Trying to Sell Your House?
It’s summertime here in Memphis, TN, and essentially the prime time for putting your home on the market! Why? This is when most families are relocating because their kids are out of school for the summer. So if you’re thinking about putting your house on the market, or just want to raise the value of your home in general, listen up to these tips we have to quickly raise home your value.
6 Ways to Increase the Value.
1. Boost your curb appeal by upgrading and refreshing your landscaping. The outside of your house is the first thing a buyer sees, and if they buy it will be the first thing their guests see. Having a clean cut lawn with pops of colorful flowers and well maintained bushes can help the visual appeal of the house and make it more inviting. The main idea here is to focus on what the buyers can see, and not worry so much about what they cannot see. Those first impressions are vital, even your bank will tell you that!
2. Upgrade and refresh your kitchen and bathroom! You don’t have to go crazy here and sink a bunch of money into expensive upgrades. But some simple things like painting your cabinets, swapping out the hardware, buying a new toilet seat, and other little cosmetic touches can really help real estate agents do their job when you list your home. Most of this you can even do yourself and save on the costs!
3. Get your carpets cleaned by a professional carpet cleaners such as Tiger Paws. Yeah, we’re not ashamed to say it. The point here is that you need to approach your home improvement projects with what the buyers will see and when it comes to walking into your carpeted living room, the condition and cleanliness of the carpet is the first thing they’re going to look at. We’ve heard some people ask if it’s better to simply replace the carpet. Honestly, after working with real estate agents, our answer is no. Replacing wall-to-wall carpets is expensive and there’s a very high possibility that the color you choose is not what your buyer will end up wanting so they will end up replacing it or installing tile or hardwood floors. What’s more cost efficient for you, especially depending on your square footage, is to have call a carpet cleaning service to come and do a deep, thorough clean. If you don’t believe us, even this real estate agent points out that stained carpets will make a buyer overlook all upgrades because they’ll perceive the house as “needing work”. So basically, clean carpets will trump all your efforts.
4. Give your entry a facelift! If your doorknob is worn and coming loose, you can replace that easily with a trip to Lowes or Home Depot. Replacing your front door can be expensive but if it’s still in good condition you can try painting it or refinishing it depending on what it’s made out of (and yes, you can paint metal!). At the very least give it a good scrub to rid it of the dirt and grime that build up over the years. All of this gives the impression of a good solid home.
5. Clean out that garage and maximize the storage. Storage is a key thing in a house and if your garage still has all that clutter, the buyers can’t visualize their own clutter in there. Sort through your stuff, throw out those old broken pieces of wood and random items that you thought you might use one day (let’s be honest, you probably won’t) and get the rest organized. Go get some storage units for your garage and put everything away. The buyers need as much of an open visual of the space as possible so they get an idea of how big it is. Ideally, the less stuff you have in there, the better. That way they can mentally picture their own car packed in the space or tool chests lining the walls.
6. Paint, paint, and paint some more. Go get gallons of paint because you’re going to need it. We already mentioned repainting your cabinets and front door, but all your walls inside could probably use some touch ups. If you have some rooms with some bold colors, maybe you want to tone them down with a more neutral color. If you are changing the color of a room, keep the lighting in mind and choose a lighter neutral color that will make the space seem bigger. This is a quick way to make your rooms seem larger and more functional to a potential buyer, therefore raise the value of your home. While your at it, if your garage floor is in good condition, a coat of acrylic paint can make it really pop!
In Conclusion.
Remember the rule of thumb mentioned earlier: The better your home looks visually, the more likely it is to sell quickly and at a better asking price. When you look at the list above, you’ll notice that the carpet cleaning is the easiest and fastest way to increase your home value. You could rent one of those steam cleaners, but if you want the job done right and save your time to focus on the other projects, then you may want to give us a call or fill out our easy form here to request a quote. You can check out our carpet cleaning process here. If you follow these tips, you’ll be on your way to a quick sale and out the front door faster to your new home!