If you’re getting ready to sell a home, you want to get the most money you can for it. Maybe it’s the perfect time to sell and the market is a seller’s market. Maybe it’s a buyer’s market, so you need to try and get every cent you can for your place. While you may not want to change what you’ve done to the home to make it one, it’s probably smarter to make some concessions and make the home look brand new again.
When you’re preparing to put your home on the market, you want to make it look as accessible as possible to appeal to the widest array of people. There are some small upgrades that won’t cost you a lot of money that could pay large dividends when it comes time to choose from different bidders. It’s important to consider them because they could be the difference between a lot of people at an open house and a handful.
Most smart home beginners waste money on this one device they don’t need
It pays to take the time and plan your smart home out.
Everything deserves a fresh coat of paint
Keep it calm and keep it neutral
Don’t get me wrong. Color drenching or bold stylistic choices could be perfect for the home while you live in it. But you have to be realistic that your choices may not vibe for everyone.
They may not want the unique mural designs you chose to have painted in your kids’ rooms. They might also not be inclined to keep the four different-colored walls you have in your master bedroom.
Repainting things with some neutral colors will help people see the potential in your home. They don’t want to see what the home looked like while you owned it. They want to see what it could look like if they owned it. You need to give people a glimpse into the future. While that may be difficult to fathom, it’s part of the deal when you’re selling a home.
If you’re working with a real estate agent, this is typically the first piece of advice they offer to sellers. Everyone wants to see what a home looks like when it’s been freshly painted.
The lights need changing
You probably need to modernize the home
After a while, your design choices can feel dated. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just what happens with the passing of time. Something you liked 10 years ago might be wildly out of style.
Amazingly, something you liked 20 years ago could have fallen out of style and is now back in style. There’s no telling why things go in and out of style, so it can be hard to keep up with the current trends.
Regardless, you should consider updating your light fixtures. You should always skew for warmer and brighter lights. Whether it’s light fixtures that are mounted to the wall or ceiling fans with overhead lighting, you can find ways to update what you have for illumination. It really is a smart upgrade that is worth it.
There’s also outdoor light fixtures that you can take care of and swap out. Those might be the final bit of a flourish on the exterior of the home to help people imagine themselves in your place. It can make your house look more expensive.
You can also consider swapping out light bulbs to make them feel like a bit of a more welcoming presence. If you don’t have the money to upgrade your light fixtures, opting for warmer light could help make the room feel different.
This goes for light bulbs in lamps, recessed lighting, ceiling fans, mounted lights, and exterior ones. Warmer lights are typically more inviting.
Swap out the cabinet hardware and doorknobs
Make everything feel cohesive throughout the house
There are two steps you can take to make things seem more up-to-date. You can make sure your doorknobs are all matching. Having mismatched doorknobs just feels off.
You may have had to swap doorknobs at some point because one of them stopped working or broke. But it’s smart to have all of your bedrooms match or every doorknob on the same floor matches with the other ones, because it will make everything feel like it was purposeful.
If you have random mismatched doorknobs, it will feel a bit scattered. It’s a small detail, but one that won’t go unnoticed by many people looking at your house while doing a walkthrough.
The same goes for updating the knobs and handles in the kitchen. If you have drawers that pull out of the island, consider making sure they are all the same. If the knobs on your cabinets are old and need a polish, you should give them one, or you can provide the entire kitchen with a small makeover by replacing them.
These should all match in color, as a brushed nickel is a popular option. This is the kind of move that makes the design choices feel more cohesive and purposeful.
More kitchen upgrades can pay big dividends
Your kitchen faucet is probably outdated
Rather than redoing the entire kitchen and replacing all the cabinets and putting in a new countertop, you could consider some smaller investments first.
Swapping out your old faucet for a new one can be a cost-effective change that won’t set you back a ton. If you’re upgrading the handles and the hardware around the kitchen, make sure you’re getting a fixture that is the same color.
Adding a backsplash around the kitchen is a subtle design choice that many will consider a smart decision. It can add a pop of color and provide you with a better look behind the stove.
If you don’t want to redo many other areas, a simple color change on the cabinets and giving them some new coats of paint can vastly change how the kitchen looks. This can go a long way and avoid you having to replace the kitchen fixtures entirely.
Shelving changes can show how much storage there is
Storage is one of the most noticeable facets of a house
There is no doubt that anybody moving into a new place is likely to pay attention to how much storage is available in the new abode. You’re probably not looking to minimize your storage space if you’re buying a new home.
The more areas there are to put things, the less cluttered a person’s home will feel. They can unpack what they need and store the rest. It’s why people like to do a decorative refresh with the different seasons.
Adding shelves to the basement or garage can highlight additional places in a home that people might not have thought about storing items. This also goes for adding items like floating shelves or bookshelves to rooms.
If people can see a room and think about how easy it is to put items in it, the more they can consider them to be items in their own home.
Power wash the side of the house
Curb appeal means so much
The siding of a house can get dirty after a while. You don’t have to clean the siding frequently when you own a home. But you don’t have to neglect it either.
Addressing the curb appeal of a home will help persuade people to actually want to see what the inside looks like. Plenty of potential home buyers do drive-bys to look at the outside of a home.
If the siding is filthy and the lawn is overgrown, the immediate reaction is to think that the home is run down. It’s hard to imagine sinking a bunch of money into a place if you’re seeing it look like it needs a lot of work.
While plenty of homes need a good amount of changes, this is a simple one. You can either go out and buy a power washer or you can hook up a special pressurized attachment to your hose and blast away the grime.
The same goes for the front walkway and even the driveway. Your deck could be caked in pollen or your mailbox area should be covered in bugs. Giving them a good scrub makes the home look more inviting.
These small home upgrades could be the difference in making a home sale
Take a second and think about why someone might want to be buying your home. You know the home has a lot to offer, but you need to make it look that way too by simplifying it for the ordinary home seeker. Help them put themselves in a buying mood by keeping things low-key and minimal. Nobody is going to have the same exact tastes in design, so it’s smart to make it look like a buyer can make the home their own with as few changes as possible.
