If your home is on the market, it’s important to do everything you can to increase the value of the property and the visual appeal to potential buyers.
But many of the recommendations from experts are expensive or time consuming, and often you just don’t have the time or the money to completely remodel your home and turn your lawn into an English garden.
Don’t worry! We’ve put together a list of 5 things you can do today to make your house sell faster.
Spring Cleaning (Even if it’s Fall)
Before you show your home, you need to do a top to bottom cleaning. Everyone remembers to vacuum and dust, but some other areas can go overlooked.
When you’re cleaning the kitchen, be sure to clean the oven and stovetop. These areas are easy to miss spots that can make a big difference.
The windows are another easy to miss spot. Clean widows are going to let in more natural light (which is always a big selling point), and if the windows are dirty, that light is going to highlight the dirt.
Make sure you get both the inside and the outside of the windows when you’re cleaning, but be careful if you’re on the second floor!
Tile grout can be another easy to miss item. An hour with a bleach pen can make your bathroom or kitchen (or wherever else you have tile) look brand new. This will be time well spent.
Mow the Lawn
You don’t need to be Walter Hood to make your yard look nice (but it probably helps). All you need is a lawnmower, an edger, and an afternoon.
Making sure your lawn is well-maintained can go a long way towards making a good first impression.
When you mow your lawn, make sure the blades are set high enough that they leave lush, full grass in your yard. You don’t want it cut so close that dirt shows through.
Make sure you’re using an edger, too. Edgers add the finishing touches on a nice lawn, getting to all the nooks and crannies that the mower couldn’t reach.
If you have crab grass or other invasive weeds, spray some herbicide around to help control it. Weeds can make a lawn look neglected, which gives the potential buyers pause.
Touch Up Your Interior Paint
Most homes have some wear and tear on them after they’ve been lived in for a few years. Moving furniture, pets, and kids (especially kids) can cause some spots to need a little attention before you show your home.
There’s no need to repaint the place (probably), but fixing worn spots, scratches, and chips can help your house look better to visitors.
It’s always a good idea to keep a gallon or two extra of paint around after you’ve painted, but if you don’t have the exact color and can’t remember which of the 300 shades of tan you chose last, most home improvement stores can help.
Just chip a little sample from one of the areas you’re going to repaint and bring it in. Then let technology take over. Color matching software can tell you exactly what you need to match what’s on your walls.
Keep in mind that you may need to apply several coats and let the paint dry before the colors match. Wet paint can seem darker than dry paint.
Make Sure Things Work
Spend some time going through the house fixing little things. Loose door knobs, towel racks, and cabinet handles should be tightened, burnt out light bulbs need to be replaced, and any squeaking wheels (or hinges) should definitely get the grease.
All of the workarounds that you’ve been living with for the last few months (or years) need to be finally taken care of.
Potential buyers want things to work, and they want to know that the former owners cared enough to take care of the place.
Display Your Address
Making sure your address is displayed prominently is important for more than just pizza delivery. Nobody can buy your house if they can’t find it.
Prominently displaying your address, either on the curb or on the house near the door, let’s people know that you take pride in your home.
It also makes you seem more sociable. After all, if you’re inviting people over, they have to know which house is yours.
Don’t hide your home, make sure your address is properly displayed before you put it on the market.
Conclusion
All of these things together shouldn’t take you more than a day, and with minimal cost. But they can make a big difference when potential buyers are looking at your home.
By taking a few hours out of your day and paying attention to the details, you can help your house sell faster.