What can you do to increase the value of your home?
If you plan on selling your home, we want to help you maximize your equity without leaving any money on the table. For any questions about real estate, just give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help you out and answer your questions with a video or directly.
Dan recently reached out to us and asked us this question. If your home is stuck back in the 80s, 70s, or beyond we want to help you maximize your equity without leaving any money on the table.
If your home is stuck back in the 80s, 70s, or beyond, there are some very simple equity updates you can do in order to truly maximize the value of your home once it hits the market.
First of all, do you have wallpaper in your home? All of that old wallpaper has to come down. Today’s buyers do not like it. A fresh coat of paint can do wonders for your home. Buyers prefer fresh, neutral colors. The hottest color right now is called greige. As you probably guessed, it’s a mix of gray and beige. There are lighter and darker tones depending on what the room is asking for.
Flooring is another important thing to look at. If you have old, frayed carpet, replace it with new carpet or hardwood flooring. If you have hardwood floors, get them buffed, sanded, and sealed. Also replace any outdated or old vinyl flooring.
It’s also incredibly important to pay attention to deferred maintenance issues both inside and outside of the home. Windows can be a major issue; houses often breathe a bit, so water can drip down to the silt plate of the window and cause discoloration. If the window is not too far gone, you can sand and reseal that and use some polyurethane to make it look great.
“Make sure that you take care of any deferred maintenance issues.”
Other deferred maintenance issues like minor plumbing leaks, peeling paint, and mechanical maintenance checks should be addressed. If your furnace hasn’t been tuned up in five years, make sure that you get that done before you put your home on the market. Have an HVAC expert come out for a safety check. Make sure they put a sticker with the date on it so that the buyer and the buyer’s inspector know that the furnace has been checked recently.
The buyer will definitely do an inspection, and you don’t want to present your house with any deferred maintenance.
Another way to bring your house into the 21st century is to remove all of that polished brass and any outdated lighting fixtures. Pick something out at Menards or Lowes and have an electrician come out and install them.
There are other updates that you can do in your kitchen and bathroom. Before you do that, though, I recommend contacting a licensed real estate agent. We can come out, do a walk-through, and recommend which renovations will make your home as marketable as possible. We can also guide you as to which permits will be necessary for certain renovations.
We recommend that you do the walk-through three to six months before you plan on putting your home on the market.
Just give us a call or send us an email with any questions. We would be happy to help you!
