| If you are considering selling your existing home before
investing in new property, there are a few things you can do to be sure
to make the most profit on your existing investment.
As always, the key here is to try to do the least amount of work for
the maximum impact on the value of your home. When preparing your home
for sale, you need to throw aside your personal taste in style and color
and consider instead neutral colors and styles that will appeal to the
widest possible number of potential buyers.
Staging a home to sell is not about preparing it to be lived in, but
instead its all about giving it the look of a "shiny penny"
when compared to the other homes on the market in a similar price range.
In some prestigious areas, updating the two key rooms in the home can
put it into a completely different price range! |
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Insider Tips - Where to Spend Money First
A home that is cozy and practical to live in is not necessarily the
best home to sell. To get an idea of what I mean, spend a day walking
through the model homes of a few property developers in your area. These
homes are typically "dressed" to sell! Although they look
great when you walk through them, they may not be terribly practical to
live in. For example, the rugs or wall-to-wall carpets will frequently
be of a very light color, maximizing the feel of a large open room while
being very impractical for most families with children or pets.
Property developers stage their homes to sell for the maximum price.
Many developers pay an interior de-signer to decorate their model show
homes so that they can get the maximum price for their remaining homes.
If you have the money, hiring an interior designer to refresh the
interior of your own home before selling it can potentially add a
substantial amount to the bottom line, especially for homes at the upper
end of the price range.
Staging your home can involve any-thing from dressing up certain
parts of the home and emptying it of clutter to the complete remodeling
of key rooms. However, for many homeowners, hiring and interior designer
is not an option. What then should you consider in staging your home
before attempting to sell it?
This clearly depends on the present condition of the property, but no
matter what the condition of the home, it is worth considering the key
selection variables that drive the selection of one property over
another. (Selection Variables are those aspects of the home that you
have immediate control over. While style of home, number of bedrooms,
total square footage, location, and other factors play a significant
role in the price of a home; these factors are not easily changed
without significant remodeling costs). Research has shown that it is
most often the woman in a partnership that has the deciding influence in
the selection of one home over another; Key Selection Variables
reflect this fact.
The Home Investor Key Selection Variables (KSV's)
#1: Kitchens
As a man that loves to cook, I personally don't like the assumption
that it's always the woman that looks at the kitchen, but the facts show
that the kitchen is one of the most important rooms for the majority of
women home buyers and increasingly it is an important room for modern
men. If we accept that the majority of buyers looking to purchase your
home will include a woman in the decision making team, it makes sense to
adapt your kitchen so that it has the maximum impact with female home
buyers.
Top Kitchen Tips:
- Replace worn-out old cupboards with new units of a contemporary
style with-out going for all the expensive little add-ons and trims.
The basic units are usually very reasonably priced (especially if
you are handy enough to install them yourself) and they will look
great. You can sometimes get away with simply replacing the doors of
your old units and completely transforming the look of a kitchen in
the process.
- Upgrade the counter tops to Granite or Corian (Granite tile is a
less expensive alternative to solid granite for those on a tight
budget).
- Replace tired, leaky taps with a sparkling new faucet.
- Consider replacing that old stainless sink with a gleaming new
ceramic de-sign.
- Replace worn-out old flooring with new floor tiles, selecting a
lighter color to brighten the room and add a sense of spaciousness.
#2: Bathrooms
The other most important rooms in the home are the bathrooms. My
advice is this, if you put any money into your home, always put into the
kitchen and the bathrooms before every other room; these rooms want to
be up-to-date and to feel as luxurious as possible without actually
costing a fortune to present in this way. (It is quite possible to spend
an inordinate amount of money remodeling kitchens and bathrooms without
any hope of ever recovering the cost in the eventual sale price of the
home).
Top Bathroom Tips:
- Make sure the bathrooms are gleaming (nobody wants to buy a dirty
bath-room)!
- Nothing looks worse than an old stained bath, so if your looks
like it has seen too many days, get it replaced and consider
upgrading it to a whirlpool style tub, especially if you have a
master suite.
- Worn-out toilet seats cost practically nothing to replace! If the
toilet bowl is discolored and/or cracked, a complete new toilet is a
low cost item and easy to install for most people.
- If you're replacing the bathtub and the toilet, you should
probably replace the sink as well, and ensure everything matches,
especially the taps on the tub and sink.
- If you have a shower over the bath, make sure the shower curtain
is new and it includes an exterior dress curtain with a tie back.
Alternatively, install a smoked glass door for a touch of class.
- Plastic tub surrounds are very practical and look terrible. If you
have one, replace it with modern tiles (avoid strong patterns which
may not be to everybody's taste).
- If you have tiles, ensure the grout is gleaming white (an easy way
to do this is to clean/bleach the old grout and then re-grout over
the top).
- While we're talking tiles, select large floor tiles with a bright
finish to lighten up the room and cover with a small light colored
floor rug.
- Upgrade your lighting to make the bathroom bright and inviting.
(Consider sunken ceiling spots and good lighting over the sink).
Around The House Pre-sale Tips:
- Repair damaged walls and wood trim (repair holes left from picture
hangers and bookshelves if they have been removed).
- Repaint walls and interior trim in a white / off-white color
(lighter colors make rooms brighter and feel bigger while whites and
creams are the most neutral colors and least offensive to the
majority of buyers. Most show homes are decorated in white or
magnolia!
- Clean all the windows and blinds.
- Refinish wood floors.
- Have wall-to-wall carpets professionally cleaned or preferably
replaced.
- Remove as much clutter as possible (put it in storage if
necessary; not in the basement).
- Consider moving some furniture to storage so give a greater feel
of space.
- Remove personal items such as family photos, religious icons,
etc.. You want buyers to be looking at the home and not wondering
about the existing owners.
- Have the house professionally cleaned prior to putting it on the
market.
Exterior Tips:
- Repaint old and worn out trim.
- A new front door or at the very least a fresh coat of paint will
make your home more welcoming to visitors when they come to view
your home.
- Remove all toys and miscellaneous items from the yard at the front
of the house.
- Cut back shrubs and trees so the house can be seen at its best
from the road.
- If you can't afford to have the driveway paved, have a fresh layer
of gravel spread and remove the weeds from the drive area.
- Keep the grass neatly trimmed and tidy.
- Leave exterior landscaping lights on at night so people driving by
see some-thing of the home and get a cozy feeling for the location.
- Remove old cars and car parts from the driveway.
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