With prices for houses surging to new heights in recent years in nearly all parts of the US, you may be playing around with the idea of selling your residence. You can sell your house for top dollar, pocket the difference, and move somewhere cheaper with a lower cost of living.
And the very idea of putting your house up for sale is a disheartening prospect, for sure. Your home is perhaps full of all your stuff and belongings, and it might not be as clean as you would like to be. Like all house sellers, you want your house to strike the eye of potential buyers who can afford your listed price. Still, to make your house stand out in a very crowded and intense market, you will need to make your home look and feel as desirable as possible. So, how do you get your house ready to sell?
Various home improvement projects can make your house more appealing to potential buyers and open-house visitors. Some of them can make your house easier on the eyes, while others can enhance your house’s utility, make it bigger, or make it more comfortable. There are numerous ways to boost your house’s value and make as much money as possible from your sale.
And who would understand this better than renowned mortgage brokers and real estate agents as industry professionals that have first row seats when a house sale occurs. The five-star realtors and the best mortgage lenders in Los Angeles we spoke to, said that the following projects might provide the most bang for your buck. Here are the top five home improvement projects to tackle that have the potential to make a significant impact on your selling price.
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The first excellent way to add some value to your house is to make sure that your home is in top shape when it comes to heating at the coldest periods of the year. It doesn't make much sense trying to sell your house to someone when they are liable to know that they will have to replace the whole existing heating system in just a couple of years.
Furthermore, there are many ways to improve your home's efficiency, and they don't all demand tens of thousands of dollars in upgrades. Installing a brand new smart thermostat, modern radiators, and improved insulation can all make considerable savings on the energy bill and do your bit for better safeguarding the environment. With the costs for radiator fitting being as low as ever, it would be a shame to sell your home "as is" and get your home drastically undervalued because you failed to refresh your heating system.
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Such smart investments connected to the HVAC, the house's most powerful mechanical system, highlight the home’s overall comfort, convenience, functionality, energy efficiency, and provide a strong selling point.
In case you don’t know, the exterior of your house plays a more significant role in your home’s value than you can imagine. According to HomeLight’s 2019 top agents insights report, 90% of the top realtors nationwide agree that fixing the curb appeal is the number one project that every homeowner should tackle in order to boost their home’s marketability.
There’s no need to spend ridiculous amounts of money to fix your curb appeal. You can simply rake up leaves and debris, mow the lawn, and make sure that your front entryway looks as fresh as possible.
According to the report, primary lawn care like fertilization treatments, weed control, and cutting the grass can add $1,000 to your home’s value on their own. Other popular ways of improving your curb appeal include installing a front walkway of pavers along with stone planters, shrubs, and mulching, a new paver patio, and you can even consider the project of adding a new outdoor kitchen.
Photo from Philadelphia Magazine
One room where you'll reap the benefits of upgrading your home is the kitchen. In case you can't afford or don't have the time to do a full kitchen remodel, sprucing up the room by replacing a few appliances is a fantastic alternative. Perceptibly clashing or mismatched appliances are always a problem.
For instance, if your refrigerator and microwave clash (perhaps you own a stainless steel refrigerator and a sky blue microwave), you can start small and buy a microwave that complements the rest of the appliances in your cooking area. Even if it's just a tiny change, it can certainly make a big difference in the potential buyer's eyes.
On the contrary, it's not the end of the world if your kitchen appliances don't match perfectly as long as they don't compete with each other. If you have this one appliance that doesn't match the others, make it stand out, and be your kitchen's focal point during house visits.
As stated on the same previously mentioned insights report, thorough cleaning and decluttering can add around $4,000 to a home's resale value. This home improvement project is inexpensive, but it certainly requires a lot of physical work.
Roll up the sleeves and go through your closets and cabinets so you can make a donation pile. Clean out your drawers entirely and all of the other storage areas of your home to make sure you’re not keeping anything that you don’t want or need. A deep clean up will make your home more attractive as buyers prefer a pristine clean place with almost no exceptions.
If you’re preparing your home to list it on the market and you’re trying to squeeze as much value out of it as possible, replacing an old front door can also work miracles. It’s for the best to replace your old and worn out door with, let’s say a solid mahogany door with a frosted, oval piece of lead glass. The front door of your house is the very first thing that prospective buyers and neighbors will see.
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Also, don’t forget your garage door. As garage doors usually take up the most amount of space on the front of your home, installing a rustic wood door or a modern glass panel door can dramatically improve your home’s appearance.
When undertaking home improvement projects for sale preparation, you should strive to strike a delicate balance between what to leave alone and what to fix. In the end, you should make the right home improvements that will result in a quicker sale for the highest amount of money possible. Consider our expert’s five suggestions, pick the projects suitable to your needs, and prepare your house to hit the market in style.
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