Have you been pondering the thought of listing your home, but you just aren’t quite sure what sort of updates you need to tackle in order to add value to your home when selling it? While we’ve been seeing unprecedented times of sellers not really needing to do much I do believe the market is shifting back into more normal trends where sellers need to do a little home improvement items to their property to get top dollar when selling. Some home improvements are better and more cost-effective than others, so it’s important to weigh your options for your specific situation. Remember to put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer before your house is listed for sale. Look critically at your space to see what might be updated, cleared out, or spruced up. Many times, there are simple fixes that will make all the difference. I’ve compiled 3 home improvement projects that I believe will add value to your home when selling.
So let’s discuss the top 3 home improvement tips I recommend my sellers tackle before listing their home if I feel the home needs it.
Tip #1 Freshen up The paint
Adding a fresh coat of paint to the interior and/or exterior is a big contributor to the perceived value of your home. Paint is one of the easiest and low-cost upgrades home improvement items that you can make to your home. From a potential buyers’ perspective, it makes the home appear clean, fresh and well taken care of. It is worth stating that you want to stick to more neutral colors and limit the number of colors and accents walls you have in the home. While you might love a bold color palette, a buyer may be turned off by it.
Tip #2 Tackle the honey-do list
Now is the time to fix all of honey do items that you just lived with but are items that really do need to be taken care of. Inside the house, look for things like stained ceilings, beat up baseboards, beat up interior doors, missing light bulbs, missing tile, broken windows and doors, heavily scratched floors and other signs of neglect. Outside, look for broken or missing roof tiles, freshen up your landscaping, and repair any non functioning pool equipment. These honey-do home improvement items can really affect a buyers perception no how well you take care of your home. Remember if they see a lot of neglect they tend to assume the house is going to cost them more to “fix” when they move in and can lead them to offer you less for your home.
tip #3 Install New fixtures
Replacing these items is a very inexpensive and easy fix you can do before listing your home to sell. Doing so these small home improvements will serve to enhance and accent that new paint, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot either. Often times these items can make the home go from good to great in a potential buyers eyes. These very easy and cost effective home improvement updates could potentially get you double or even triple what you invested to make the updates.
Remember first impressions are everything. Just like when you get the chance to make your initial first impression on someone so does your home. If a buyer is not intrigued upon their first visit they likely will not be putting in an offer. With all of this said, I don’t typically advise sellers to make major changes unless the home is in really sorry shape or completely outdated. Even then, I strategize with my client to see if it is actually cost effective to make renovations against the price your house could get, if you sell it without making changes. Although you may not be entirely happy with a lower list price, sometimes spending the money to make the improvements doesn’t end up making you any more money once you spend the money to make the improvements. However, these smaller cost effective updates can truly make all the difference.
If you found these tips helpful then you may also be interested in my next video where I will discuss how to take your emotions out of selling your home. In this video I will be discussing the 5 strategies of how to turn your home selling experience into a peaceful one vs an emotional one.
If you have any other questions regarding the buying and selling process in the Greater Phoenix Marketplace please reach out. I’m a seasoned agent with 15+ years experience here to help you with one of the biggest financial decisions you will make.
