Spring is selling season. With lots of new housing inventory available, your home needs to look its best to stand out from the rest. Here are some easy and affordable things you can do to vastly improve the appearance of your home
Clean until it sparkles. After clearing away clutter, polish the hardwoods, clean the countertops, and dust the light fixtures. You can make a stainless steel sink shine with thrifty cleaning remedies such as baby oil or club soda, according to DoItYourself.com. One polish line that is recommended is Howard Products’ line, which includes Restor-A-Finish (about $5 per can). It comes in various wood finishes and can be used to polish cabinets and even blend out minor scratches and imperfections.
- Box it up – Most people pack up after they sell the house, but why wait? If you are selling your home you should start packing as early as possible-ideally, before you put your home on the market. Tuck those extra boxes away in storage or in the garage.
- Show off the laundry space – Buyers are impressed if the laundry room is fresh, inviting, and organized. Make sure light bulbs are working, and hide soaps in a cupboard or line them neatly on a shelf.
- Change your lighting – New light fixtures are a quick way to create ambiance. Just avoid brass lighting fixtures, which had their heyday in the 1980s. More contemporary choices are brushed nickel and chrome finishes. Also, rust and oil-rubbed bronzes are becoming more popular.
- Focus on your floors – Hardwoods are on most buyers’ wish lists. Hardwood flooring averages $5 to $15 per square foot, plus about $2 to $8 per square foot for installation, so it’ll be pricier than carpet, vinyl, or other options. But it can make a huge difference.
- Call the experts – Dirty, worn carpet may benefit from professional cleaning ranging about $180 to $390 for a 1,300 square foot home.
- Refinish it for cheap – Practically any beaten-up hardwood can be salvaged with refinishing, about $340 to $900 for a 15 by 15 foot room, according to CostHelper.com Call a professional tile company to freshen up ceramic tile grout – or, for do-it-yourselfers, hardwood stores sell grout paint.
- Add a layer on top or bottom – One other option for lackluster flooring: Use an area rug, even over carpets. It’ll add a splash of color, and bring definition to living areas. If you’re adding inexpensive carpet, consider upgrading your carpet pad, experts say. Upgrading the pad might only be 50 cents more per square footage and it will make a budget carpet feel luxuries.
- Go natural – Open those blinds and wipe down the windows. You’d be surprised at how much simple window cleaning can instantly improve natural light.
- Save on energy costs – Compact fluorescent bulbs remain the go-to choice for energy efficiency. Early CFL didn’t always deliver on light quality or convenience, but they now come in warm, natural, and cool colors, and manufacturers are now enclosing the spiral tube in a conventional bulb shape.
- Painting – A few gallons of paint can go a long way in making a home more – chic and the cost can’t be beat. Covering a 12 by 12 –foot room with two coats will cost you about %50 to $100, including supplies. “ A home’s interior painted in pale yellow or light green, or even beige, gives buyers an idea of what they can do with space.” says Bill Fields, vice president of merchandising for Lowe’s paint division. Reserve darker or trendier colors for accent walls or to highlight details such as a fireplace or arched doorway. Or instead of introducing a new color, use the paint in the rest of the room as a guide, choosing a color that’s three shades darker. To bring depth to a long hallway, Fields suggests painting the wall at the end of long hallway a different shade than others.
If you need more advise on getting your home ready to sell or want a free Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) give us a call 619.980.2738 or 619.851.4084. How can we help you?