Getting Your Home Ready To Sell

Getting a home ready to sell can be a huge undertaking and can add thousands of dollars worth of collateral to a place. Small projects of just getting the lawn mowed and the place weed wacked can make a huge difference in salability. Just a fresh coat of paint and a thorough cleaning that includes deep cleaning carpets etc. will give your home its best “ready to sell” look when it comes time to put it on the market.

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)

If you’re planning on selling your home anytime soon, you will need to make sure that your home is ready for the sale. The better the condition of your home, the more likely it is that it will sell. 

When you are selling your home, you will, no doubt, be looking for two things. Firstly, you will want a quick sale. Nobody wants to wait around for months or even for years waiting for their home to attract a buyer. And. secondly, you will want to get as much money as possible for your home. 

There is always a danger, when it comes to selling, that your home won’t reach the asking price. Worse than that would be if your home was worth less now than when you paid for it. Having a home lose value could be catastrophic as, if you have a mortgage, it could badly affect your ability to take out a new mortgage if your home is in negative equity. 

For all of these reasons, it is essential that you pay close attention to your home in the weeks and months running up to your move. 

In this article, we’ll take a look at all of the things that you can do to make sure that you get the best price and the quickest sale. 

Pay Attention To The Front Of The House 

First impressions count for a lot. They can make or break the sale of your house. For this reason, you need to put some attention into making sure that your home looks great as you pull up to it. 

You should start by giving the exterior of your home a coat of paint, or refreshing the siding. Your home may just need a clean, or it may require some professional TLC from the outside. It is important to give your property what it needs, or potential buyers may be turned off. 

Pay attention to your windows and doors too. If they need a clean, clean them. If they need painting, paint them. 

Replacing doors and windows may be quite expensive, however, if the cost of replacing them will add a greater percentage value to the property then it is definitely worth considering. Speak to your real estate agent and find out what kind of increase you will be likely to see on the value of your property before you invest in new windows and doors. 

The Roof 

The roof of your property is important. Problems with the roof such as missing or broken tiles could lead to leaks or they could allow the heat to escape. 

If you need any form of roof repair, it is essential that you do this before you sell as not only will fixing broken tiles improve the look of your roof, but it will also ensure that you make a quicker sale. A home with too many major problems such as broken roof tiles can be very off-putting to new buyers. 

Make Your Home Appear More Spacious Inside 

Space sells. Before you sell your home, you should do everything that you can to make it appear more spacious. 

There are lots of ways that you can do this. First of all, you should think about painting your interiors in a bright warm color like white or cream. These colors will reflect the light and as a result, will make your rooms appear bigger. 

Focus your attention on your windows. Do everything that you can to help more light get into your home. Avoid using heavy curtains or anything that might block any light getting through. Use shutters or blinds instead. 

If you want to make a room appear bigger, think about removing some of your furniture while your home is on the market. 

You may also want to put some large mirrors up on your walls as these will increase the perceived size of the room. 

Adding Value To Your Property 

There are numerous ways that you can add value to your property, but some of the best effects on a home’s value come from when you add square footage to the floor space of the property. There are several ways that you could do this. 

You may want to think about converting your attic. This would add on around 20-30% onto the value of your home. Often, attic conversions are quite cost-effective in comparison to the increase that you may see in your home’s value. An attic conversion could be used as an office or a spare bedroom. Add an en suite bathroom to your attic conversion so that you can increase the value even further. 

You could also convert your basement if you have one. Basements again could add an additional 20-30% onto the value of your home. Often, basements are quite large and could be used as a kitchen and dining room, a large living room, or as bedrooms. 

Another area of your home that you might want to look at converting is your garage. If you have a garage attached to your property, then this could be used as a kitchen or a living room. That would free up the existing space used in the house for something else, such as an additional bedroom and bathroom. If you have a separate garage, you could convert this into a granny annexe. This is a self-contained and open-plan unit that has a kitchenette and a bathroom. Everything someone would need from a small living space. 

Adding an extension could also net you a large increase in the value of your property. You should be aware that this is a costly and time-consuming process though, and as a result, may yield small returns. One option that you could look at is to get planning permission to extend your property and sell your property with the permission in place. That way, a buyer will just be able to get straight on with extending the property themselves. 

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)