diminish a home’s resale value quite like the length of time it has stayed on the market.
- If it isn’t updated from the inside and out, you would seldom receive offers and your home struggles to get sold.
- Other buyers who see the days the house is on sale might be turned off as they assume that your home has issues that haven’t been resolved.
Given these reasons for sprucing up your property before selling, you shouldn’t overlook the need to make improvements and renovations. It’s only a matter of focusing on the ones that are guaranteed to increase the selling price of your home and excite buyers.
Tips for a Pre-Sale Spruce-Up
If you’re intent on selling your home this year or the next, it matters to know what improvements are worth exploring. Check out the list below for suggestions that are guaranteed to make your home attractive to buyers and add more dollars to the sale:
1. Fix The Roofing
When it comes to any home improvement project, it’s always a good idea to start with what potential buyers immediately see when they browse through listings. Your roofing system has to be the first thing they will notice. The state it’s in gives them a good idea about the overall condition of the property. If it looks dirty and outdated, your home’s roofing system may not succeed in getting anyone’s attention.
Consider inspecting the integrity and appearance of your roof. Determine whether you need to replace missing or damaged shingles or tiles or perhaps even opt for a complete overhaul. In the latter case, look up a local contractor who can come up with a roofing design that’s functional and visually striking.
If you’re opting for a more modern look, replace the asphalt shingles with thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO). Check out this TPO roofing guide for everything you need to know about TPO’s benefits compared to traditional systems.
2. Perform Landscaping
Even if you have an updated roofing system, you still have to check if the landscaping needs an upgrade. Most buyers would be turned off by a poorly maintained lawn and garden.
Before getting your realtor to take pictures for marketing your home, keep the grass at an ideal height and ensure it’s properly irrigated. You can also add colorful vegetation around the property. Hues of red, orange, and violet are always effective for drawing buyers who are into gardening.
To accomplish a cleaner look for your lawn, prune overgrown shrubs, trees, and bushes and define walkways by placing flat stones or tiles. If you have a front patio, surround it with perennial plants and decorate the area with items made from natural wood. While you’re at it, consider adding outdoor ambient lights emphasizing the facade.
3. Enhance The Interior
The exterior won’t be the only thing that draws potential buyers to your home. During a home tour, they will pay more attention to how the interior feels. Different buyers have different expectations and they may end up changing the space to their liking.
The best you can do is to give the interior walls an update. Opt for neutral colors that create the illusion of space and cleanliness. You can also go for effective staging without going overboard in terms of decoration.
When you’re preparing your home for a buyer’s visit, store away personal items and opt for simple set pieces, especially in the living room and master bedroom. To make your home even more appealing, replace outdated appliances with energy-efficient ones. Buyers are more than likely to make an offer on a home with newly-furnished interiors.
4. Repair All Your Utilities
Don’t think that cosmetic improvements are the only things that motivate buyers. You should also check if the property is fully functional. By that, you need to resolve issues with your electrical and plumbing systems before putting them up for sale.
If you overlook this important step, these issues will still be unearthed during a home inspection and the buyer may request that you foot the bill for repairs or bring your asking price down or worse, decide that ‘it’s all too hard’ and cross your home off their list..
Give yourself extra time to locate leaks in your plumbing. Patch these up and replace rusty parts with new ones. Look for sockets that have short-circuited and exposed wires. In addition to these, you may also want to add insulation to areas like the basement and attic and seal up cracks on the walls, molding, and other areas.
Endnote
It may seem like extra work, but improving your home before selling helps you move on faster and with more money to fuel your new life. Keep this guide in mind and give your home the boost it needs in today’s real estate market.
