Anyone who wants to sell their house also wants to get as much as they can for it. Moving to a new house isn’t easy or cheap, so it helps to get a nice return when you sell your old one. However, you can’t expect to get a positive return on your house if it looks and feels the same as the day you moved into it. As they say, “You must spend money to make money.” Here are a few suggestions on what you should improve before selling your house to get a better price for it.
Update the Guts
Your immediate instinct will be to improve the things you can actually see about your house. On the other hand, if you neglect the guts of your home, such as the plumbing or the electrical wiring, you risk problems when buyers get your home properly inspected. Faulty piping or wiring can seriously hurt your selling price, so make sure your home’s inner workings are up to date and in good condition.
New Coats of Paint
A fresh coat of paint can have a much bigger impact on your home’s salability than you might think at first. The color of the walls in your house contributes to its overall feel and mood. A buyer’s mind could change based on how they perceive a certain room that has a color they don’t like. Repainting the walls with a more neutral-toned color can help to prevent any clashes of opinion in design.
Improve Curb Appeal
A great thing to improve before selling your house is the exterior landscaping. Curb appeal is a very real and very powerful force in the real estate industry. The outside of the house is the first thing a potential buyer will see. If they like what they see, the value of the house as a whole becomes much higher than it would be otherwise. Landscaping and yard maintenance can help to get you that extra bump of credibility you want your house to have.
Flooring Replacements
Nothing makes a house feel old like a ratty and worn-down carpet or wood floor. Just as with the paint on the walls, your home’s flooring is a key element to making a sale. If you’ve lived in the same house for a while, it’s likely that your floors took a few beatings over the years. A flooring refresh can help pull an entire room together and make older rooms feel newer.
Kitchen or Bathroom
If you can only improve one area of your house, the best places to focus on are your kitchen and your main bathroom. A dirty or rundown bathroom instantly makes a house feel less valuable and, overall, less sanitary. The kitchen is one of the most frequently visited areas of your house. Choose one of these rooms to renovate first if you don’t have the capacity to make larger changes.
