These tips will help you downsize without compromising on your asking price
Home buyers are looking for a house, but they aren’t necessarily looking for your house.
Your wallpaper might not be to their taste, and the knickknacks from your last few trips outside Canada might not be as charming to them as to you.
So making your house a little more neutral is important, for a start.
What else can you do to get your home ready to sell?
Paint it properly.
Home buyers can spot a lazy painting job, and while a little paint splashing onto the trim might not seem like a big deal, they might take it as a lack of care in the maintenance of the house.
Rather than the paint making the house more neutral and easy to see themselves in, they can think you’re trying to hide something.
Paint is a big part of the first impression. And the first impression is really the only impression, so make it count with a fresh, bright, neutral paint job. Now isn’t the time to be bold with colours.
Make smart upgrades.
Paint is one of the smartest upgrades to make. It costs next to nothing and has a massive impact on buyer perception.
Clean your curtains, or buy some inexpensive but bright ones.
Upgrade the kitchen and bathrooms.
- With both of these upgrades, you will get almost 100% of the value back by increasing the asking price on your home.
- Ultimately, you are selling these two parts of the house, not the house itself. People care more about the kitchen than anything else in the house.
Smart kitchen upgrades include:
- Cabinet refacing, including new hardware.
- Updated appliances.
- New countertops (they don’t have to be granite or quartz. Laminate or solid surface can look great too).
- A new sink, if yours is stained or worn out.
Make the entry inviting
Typically homeowners get a 100% return on any money put into improving curb appeal.
You might use your entryway for hanging jackets and placing wet boots. When you’re selling the house, clear that space out. Put in a small bench and a vase with some flowers.
Replace your harsh entry lighting with something soft and warm, and even consider refinishing your hardwood floors in the foyer.
Make it bright
Bright paint is a start, but you also need to get as much natural light in there as possible. And make the most of that light.
- Clean your windows.
- Draw your drapes back.
- Change your lampshades and put in brighter bulbs.
- Cut back any brush obstructing windows from outside.
Good light is right up there with a good overall location as a desirable feature for homebuyers.
Bonus tip: clean out your closets
Storage is always a hot topic for buyers.
There is never enough storage! So if your closets are cluttered, buyers could be thrown off.
Take half the stuff out of your closet and organize whatever you leave neatly.
Even if you feel the storage in your home is lacking, neat and sparse closets will give the illusion of greater capacity.
When your house is ready, you need to find an agent to represent you in the sale. Give us a call and we’ll help you get asking price or better for your home sale this winter/spring.
