So you are thinking about selling your house. You’re out on the weekend visiting open houses so that you can see what the competition is doing to get their homes ready. You see homes in various conditions. Some homes are staged, vacant, refreshed and painted. Some are lived in and not staged. Some are totally vacant, unpolished and need a lot of work. It seems like the homes all sell eventually but how do you determine if the polished home really got more money than the others? Chances are that a staged home that’s been improved will get the highest sale price compared to a home that has not gone through any prep work. However, the sale price is not the most important thing. The sale price is just a number on paper. What is real is how much you net in the end (aka money in your bank) and that is what you should focus on.
So, do you know what the best improvements are for the highest return on investment?
Well, it may surprise you to know that the home-selling repairs that will get you the most bang for your buck don’t involve extensive remodels and large budgets. The best home improvements are ones that increase your home’s curb appeal and make it look, feel and smell new to prospective buyers.
Here is my list of the top 10 things to improve in order to get the best ROI.
- Professional inspections This will give buyers confidence in understanding the condition of the home which can motivate them to offer sooner and with fewer contingencies.
- Deep and detailed cleaning. Get inside those cabinets and drawers, dust every surface and crevice, clean windows inside and out, sweep out and remove cobwebs in the garage. If the interior floors are too worn then you should replace them with inexpensive but modern-looking materials.
- Give all of the vegetation in the yard a haircut and haul away anything that is not making the yard look clean and tidy.
- Paint the entire inside. If the cabinets are old and need refinishing, paint those too.
- Address any safety issues and be sure to install new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the appropriate locations.
- Update kitchen and bath counters with quartz or reglaze if you are on a tight budget. Add cabinet handles that are fashionable now.
- Replace all light fixtures with trendy styles and LED bulbs in the same color. Be sure not to use too warm or too cool bulb colors. Stick with soft white or daylight.
- Make sure all doors are operating smoothly and switch out the handles so that they all match. If you can spring a little extra for trending designs, that helps even more but is not critical.
- Paint the front door a color that aligns with the feng shui philosophy and paint the exterior trims a complementary color that is in trend. Update the front door handle, house numbers and exterior light fixtures for a modern feel. Nothing says old like house numbers from the 1960s.
- Have the home staged so that it stands out against the rest of the competition!
You should also consider hiring a real estate agent who knows how to market homes for sale near yours. An experienced realtor will be able to give you valuable advice on making home improvements that will get you the most money when selling your home.
Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to putting more dollars in the bank from your home sale! Good luck!