Preparing & Styling Your Home For Sale
Your Property is a Significant Investment
The below is informational guide to assist you in preparing your property – a significant asset for sale. Presentation, Price and Promotion are the 3 P’s we ( you and your salesperson) can control and work with in achieving your property going to market in the best possible position. I am available to take your call anytime to clarify anything or help you refine your must dos.
Maintenance / Fix the small things
Getting all items taken care if, for me recently it was the door that didn’t shut properly, the kitchen tap that dripped. At this time also book in a heatpump service & chimney sweep (helps with chattels in working order in Sales & Purchase Agreement later) and clean out gutters at the same time. Fixing the small things that are wrong with your home will go a long way in the assessment of the overall condition of your property. Replace any broken or damaged flooring areas such as cracked tiles, replace any missing or damaged light switch covers, touch up paint in areas where it is chipped or scratched, steam clean any carpeted areas, replace missing or dim light bulbs to brighten up the home. A lot of homes have missing trim in rooms that can easily be replaced. Houses with exterior wood cladding or window frames are often peeling and in poor condition and can easily be freshened up with sandpaper and some paint. This painting and other items can be outsourced, or roll up those sleeves!
Match Your Market
This is not so much a tip but just a bit of advice. There are always new trends and styles
coming along that you may not be aware of, especially if you haven’t been keeping up with the latest trends for a while. What you think will improve your home’s value may be different than what the real estate agent thinks, or a potential buyer is looking for. Red
kitchen cabinets or that ‘on special’ pink vanity just scream more renovations required.
Remove Unwanted Items
There is an abundance of unused things in any home that has been lived in for some time that accumulates. It’s time to go through the cupboards, garage, shed and any other hidden ‘storage space’. Get rid of any useless furniture or exercise equipment that’s taking up valuable space. If you can’t chuck some item that’s taking up space, look into getting an offsite storage building. The goal here is for every room in the house to look open and spacious.
Scrub Top to Bottom
It’s time to give your home a deep cleaning after you’ve de-cluttered. This doesn’t mean your housekeeping has been neglected; it just means every room needs special attention. Every nook and cranny gets wiped down and swept off. Furniture is moved. Cabinets are emptied. This can be a really big project that could take a good weekend to accomplish. Or, it might be worth hiring a home cleaning service – just make sure you understand what they perform and charge for a deep clean vs. a standard clean. P.S. it includes the oven!
Organise the Garage
Something doesn’t have a place in the house; toss it in the garage, right? That’s fine until you want to show how roomy and expansive this area is. Straighten the tools. Pick those boxes up from the floor. Move the old weight bench to offsite storage. Sure, it can fit cars and bicycles and more. You just have to show it.
Organise the Wardrobes
Aren’t wardrobes great? You can shove all your junk in them, shut the door, and – poof! – it’s gone. Just like magic. Until someone opens the door and everything
comes spilling out. Whether it’s the master walk in or the hall cupboard, look into some organisers to show just how much you can (neatly) store.
Organise Rumpus Rooms/Kids playrooms
A chaotic and disorganised kid’s area is fairly normal in a family home. Making a dent in the chaos can be a Herculean task, especially if your kids have more toys than you have square metres. Whether it’s too many Matchbox cars or Barbie dolls, you need to reclaim the space and restore order with some organisation ideas.
If you have an offsite storage unit during your sale, make use of it with the toys that don’t get used. Involve the children in donating toys to The Salvos. Ask them to pick their favourite 3-5 toys and explain the rest need to go away while you are showing people the home.
Target The Kitchen:
The kitchen is the heart of the home and by far the most important room to potential home buyers. It is where your family gathers, you host friends and where a house starts to feel like a home. Make sure your kitchen looks clean and is reasonably update, I don’t mean brand new cabinets and stone benchtops, but a few hundred dollars can get you a modern kitchen tap set, new door handles for your cabinets, update light fixtures and if you have old worn looking cabinets you could even spend a weekend painting them, there are so many kitchen cabinets resurfacing kits out there that look really good. A fresh coat of paint on your cabinets along with new door handles looks fantastic and is so easy to do.
Extra items off the bench – makes kitchen larger.
Not all buyers open cupboards, but be prepared that they will!
Improve the Bathroom
Bathrooms are the second most important room to focus on after the kitchen. They too can be improved without a large investment and also in a short time frame. Fresh paint, a new toilet seat, and new artwork/towels. If your bathroom has old grungy, dated flooring, consider replacing, on top of these updates, make sure the bathroom is very clean and organized, a lot of bathrooms can have mouldy areas in the shower
– kill it with bleach and replace the silicone.
