There are times when a home seller has to take their home off the market due to consistent feedback that the house is lackluster. If the home was in market-ready condition before the seller listed it, this would not have happened. Here are five improvements you can use to make your home market-ready and improve its chances of selling faster.
1. Start Small with Home Improvements
Home staging creates a great presentation without requiring you to spend a lot of time and money to see amazing results. You can erase scuff marks from walls with a melamine foam eraser pad, touch up cracked and chipped paint, put neutral bedspreads in bedrooms, place fresh rugs and furniture in other living spaces.
The most efficient way to stage your home for sale is to focus on the rooms that will give your efforts the most return. According to the National Association of Realtors, these are: the living room, master bedroom and kitchen. Better lighting is a small home improvement project that can bring new life to your living spaces and make rooms appear bigger and more inviting to home buyers. You want to use LED light bulbs as they produce a higher amount of light than incandescent lights that the human eye can detect. Another major benefit of LED lighting is energy efficiency, which is appealing to home buyers.
2. Implement Energy Efficiency Throughout the Home
You can install energy-efficient insulation in your home to add market appeal. We recommend you look for the most common areas for energy leaks: doors and windows, light switches and sockets, recessed lighting, attract hatch, basement, and ducts and wiring that head outside.
You should replace your old thermostat with a programmable one. According to the EPA, a programmable thermostat can save a homeowner 10% to 30% on energy cost, which is an appealing feature to any home buyer.
If you discover you need to replace your water heater, it is a good idea that the replacement is tankless. Depending on how much water is used in the household, these water heaters can save the homeowner more than 30% on energy costs. If you have the budget, we recommend replacing old leaky windows with energy-efficient windows. Replacing all windows in a house can cost more than $7,000, but it is very appealing to home buyers due to the amount of money they can save on heating and cooling the home. You can get back 60% to 90% of your investment according to HGTV.
3. Remodel Your Kitchen
Home buyers place a lot of importance on the kitchen. That’s why, according to HGTV, a home seller will, on average, get back 90% to 120% on investing in kitchen remodeling. However, this does not mean you should spend $80,000 on creating a modernized kitchen that doesn’t match the rest of the house. Especially when the house is a century old. You need to keep the house and its location in mind when deciding on how much you want to invest on kitchen remodeling.
Remodeling a kitchen is a large task so we suggest you break down the process in steps to develop the perfect plan. DIY Network states a good place to start is by creating a stylebook, then define your goal, create a budget and set a timeline. The last thing you want is a money pit of a project that lacks any direction.
4. Adding a Deck
This is another large project that can also bring the home seller a profit when they sell their home. As many people are staying in more often, having a home with accommodating outdoor features can increase its appeal to home buyers. If you are handy and confident you can do this yourself, you can save at least half of the average cost on building a deck. Some deck building projects can cost more than $10,000, especially if you are hiring contractors to install multiple stairs, exotic materials, elaborate railings, built-in seats, and built-in flower pots. The main factor that affects pricing is total deck size. Overall the size of the deck should be relative to the home.
5. Repurpose Rooms
Remodeling Magazine says that remodeling a basement can cost $64,000 on average. You don’t always have to remodel rooms to increase your home’s appeal to buyers. Repurposing rooms can save you time and money when compared to remodeling. You can turn your attic into a bedroom and finish your basement without breaking the bank. A basement can be a fitness center, a second living area, or a game room. An attic can be an office, a craft room, a game room, or a fitness center. Keep in mind rooms that are repurposed for multiple uses can be very appealing to buyers.
Choosing whether to just do small home improvements, remodeling, or repurposing can be daunting, especially for first time home sellers. As Barbara Corcoran says in this helpful video, one thing you don’t want to do is make a lot of expensive home improvements and go well beyond the average home price of your neighborhood.
Get ideas from us!
Our listing specialists are experts in this area and here to help you brainstorm ideas to make the most of your home sale. We would be more than happy to discuss your home selling goals and see what the best options are for you to sell your home quickly and at the best price. We specialize in home selling in your area and we can also recommend premier home improvement contractors. We want to make certain you have the best home selling experience.
Call us at (216) 859-1201 for a free consultation today!
About the Author
A self-described real estate magnet, Eytan’s years of experience and passion for connecting with people and helping clients makes the process of listing a house as stress-free as possible. Looking to sell? Partner with Eytan to maximize your home sale.
