Getting ready to put your house on the market can be a long and involved process. There is so much to do – decluttering, donating, and dusting to name a few tasks off the to-do list.
Here are the 6 Most Important Upgrades to Make When Preparing to Sell Your Home.
1. Painting! Consider giving your home an interior and exterior make over! A fresh coat of paint brightens up your home and also gives the buyer the sense that your home is fresh and new and ready for its new occupants to make new memories. Stick with neutral colors for your interior and exterior, and maybe add a fun pop of color to your front door if your home calls for it!
2. Floor Remodel. Consider upgrading your floors, especially if you have carpet in the common spaces like living rooms and dining rooms. Hardwood floors are more attractive to buyers, as they invoke a feeling of freshness and modernity. Carpet is fine for bedrooms, but consider upgrading to new carpeting, or at the very least, steam clean your carpets if they are relatively new and in good shape. Always stick with neutral, natural tones when renovating to sell, and allow the buyer to put their personal touches on it.
3. Curb Appeal. Revamping your front and back yard areas really goes a long way. Your front yard is the first thing people see when they pull up to your home, so put a little effort into making it attractive and inviting. Clean up clutter, plant some greenery and lay down bark or pea gravel to spruce up your yard.
4. Kitchen and Master Bathroom Upgrades. These two rooms are very important in selling your home. Consider upgrading countertops, or painting cabinets to refresh the space. People want to feel like they are buying a new home, not someone’s old home, especially in the most intimate rooms of the house!
5. Upgrade the jewelry of the home. What I mean by the “jewelry of the home” is light fixtures, hardware, cabinet knobs, and doorknobs; things like that. This is a relatively inexpensive way to refresh your home and give it that desirable “new” feeling that buyers are looking for.
6. Lastly, and most importantly, hire a stager to professionally stage your home! Staging brings out the best in your home, showing every room in its best light. If you were only going to do one thing from this list, staging would be the most beneficial. Most of home shopping is done online, and photos of empty rooms, or photos of homes filled with personal items do not attract buyers, so professional home staging helps drive people to want to see your home in person. Once they come to your home and see it in person, staging is even more important, so don’t settle for virtual staging!
Empty homes evoke a feeling of sadness, and staged homes create a warm and inviting atmosphere. If your home is not empty, but rather filled with your personal belongings, this is also unappealing to buyers because it’s difficult to imagine yourself living in someone else’s home. Furthermore, buyers tend to notice more things that need updating or changing when sellers use their own furniture. Buyers want to see a neutral, magazine-worthy staged home, designed to inspire them and allow themselves to imagine living there.
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