Seller's Punchlist To Sell Quickly
Listed below are practical and easy to do tips that will help you as get your house ready to sell so that your house is looking just right for the next owner! Getting your house ready to sell doesn't have to mean spending a lot of money, but you should expect to put some time and effort into getting it ready (unless you hire it out, of course. If you do hire these items out, consult your real estate agent for reputable service providers in your area). There are three main things to do before selling your house. They are:
Clean everything: Make sure that the inside of your house is clean. Dust fans off, as dust has accumulated above the fan blades. Clean the bathroom tub, surround, sink, and toilet. Clean windows inside and out. This will give your house a fresh new look. And don't forget the largest bedroom of all... no not the master bedroom... the yard. The yard should be as clean as the inside. The yard is what invites the buyers to your property to view it. I'm not only referring to curb appeal, I'm also referring to both the front door entrance and the yard itself. The sidewalks and driveways should be clean and free of debris. The yard should always be mowed short to look its best. An overgrown yard is a sign of an unkept property. Even if you owned the home for 30 years mowing it every other day, the buyer does not know that. If a buyer sees high grass, it will trigger in their minds either that you do not take care of the house as well and/or that your property is difficult to maintain, regardless of your maintenance history. On the contrary, if you keep it cut short, they some presume you also take care of the house well and that it is easy to maintain. And please understand that the point isn't to hide facts from people like the yard is hard to maintain, but rather to show buyers your property in the best light possible.
Fix almost everything: If it isn't broke don't fix it, but if it is broke, try and fix it. Depending on costs, say less than $50 it is often a good idea to fix things that are within your means. If a door knob is wobbly, fix it. If a faucet is missing a handle, fix it. If the roof is old, well, you don't necessarily have to fix it. When the costs are much more than $50, you need to make a decision. If the roof isn't leaking, then signs are showing you that the roof is still in good condition. But if you've had leaks in the recent future or see any curled or missing shingles then signs are that the buyer will anticipate having to change the roof out in order to buy it anyway. Consider your budget, and if you can afford it, then the new roof will be a great selling point. Generally, an your real estate agent, can advise you on whether or not your roof, a/c, and other main systems should or should not be replaced. Your real estate agent may be able to help you fix some of these items without having to pay a third party handyman, so consult your real estate agent prior to doing so.
Paint anything that needs painting: Make all colors neutral. What does neutral colors mean? Neutral colors are colors where someone will look at them and they won't think that's a pretty color or that's an ugly color. Rather, they would think on lines of cleanliness... "The paint is clean. The paint is dirty." Examples of neutral colors are: tan, white, off-white, and antique white. So, a neutral clor is where people generally do not have an strong opinion on the color. What are non-nuetral colors? Examples of non-neutral colors are purples, pinks, reds, blues, and greens. Non-neutral colors can also be stripes, polka dots, and other variations of colors. Non-neutral colors should be avoided. Neutral colors are fresh and calm and open rooms up. Non-neutral colors can repel buyers like a bad smell. Sometimes however, your budget makes you stuck with neutral colors by if you have the old pink tiles in the bathroom. If this is your unfortunate dilema, then you may want to spruce it up with towels of neutral colors to offset the pink. The blue-tiled bathrooms make some feel like they're walking in water (a.k.a. drowning), so decorative towels can help give oxygen to those buyers who will feel the same.
Besides colors, paints have glosses...
The three main glosses of paints are:
- Flat
- Semi-gloss
- High-gloss
Think of glosses as a protector of the paint, like a gloss on the exterior of a car's paint. Paint glosses do the following:
- protects paint
- prevents paint from absorbing stains
- makes paints easier to clean after they have been applied for easy maintenance
- make paint appear "shiny".
Avoid painting walls with a flat paint. Paint that is flat, have no gloss. Flat paints absorb stains easily, which would lead you (or the new owner) to having to paint the wall again soon. They also appear "dull" and uninviting. On the other hand, high gloss paints are good on the "high traffic areas" like baseboards and doors. High gloss paints withstand a lot of use and are very easy to clean after the paint is dried.
After deciding the neutral color and the gloss of the paint you need to decide on one more type of paint.
There are two types of paint:
- water-based (a.k.a. latex)
- oil-based
To be simple, stick with water-based paints. Oil-based paints are very messy and if not used correctly can lead to a lot of headaches. Besides, oil-based paints are usually used for exterior applications.
Simply put, according to David Engle, broker for Engle Realty LLC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana:
"The best paint choices are:
Antique white is a wonderful color. It doesn't show imperfections in the wall easily and is also a good neutral color."
- Semi-gloss ANTIQUE WHITE Latex on all walls
- Flat WHITE Latex on ceilings
- High gloss WHITE Latex on the baseboards, doors, door trim, and crown molding.
Ultimately, your real estate agent should know about houses well enough to give you a good idea of what needs to be done to your house to get it to show well. But do clean and fix what you can. Clean, well-maintained houses are what buyers want. And for the low costs involved in doing it, the return on investment will make it worth it.
