Top 7 Ways to Sell Your Home in Today's Market
You've certainly heard the doom and gloom of national news but what do you do if you need to sell your home in today's market? Waiting may not be an option and using the same crusty old selling techniques has proven ineffective. The simple truth is improving your home's appeal is the best way to sell quickly. Here are seven of the best ways to improve your home without spending tens of thousands of dollars:
Put rogue furniture in storage -Buyers will not understand why your dining room is a bedroom or part eating space, part home office. Separate your furniture and use it do define cohesive rooms throughout the home. Renting furniture from home staging companies and corporate furnishing outfits are a great low cost way to dress up a space on a budget.
Give the great outdoors a good scrubbing! – Make your outdoor look like high definition tv by cleaning the outside of every window in the home. Pressure washing will also go far in cleaning out the grime that builds up over years of seasonal weather.
Landscape your walkway – The entrance to your home is by far the most significant place to make a first impression on a home buyer. Beyond a forward thinking front door painted red you will also benefit from having a simple, consistent line of flowers and plants that outline the path from the front door to the street. A white picket fence is still a hot item as well and will give your home that classic Americana feel.
Go on a clutter killing spree! – If you have storage bins, paper stations and other catch-all areas throughout the house then now is the time to take them out and fill the space with complementary accessories. When you're selling your home to prospective buyers you need to show them every square foot of space. By minimizing the visual distractions of mail heaps you'll do this and more.
Complete unfinished projects – We all have a someday project in the house. Someday I'll finish the deck off the master suite or someday I'll put a pool on top of that sand patch in the yard. Right before you sell your home you should make a list of all your someday projects and finish them or remove evidence that they were ever there. A new deck off the master suite will add significantly more value than an above ground swimming pool that appeals to a small niche group of buyers so choose your projects wisely.
Finish your foundation -You'll only see a significant return on investment by finishing your foundation if you have a home with a walk-out to ground level outside. Even so, finishing your basement can end up adding 500 sq.ft. – 1,000 sq.ft. or more to the size of your home and make your home stand out to buyers with extended family.
Update your kitchen hardware – An often overlooked part of home selling prep, your kitchen knobs and handles can speak volumes about the level of updating your home will need. If you bought your home 10 years ago and added very modern hardware to traditional looking cabinets then now is the time to get back to the store and restore the traditional look of your cabinets. Consistency is everything in home design.
These seven tips are just the beginning of what you will need to do to sell your home in today's market. That said, starting off with your home's best foot forward will give you a much bigger lead on competing homes with homeowners who've opted to sell the property in its original form.
