Have you ever noticed how the longer you live in a home, the less you notice or the more you can tolerate stuff that’s wrong with it? It starts feeling less like an investment and more like your territory.
When you decide to sell the home, common sense hits. The faucet drips, the oven doesn’t heat properly and the paint is 20 years old. Your home’s value becomes top-of-mind.
While there may be a lengthy list of tasks you’d like to perform before putting the home on the market, and it may seem overwhelming, relax.
Some tasks take priority. Others are more cosmetic in nature. Let’s take a look at some projects that won’t break the bank and may increase the home’s value.
If you have repairs that need to be made, do those first
It’s a wise use of your money to make repairs before doing any cosmetic work. The problems will most likely appear in the home inspection report, and you may pay for some of them anyway.
At least take care of any major repairs, such as repairing or replacing an HVAC systems, fixing roof problems or plumbing or electrical issues.
No major problems? Great!
Get to work on providing potential buyers with what they crave.
Flooring
When you turn your attention to upgrades, it pays to know what homebuyers are seeking in their new home. Flooring is near the top of the list. Although hardwood flooring is a draw for luxury homebuyers, starter and family homeowners would do well to consider luxury vinyl plank flooring.
Why?
A large real estate conglomerate studied online listing descriptions to determine which features yielded a good return on investment. They found that homes described as boasting luxury vinyl plank flooring sold for nearly 2% more than those without it.
Not only that, but they sold four days faster than the other homes. Learn the pros and cons of vinyl plank flooring at TheSpruce.com.
Update the kitchen
Since it’s the most important room in the home, according to numerous surveys of homebuyers, updating the kitchen should be first on your list. Not only will the work be popular with buyers but it will also help boost your home’s value.
Here are a few tasks to consider:
- Repaint the kitchen. Nearly 45% of real estate agents surveyed by Homelight.com claim that homebuyers crave “… light or calming color palettes in the kitchen,” according to Daniel Feininger at housedigest.com.
- If it’s within budget, replace your countertops with granite or quartz.
- Replace or paint the cabinetry and add new hardware.
- Add new, task-oriented lighting.
- Hit the appliance sales because 75% of homebuyers say they want new appliances in their next home. Energy-efficient appliances will bring in even more money at closing.
- Install an undermount sink and a new faucet.
Do the same for the second most important room, the bathroom
The most important task in the bathroom is to ensure that it’s impeccably clean, then turn your attention to the following:
- Replace the countertop toiletries with decorative items.
- Replace the builder-grade towel racks.
- Add new plumbing hardware.
- Freshen up the towels and throw the rug.
- Replace the mirror.
- Update the lighting.
All that remains now is to clean the home, top to bottom. Make it look move-in ready, and you’ll have buyers clamoring after it.
Alex Saenger and the Saenger Group are Top 1% Maryland Real Estate Agents serving the Washington DC Metro area. We are licensed Realtors based in Rockville, MD at Keller Williams Capital Properties.
