The ten best ways to add value to your house include both simple things and some easy construction. The first thing to consider is your home’s kerb appeal. You can’t show off what a great home you have inside, if no one likes the outside. Next, focus on the most important rooms in the home, like the kitchen, the master bedroom and the living room. These rooms should be in tiptop shape. They should be free of clutter, freshly painted and, if possible, buy some new furniture to brighten up the space.
1) Repaint all those rooms in your home. Studies have shown that home buyers are seeking a space they can make their own. The best colour for imagining your own things in the space is a neutral one, such as a light taupe or off-white.
2) Above all, make sure your home smells nice. If you have pets, hire a neutral person to take a smell check for you. Your home should have a subtle flower or fresh baked cookies scent.
3) Remove the countless pictures of your grandchildren, graduations and weddings sitting all over your living room. One or two-family pictures are fine, but walls covered with family images are too much. This concept includes family crests, and other unique things that detract from the viewer’s ability to imagine the space as their own.
4) Dirty carpeting, stripped or buckling wood floors should be cleaned, refinished or replaced.
5) If your kitchen is outdated, take the time to update it. New stainless-steel appliances, a working dishwasher, a fresh unscratched porcelain or stainless-steel sink with a nice new touchless faucet featuring a pull-out sprayer. Get rid of those scratched and nicked countertops and replace them with some nice granite. Reface your cabinets, so they look gorgeous and welcoming.
6) Find out your style. Would a new couple find this space to be a haven, a place where they can get away from it all? If not, fix it. If your bed is not dressed to attract, buy some new bedding. Make sure it looks like a showroom in the master bedroom. That is a major attraction for new home buyers. Buy a new luxurious throw rug for the buyers to imagine sinking their bare toes in when they climb out of bed. If the bedroom is crowded with furniture, get rid of as much as is needed to make it look comfortable instead of crowded.
7) Never allow your attic, garage or basement to look like a dumping site. Clean all those areas out. If need be, send some stuff to the charity, Salvation Army, have a car boot sale or simply throw some stuff away. It is important that every space in your home is usable.
8) Walk around your home and examine the outside. Repair any minor damage that may have occurred to your home due to insect, rodent or weather damage. Even a loose piece of siding can be a turn off to an uneducated buyer.
9) Check your windows and doors, making sure they all open and close with ease. You may get a potential buyer that wants to try out everything to make sure it works. You know the kind of buyer that opens and closes every drawer in the kitchen, every door in the house, etc.
10) All that dingy, ratty furniture that you have broken in, hide it if you do not plan on dumping it. Replace it with better fitting more tasteful pieces. Your potential buyer needs to see your home like it is a showroom, so he can imagine it as his own.
