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Our Easy Guide to Increasing Your Home's Value This Selling Season

GreenTree Properties February 25, 2016

We’ve all heard the adage that success is the result of preparation and opportunity. If you’re thinking of selling your home in the next few months, you’re probably hoping for a bit of success when it comes to listing your home. You hope that it will show well, you hope to get offers quickly after it hits the market and you hope for a smooth transaction. We can give you those opportunities, but if you want success, follow our easy guide to increase the value of your home and prepare for this year’s selling season.
 
  1. Organize, clean, and declutter. This probably falls under that list of things you’ve been meaning to do since last year, but having a clean and clutter-free space is of paramount importance. Not only does it lend the notion that the house has been well-maintained, but also that it’s bigger. GT tip: when it comes to closets, if you can’t see the floor or the back of the closet, you have too much stuff. Take this opportunity to decide what’s going to the new house, and what’s going in the garbage.

  2. Lighting is everything. Any decent real estate agent is going to run around and turn on the lights before their homebuyers walk through the door. Not just because it feels more like a home, but also to see the dark areas better. Ideally, you’ll want three sources of light: overhead lighting, task lighting, and ambient lighting. Invest in recessed lighting in the common rooms if there isn’t any. Add task light lamps to bedside tables and desks, or pendants above dining tables and kitchen sinks, and add mood lighting such as art lights or dimmers. GT tip: use halogen, or spotlight bulbs, as opposed to flood lights, in your recessed cans during the time it’s on the market. Spotlights produce a narrow beam of light, and can completely transform the look of the house.

  3. Get an inspection. Knowing what repair requests a buyer might make ahead of time can add huge value to your home and make it far more appealing. An inspector can point out any plumbing leaks, electrical problems, leaky windows, or furnace issues. This could save you a lot of time and money down the escrow road.

  4. Paint. You don’t want homebuyers pulling up to your house only to be disappointed that their realtor brought them here. You want them to be excited to see what’s inside. The biggest point of reference is going to be the exterior facade of the house. Most homebuyers are going to be ok with painting an interior room here or there, but not the whole house. A fresh coat of exterior paint will help add that wow factor. GT tip: make your home stand out in photographs online by balancing light and dark colors on the outside. A light neutral color paired with a darker trim is bound to be eye-catching when homebuyers are flipping through homes online. If your interior walls are pink or yellow, we commend you for trying to select a neutral shade, but if it dominates the whole interior, you’re better off painting it.

  5. Replace dirty and worn-out carpets. You may have chosen a shag carpet 10 years ago for it’s style and comfort. Chances are, it’s worn down and the dog has had a few accidents. Choosing an inexpensive carpet as a replacement is sure to add value to your home that buyers can see firsthand. GT tip: choose a carpet that’s in stock. It’s generally less expensive and has shorter lead times.

  6. Improve the most important rooms. The kitchen and the master bathroom are generally considered the two rooms that homebuyers are most attracted to. This doesn’t mean you need to take out a loan to renovate the kitchen, it just means doing a bit of updating–painting the cabinets, replacing outdated countertops with simple granite, and adding stainless panels to any black or white appliances. GT tip: use adhesive tile setting mats for an easy way to update your backsplash.
 

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