I am amazed at the amount of open homes I visit that the owners have not even cleaned up. When I walk into to a home where the dishes from that mornings breakfast are still laying about I am instantly turned off. It’s not that I feel people should not have breakfast, it is the fat that if they cannot be bothered cleaning up the plates when they know people are coming what other
home maintenance issues have they also neglected.
It seems many home owners do not see that they could sell their home faster and
increase property value if they put a little effort in making their home look like a pleasant place to live. A little money spent here and there in critical areas could translate into thousands in the sale.
In extreme cases if the house hasn’t been touched for a long time and looks, at first glance, like a living museum to a forgotten era, it would be wise to spend some money updating the décor. Remove old carpets, paint, fix cracks, tidy gardens and a general clean up could add not only thousands but tens of thousands to the sale price.
The first thing and probably the best approach is get your self a clip board and try and get into the frame of mind of seeing your house for the first time. Take a walk around your home and look for things that you have lived with for so long you hardly notice any more. Check each room and note down any repairs that need doing. From this list you can compile a budget of the costs of repair.
It is not necessary to undertake full scale reconstruction or renovation and this would probably not materialise into profit. What you are trying to achieve here is basic repairs to prevent potential buyer focussing on one tiny crack in the whole house.
Some jobs in your home that could be done without breaking the bank and result in a faster sale for more money would be:
Painting: Always choose neutral colours.
Patch Cracks
Tidy up and declutter
Decorate with nice paintings, vases etc, do not buy these chances are you have them, just display them better.
Clean the exterior including the garden
Remove webs etc from walls, corner, wardrobes etc.
Clean the windows.
If the house is really bad you may want to consider some of the following:
Polish the floorboards, remove old carpet.
Paint the fence around the property, if there isn’t one maybe build one depending on budget.
The list here could go on and on, the object is to make the home you are trying to sell more attractive and get a
higher sale price.
Remember more than anything else you do, when you know people are visiting your home with the intention of buying, clean it up.
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