It’s time, you’ve been in this house long enough, and now it’s time to move. Perhaps your family has started to grow, and you need more space or maybe for financial reasons you have to move. You might even just be interested in relocating to a different country. Perhaps, you’re pursuing another career opportunity. Whatever the reason, you’re now in the position where you need to get your home ready for sale. We talk about a home being ready for sale because not all houses are. You can not and should not immediately put your home on the market. If you do this, you’re going to run into a few problems.
The first is that you may not get any interest at all from potential buyers. You must remember that the housing market is competitive. There might be a house down the street that goes on sale at the same time as yours. It might be roughly the same size with similar features. But if they have made their home more attractive than yours, they’ll steal all your potential buyers.
The second issue is the price that you want your home sold at. Ideally, we imagine, you want your home sold at the highest possible. To make this dream a reality, you have to consider completing a little work on the property and raising the value. You can either alter the perceived value or the actual value of the home. Don’t worry we’re going to look at both so that you can make the best decision. If you do this, you can get the dream price for your home, so let’s get started. First, we’re going to look at how to attract buyers in the first place, and that’s about curb appeal.
Boosting The Curb Appeal
What is curb appeal? Curb appeal is, quite simply how your home looks from the curb. It’s what passers-by see when they walk past your home. Or, what the neighbours see every day when they arrive at their own house. It’s also the first impression you’re going to give potential buyers of your property. Even if your home appears on a real estate website, this is the first thing they are going to look at. It’s also important to know that many potential buyers will visit your home several times before arranging an inside viewing. Their judgement will be based entirely on curb appeal through different times of the day. They’ll be looking at whether the sun hits your home, the colours and the garden. You might think that if your home looks a little shabby, it doesn’t matter. After all, some people love buying a bit of a fixer upper. Ah, but only if you’re willing to sell your home at the value of a fixer upper. You see the issue? Check out this advice www.sellteam.com/Blog on valuing a fixer upper.
There are a number of ways to boost the curb appeal, but we suggest you start by examining your garden. You need to think of ways that you can add a little more colour and life to it. But you can always start by simply tidying the place up and making it more attractive. Cut the grass short first as this will make the space look far grander and more impressive. Then, think about adding some flowers around the plot, bringing both light and colour. You can also consider adding a unique feature. This will make your home stand out from the rest of the houses on the street. It solves the problem of a home similar to yours going up at the same time. The unique feature could be anything. You might want to add a water feature, ornament, or some foliage. If you speak to a landscaper about these possibilities he might offer you some ideas. It’s important that you do get professional advice here. The wrong feature could negatively impact on the home. For instance, we could say that a tree in the front garden could look stunning and it might. But not if it completely blocks the downstairs, front window.
Remember, when changing the outside of your home, the front is for show. In the back garden, people are far more interested in gaining a certain degree of privacy. To make sure they have this, you should think about planting some trees for screening. These grow quickly and are useful if you have some time before you sell the home. They can also be perfect for blocking out an ugly eyesore or if your home is close to the main road.
As well as this, you shouldn’t forget about the structure of your home and the architecture. Generally speaking, there isn’t much you can do about the exterior of your home. But, if you’re willing to spend some money, you could consider replacing the door with a more modern design. Or, even upgrading the garage door. These changes are going to be more expensive, but they might catch the particular eyes of the buyer that you want. It’s all about deciding what’s worth the cost and what isn’t. Now let’s look at the ways you can alter the actual value of your home.
Increasing Actual Value
To increase the actual value of your home, you need to look at making changes that dramatically alter how your home looks or how your home feels. For instance, one of the best ways to add home value is to make the house more energy efficient. You can do this by having a looking at upgrading your windows. By upgrading your windows to double or triple glazing, you’ll be able to keep more heat in the house. This will be a selling point for potential buyers. Particularly, if you’re in an area where there are cold months. Have a look at www.finesse-windows.co.uk/windows.php for more information on this upgrade. It’s also worth pointing out that many homes these days come with at least double glazing. Buyers almost expect the feature so you might want to consider this option regardless of the cost.
Another possibility that will add huge value to the home is to add an alternate energy source. Solar panels can be fixed to the roof of the house for an agreed fixed cost. In some locations, the council will pay some of the cost, in the hope of encouraging more people to switch. That means you will be saving money while adding massive value to your home. These panels are also another exterior feature that is certain to catch the eye and attention of potential buyers. Before committing to this idea, you may want to do some research on your area. Try to find out how much this feature will add to the value of your home. It will vary depending on how much sunlight the location you live in receives.
Another way to alter the actual value of your home is to add another room. You can do this either through a conversion of an area of your home or by adding an extension. This site www.buildinginspiration.co.uk/ has got great advice for a loft conversion. It should come as no surprise that both these possibilities are going to cost you a lot of money. Particularly, if you want the job to look professional and stylish. However, it’s also worth noting that these options add the most value to your home. If you want to add a zero or two to your asking price, this is certainly a possibility that you should be considering. Again, you should speak to a contractor about this possibility and see if the cost is worth the effect on selling price.
Improving The Interior
Finally, we’re going to look at ways to improve the interior of your house without spending an absolute fortune. The first piece of advice we can recommend is that you should clean the home from top to bottom. By cleaning the home, you can get rid of any smells associated with your family. This can put a buyer off making an offer. You need your home to smell of cleaning products and any other scents associated with home life. For instance, you may want to bake some cakes or brew a fresh jug of coffee as they are looking around. These little scents give buyers the idea that this is the right home for them. Have a look at www.hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners for more selling tips.
When looking at the design of your home, you should be making it look as spacious and grand as possible. To do this, you may want to have a look at a few show homes. You will notice that they are never overcrowded with furniture. They have a few pieces here and there to convey this is a place where a family could live. If you have a particularly small home, you can also consider repainting the rooms cream. This makes the space look a lot grander. Remember, these are ways to alter the perceived value. Your home won’t be priced with a higher number. But buyers will be encouraged to make bigger offers.
We hope you find this advice useful and have a successful home sale this year. Good luck.
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