Trying to sell a property can become a real nightmare if you’re in a hurry or if you’re not able to get a decent price for it. Everyone would like to be able to find buyers quickly and to have the price they want for it, but unfortunately it’s not always the case.
Here are some tips on how to boost your house value inexpensively and help you preparing the house for potential buyers. These tips don’t guarantee that you will sell your property quicker and at a higher price, but they can certainly help you.
Clean
- This is the one thing that is mandatory before putting your property on the market. A clean house will give the impression that it is also well maintained. Shine everything that can be shined including faucets and floors.
Paint
- A quick coat of fresh paint could make a big difference. Try to go for neutral colors and nothing too flashy.
Make a Good First Impression
- Cut your grass, regroup your plant pots to add a touche of color, remove all the spider webs, change any light bulbs to make sure they all work and even paint your main house door or change it if necessary. A lot of people have already decided if they are interested or not before even walking in your house.
Let there be Light
- Change all your light bulbs for a higher voltage if possible, open all the curtains to let the light in and clean your windows. Changing your old pendant lights for new ones is also a cheap purchase that could make your house looks more modern.
Un-decorate
- People need to be able to imagine themselves living in your property so remove all the photos, most of the frames on the wall and other decorations. This will hopefully enable them to imagine how they could turn your house into their own.
De-clutter
- Storage is one of the first things that people are looking for, so if they see a lot of stuff on the shelves they might think that there is not enough storage. So do a big cleanup and donate or put away as much stuff as you can.
Eliminate Odors
- It is proven that odors can have a lot of effects on how we feel about something. Try to eliminate–as much as possible–odors from your house by cleaning and opening the windows. And don’t go too crazy with odor diffusers because it could feel like you’re trying to hide something and some people really hate that smell (including me). Some light baking a few hours before has proven to be a winner for homely places and the smell of pine for chalets. Choose the right smell for your place.
Refresh your Curtains/Blinds
- The color intensity of curtains tend to bleed away over time so you might want to consider changing yours for new ones to brighten up the rooms. Make sure you buy them on sale because you don’t want to spend too much on this, especially if you’re selling them with the property.
Fix your Floors
- Try to stop the squeaking of your floors with a few nails, replace broken tiles if possible (and/or bleach the grouting) and shampoo your rugs. You might also want to consider adding a new layer of caulk if necessary. Make sure your floors are as shiny as possible.
Upscale your Kitchen
- There are many ways to freshen up a kitchen without spending thousands of dollars on it. Think about painting your cabinets instead of buying new ones, change the knobs and even paint your melamine counter. Find out how to paint melamine here.
Upgrade your Bathroom
- Investing a bit in your bathroom might allow you to sell your house for a lot more. So consider changing the toilet for a low-flush one or simply change the seat, add a fresh layer of caulk on the floor tiles, change the cabinet knobs and clean the grout (that’s a minimum).
Get a Home Inspection
- Everyone knows how a bad home inspection can lower the value of your house. So getting a home inspection before putting your house on sale can be a good idea because you’ll know straight away what needs to be fixed and what another inspector might notice. This will ensure that you won’t have any bad surprises during a second inspection.