GOBankingRate.com, a personal finance service, recently released its latest tip sheet about how home sellers can garner bigger profits.
This is Part I of GOBankingRate’s tips to home sellers. Look for Part II later this week.
- Stage your property – 75 % or real estate agents agree that it’s easier for buyers to visualize living in a staged property as a future home than it is to visualize living in an un-staged property. Buyers want to “know” how the living room, master bedroom and kitchen will look when they are living there.
- Research you ideal homebuyer and target that buyer – A buyer for single family home in good condition will likely want that home to be move-in ready. A property in poor condition will likely attract a real estate investor or cash-flush homeowner who intends to fix-up the property.
- Create a digital home history – Buyers want well-maintained and move-in ready homes. The more answers you can provide online about the home, the better. Consider an online service such as Home Zade to help you create a digital footprint that includes floor plans, maintenance records, warranty documents, etc.
- Boost your curb appeal – Replace or repaint your front door. Pressure wash the driveway and front walk way. Trim the hedges and trees. Replace the vinyl siding.
- Make your landscaping and home exterior shine. At the very least, cut the lawn, clean the patio and have quality garden furniture to welcome viewers. According to the VA Tech Horticulturist, beautiful landscaping and exterior render 5.5%-12.7% higher sales prices.
- Upgrade the kitchen – If possible, have new stainless steel appliances, some kind of an eat-in arrangement, install tile or bamboo flooring and paint the walls a shiny, new white.
- Upgrade the bathroom – New light fixtures, cabinet resurfacing and hardware replacements won’t break the bank and the ROI is good.
- Install new hardware – New doorknobs, cabinet pulls, drawer handles, etc. give you big impact for a small budget.
- De-clutter and clean – Pack away personal items such as trophies, awards and photos so viewers can imagine themselves living in the house, not you. Clean the baseboards, the cabinets, the cold air vents, the fan blades, etc.
- Install smart technology – Start with smart doorbells and thermostats. Move on to smart security systems, foyer lights and carbon monoxide detectors. With just two or three smart items, you can tout the home as a “state of the art” smart house.
- Strip off all the wallpaper and paint the walls. Wallpaper reeks of past tense.
- Install a ceiling fan in one or two of the bedrooms. This is considered to be a value driving improvement.
