10 Broker Tips To Boost Your Home’s Value:
1. Create Space: Knock out a non-structural wall, or even remove that kitchen island. Anything that opens the space and creates a sense of flow in the house is generating a response from buyers who can afford to be choosy.
2. Prune, Limb & Landscape: Tangled trees and unkempt bushes can obscure views, darken interiors, promote mold, and block a good look at the house. Landscaping is one of the top three investments that bring the biggest return.
3. Let In The Light: Lighting-everything from a dimmer switch to the increasingly popular sun tubes-noticeably enhances a home’s appeal. Sun tubes-less expensive than framing in a skylight, also known as light pipes, sunscoops, and tubular skylights-use reflective material to funnel natural light from a globe-capped hole cut in a rooftop down through a ceiling fixture and into a room. Fix broken window panes, make sure windows are open, and consider lights that use motion detectors to turn themselves off. Remember high wattage bulbs make small spaces feel larger, and soft lighting brings warmth to empty spaces.
4. Don’t put off care & maintenance: Before thinking about a fancy upgrade to the kitchen, address the basics. Insulate the attic, repair plumbing leaks, replace rusty rain gutters, inspect the furnace and the septic system, replace or repair leaky windows, install storm doors, & weed the flower beds. Houses that get attention in this buyers market are in tip-top shape.
5. Go Green: Energy savers make your house more desirable.
6. Home Begins At The Front Door: Don’t underestimate the power of a front door. People make up their minds in the first seven seconds of entering a house. Don’t forget an overhang, such as an awning or portico, above the front door. Also in the back-people get back dollar for dollar for the decks they put in.
7. What’s Under Your Feet? Don’t undervalue the materials you’re standing on. A few well-placed nails can eliminate distracting squeaks. Other small projects with a big impact include: repairing broken tile, patching damaged floor boards, and tossing out wall-to-wall carpeting. In some cases a new floor is in order.
8. Easy Bath Upgrades: Spiffing up the kitchen and bath is a sure bet for adding value to your home. Replace frosted glass for clear glass, clean the grout, remove rust stains, apply fresh caulk, update doorknobs and cabinet pulls, replace faucets, and install a low-flush toilet. Even buying a new toilet seat can make a difference.
9. Neutral Wall Colors: If you’re getting ready to put a house on this market, don’t allow walls with chipped paint to go unmaintained. If you need to do more than a touch up, choose neutral colors. Flat white ceilings, off-white walls, semi-gloss white trim & doors.
10. Remove The Question Marks From Your House: Remove the “What’s that?” factor, and whatever it is (1950s wallpaper in a 1930s bungalow, a broken front step or cracked threshold, green-and-blue vinyl flooring), fix it or remove it. The more questions, the more people are likely to say, “We don’t want that house.”
11. Bonus Advice: Be Patient: Even with all the bad news about a soft sellers’ market and declining home values, it’s slowly getting better. Be proactive. The more you do, the sooner you’ll sell. Increase your exposure. Be on the internet & the Multiple Listing System. Increase your incentive to the Buyer’s Agent. Go to see your competition in person & make sure you’re the best deal in your segment. Make sure every real estate agent in your area knows about your house. And every month, do something else. How do you know which thing will be the one that attracts your buyer? You don’t. It’ll be the last thing you do. Keep mixing up your strategy. Find out what buyers are willing to pay for your property, then decide if you’re willing to accept it.