Top tip is replacing the bottom shower door strip – take it into the plumber/hardware store and buy an extra to leave behind, this makes the shower look brand new!
Make a Good First Impression
A buyer’s first impression of your home happens when he or she is walking up to it – your entranceway expresses your personality. Ensure landscaping is neat and appealing, make sure your garden is clutter free and sweep your walkways. Even if you don’t have a green thumb it is very easy to install some new mulch, plant a few shrubs. I think the best and easiest landscaping upgrade is to mulch, it is so cheap and looks so good when it is new. These kinds of changes can instantly change people’s perception of your home.
If you have an old, worn front door and door frame give it a fresh coat of paint. A new doormat – remember this goes with you – www.dontbeadoormat.co.nz is a fabulous online store. If your home has an entrance foyer, make it pop, declutter the console, remove extra coats from coat rack, this is a ‘staged’ first impression.
Look at Your Flooring
There are so many cheap and easy to install flooring products on the market today that if you are looking to add value to your home then replacing your worn old flooring with one of them is more than worth the investment. If it is not in your budget to replace flooring, then a professional carpet cleaning is an inexpensive investment, especially if your carpets are still in good shape and are neutral colors. Sometimes you will see waves or roll in your carpeting as well; it is very cheap to have someone come in and stretch your carpet to tighten this area. If your carpet or other flooring is showing serious wear then even just covering the worn areas with a strategically placed area rug can improve the appearance of a home.
AVOID THESE PROJECTS
Everyone knows that a home’s features and improvements can make or break a sale.
You need to know that not all home improvements are created equal
when you decide to sell your home. While some home renovations are worth the money and time that you put into them, many will not make a difference and will even hurt your resale value.
If you are thinking of selling your home anytime soon, think twice before making any of these improvements.
Altering a Home’s Style
Home improvements and renovations that don’t match your home’s original style can be a huge mistake. So updating your country home with a super sleek look may not appeal to your target market. Differing styles within a home will make it less appealing for buyers to buy it.
Too Much Taste
Don’t go crazy with your decorations. Using wild colors, outlandish fixtures and unique fabrics may be more of a deterrent to potential buyers when you sell your home. So if you feel your home is your ultimate canvas, remember you may need to tone everything down when it’s time to sell. The more different your home is, the less appealing it will be to the masses, and if you care to get your home sold for top dollar, you’ll listen to the masses.
Installing Fancy Technology
Technology is changing fast. The chances are that whatever state of the art gadget you install in your home today, will be obsolete by the time you sell your home. Remember when everyone was wiring their homes for the internet?? Now everything is wireless. Some of us have all these extra outlets reminding us of our grand plans.
Changing Rooms Function
Transforming a living room into a large kitchen isn’t always your best bet. Altering a room’s function is a big risk, and while it’s great to change your space to your needs, others may find it hard to deal with or even harder to put a value on it. Consider the basic functionality buyers will expect, if you are going to stay there for a shorter time.
Unnecessary Improvements
Upgrading your roof when it only needs repairs and upgrading your plumbing systems when you only need few patches are just a few examples of improvements that mean big money that you’ll never get back. Instead, do all your routine maintenance items and let the next owner decide what major improvements to make. Remember, out of sight, out of mind.
CONCLUSION
Maintenance and repairs, it doesn’t cost it pays!
Maintenance and repairs to your home whether you plan to live in it for many years or sell it. Making a few fixes here and there will prevent expensive and bigger problems down the road. Start with a plan to care for plumbing and heating on a regular schedule. Obviously, these components keep your home comfortable and habitable, but they can be quite costly to repair or replace. Keep an eye on your roof too–as this is sheltering every other investment you’ve made in your home. Keep a vigil lookout for water intrusions. That’s not only the roof
but pipes, windows, bathtubs, and showers too. Learn how to use a caulk gun. Regular upkeep will maintain the comfort, energy efficiency, and appearance of your home and it will help you to maximize its value when you’re ready to sell it.
Speak to your real estate salesperson. There are few people that deal with property day in and day out like a salesperson does. If you want to know where to spend your budget, what buyers are looking for or even how much the house down the road sold for – your real estate salesperson can be your best contact through this period.
Finally, take pride in all that you’ve accomplished. With the improvements you’ve made to your home, you should experience a significant increase in value and appeal to the market – provided all the projects went according to plan. All of this effort contributes to the end value or results even though it seemed to be expensive, whether that’s your personal enjoyment of living in your home or the final sales price of your investment.
I hope the road ahead brings you happiness, and personal and financial well-being! And I look forward to being of further valuable service to you.
