9 Easy Home Improvements to Help Sell Your Home Fast!
You’ve been trying to sell your home and nothing seems to be working. You connected with a real estate agent, had professional photos taken of your house, and opened your home to strangers. But after weeks of your home being listed, not a single reasonable offer has been made. Sound familiar?
Currently, the number of days a home sits on the market is 41 days. And, of course, the longer your home sits on the market the more control homebuyers have when it comes time for negotiations. So, take your house out of seller’s limbo by adding perceived value to your home. Here are nine easy home improvements you can do that will make your house more appealing to potential home buyers and help sell your home fast.
1. Upgrade Your Mailbox
Upgrading your mailbox might seem like a rather silly thing to do at first, but if we are talking about making a great first impression to potential home buyers, the mailbox is often the very first thing someone sees before pulling in the driveway. It’s also the easiest home improvement you can do.
It could just be a new mailbox that replaces the old. And let’s face it, most homeowners don’t put much thought into what their mailbox looks like, so the added effort stands out. Or, you could upgrade to a “Next Generation” mailbox that allows USPS to deliver large packages to your mailbox instead of your front door. With more consumer products being purchased online and delivered to homes, you may consider upgrading to a security mailbox that keeps your mail and packages safe from theft altogether.
2. Paint Your House Inside and Out
Painting the inside of your home with a fresh neutral color goes a long way with potential homebuyers. For example, your kids’ rooms may have very unique colors that they had insisted upon, but not every potential buyer is going to enjoy that purple room as much.
Everything you’re doing to prep your home for sale is making your house look it’s very best and allowing potential homebuyers to envision themselves in all rooms of your home. You want people touring your house to think, what if I bought this house? This room could be my office, nursery, guest bedroom, etc.
Alternatively, painting the exterior of your home may be the best solution to getting your home sold faster. If your home’s color has faded from its former glory, and the paint is chipping, you may want to consider getting your home painted a more contemporary color. Though painting the exterior of your home can be pricey, the process has a very quick turnaround time and the result will be sure to leave a lasting impression on potential buyers.
3. Enhance Your Curb Appeal
It doesn’t matter where you live, enhancing your curb appeal can go a long way. First, you’ll want to look at your landscaping in front of and around your house. How does your lawn, trees, and grass look? Make sure your lawn is freshly trimmed, all dead debris are picked up, and 2 to 3 inches of fresh bark mulch is placed around your shrubs, trees, and plants.
Do you have hedges that line your property or some other form of fruit or decorative trees on your property? Having your hedges trimmed and your trees cut back can make your yard go from something that resembles an unruly wilderness to a well-maintained and welcoming paradise.
4. Clean, Declutter, and Stage Your Home
Nothing turns potential homebuyers away faster than an unkept home. If you’re looking to sell your house quickly, it might be a good idea to hire professionals to get your house in order. Decluttering and staging your home is a must if you want to make your home shine its best for potential buyers.
People touring your home like to look not just at the larger rooms, but also poke around in closets, drawers, and other storage areas to make sure their stuff will fit. If your stuff is in the way, that makes it much harder for buyers to see themselves in your space.
If you have a cat or dog, you probably don’t smell them anymore. However, people that don’t have pets can be acutely aware of homes that do. If you’re looking for a quick turnaround, a professional can help eliminate odors, stains, and any number of other things you may no longer be aware of and make your home feel brand new again.
5. Fence in Your Backyard and Refinish Your Deck
The national average in 2019 for recouping the cost of a wood deck addition on a home is 75.6%. So, although you may take a small hit financially by adding a wood deck onto your house, you would recoup most of the cost and potentially sell your home faster because of the added feature.
Likewise, adding a fence to your property can do wonders for your home in a relatively short period of time. And according to a 2018 survey by the American Pet Product Association,”67% of U.S. households own a pet,” meaning over half the people touring your home have a fuzzy little friend, and a fenced in backyard is a bonus to some homebuyers but a must for others.
6. Fix Your Light Switches and Update Your Fixtures
If If you have a light switch that doesn’t work (or an electrical outlet), now is the time to get it fixed. Light switches that do not work signify to homebuyers that your house may have electrical issues, when in fact, it may be something much more simple. You’ll also want to replace all your burnt out light bulbs to make sure every room in your house is bright and inviting.
Updating your light fixtures, ceiling fans, and even your hardware on doors and cabinets is an easy and cost-effective way of increasing the value of your home. Beyond making your interior appear more modern to homebuyers, you can take this opportunity to find fixtures that can help brighten your home and make it stand out among other homes for sale in your area.
7. Upgrade Your Garage Door
Installing a new garage door is one of the simplest and quickest ways to give your home a much-needed facelift and impress potential homebuyers. There are several styles and designs to choose from, just make sure that you go with a style that fits the look of your house. Especially if you’ve recently painted your home a more contemporary color, a new garage door can be that easy home improvement that pushes home lookers into actual offers.
8. Get a New Front Door
Give others entryway envy by upgrading your front door and transforming the character of your home. A new front door is quick to replace and a very cost-effective way of making your entryway unique and aesthetically pleasing to anyone stepping up onto your doormat.
Solid wood doors are always a classic style for homes not to go out of style anytime soon. They’re solid and typically last much longer than alternative materials like fiberglass. Additionally, front doors with inlaid glass can also give your entryway more natural light for the interior of your home. Either way, a new door is a quick and easy way to impress homebuyers.
9. Update Your Kitchen Appliances for a Fresh Look
If you’re looking to sell your home quickly, updating your kitchen with modern and timeless stainless steel appliances is a great way to go. Though this can be costly, new appliances really appeal to first-time homebuyers, and as a result, you could see more competitive offers.
There is a good possibility your appliances probably need to be updated anyway. Typically, larger appliances like fridges and stoves should be replaced every 10 years, while smaller appliances it’s recommended to be replaced every 5 years. Nonetheless, updated appliances are a safe bet if you’re looking to sell your home fast.
Originally published on Redfin