While the value of your property largely depends on fixed factors such as the built-in amenities, the location where it’s situated, the economy as a whole, and the local demand for housing, homeowners can over time affect the valuation by improving the overall appeal of the property.
When prepping to sell your home, there are a few things you can do to raise the value of your home. Here are 3 vital steps you can take to give you better bargaining power when selling your home:
1) Declutter your home
Granted to be one of the most inexpensive things you can do, cleaning and decluttering can help improve the value of your home since neat and professionally organized spaces give a sense of spacious and lustrious living.
Cleaning a four-bedroom house can cost you anywhere between $200-300, depending on the location and the cleaning firms you choose to work with. Of course, you could clean the house yourself if you’re looking to save on costs.
When decluttering, you can consult Youtube videos for tips, or hire a professional to help you. Typically, anything that you won’t be needing after you’ve moved should be donated, and for items that cannot be donated, you can enquire from your local town to see if the items may be picked up.
For other essential items that your prospects don’t need to see, maybe tucked away in small boxes that can then be placed in cabinets.
If need be, you can consider renting a storage unit to put away bulkier items such as extra furniture, distracting artwork, and empty bookcases
2) Do Home Repairs
Fixing your home can immensely improve the value of your home, and increase the appeal to your buyers. Even simple broken stuff can scare away buyers, or encourage them to start talking down your pricing.
Majority of the work needed will be simple DIY home repairs that won’t require you to dig into your savings or take up a loan to accomplish them. A few quick things you can do include:
- Fixing or replacing broken doors
- Fixing faulty appliances. For electrical appliances such as sockets, installing plugs, and replacing electric heaters, you may need to hire a local electrician.
- Getting rid of pests. No one likes pest-infested homes. Employ some pest control measures such as sealing cracks, deep cleaning your entire house and clothes, and using approved pesticides for complete eradication.
- Fixing the kitchen and bathrooms as these are key areas that prospects inspect when looking for a home to buy. Repairs such as fixing rattling and loose cabinets, and repainting them can go a long way.
- Do other minor repairs such as patching holes in the walls, replacing the cracked floor or counter tiles, fixing leaky faucets, etc.
As you can see, these are simple repairs that don’t require full renovation but can go a long way to impress your prospective buyers.
3) Stage your home for sale
When it comes down to it, you need to prepare your home for viewing. Hiring a professional home decorator is your best shot here. Alternatively, you can opt to go with a home staging service.
Why stage a home?
To sell faster. According to Real Estate Staging Association, staged homes sell 9 days faster than the average, and often for way more than the list price.
Now the cost of staging your home varies based on the individual needs and the services included, but you can expect to spend on average $1500 – $2000 on this service. As you will be renting staging items, this cost may go up a thousand or two more dollars.
Some of the services you might need when it comes to home staging, may include the following:
- Home depersonalization
- Decluttering
- Repainting
- Bringing in rented furniture and decor elements, etc.
Your real estate agent will help you determine which of these services are needed for your case.
What Increases the Value of Your Home?
Generally, ensuring that your home is in good condition will net you a good price, but going forward and staging your home can easily raise the value to a few grand.
Other things that may make a significant impact on the sale of your home, include:
- Working on the curb appeal by simple tasks such as mowing the lawn, power washing the driveway, upgrading the landscape with shrubs, planters, mulching, etc.
- Finishing off any unfinished spaces such as storage and basement
- Upgrading to energy-efficient appliances and other features to offer more appeal to buyers
