10 Things to Fix Before Selling Your Home
It’s a sellers’ market right now, so you want to make sure you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck. By making a series of small improvements before selling your home, you’ll be able to list for more. Some improvements have a bigger selling value than others, so make sure you prioritize based on the cost to you vs. the amount of value it adds to your sales price.
Here are 10 things that you should make sure are in great shape before listing your home:
Structural foundation
Do not skimp! The foundation of your house is the..foundation of your house. If you have any structural issues, they will come to light in an inspection and would be a major reason for a buyer to pull out of an agreement. If you are looking to sell your home to long-term buyers, not investors, prioritize the structure and any safety issues that may need to be addressed.
Electrical circuits or wires
Every outlet in your house should work well. They should also be up-to-code. If you have any lingering faulty wiring or historical electrical systems, it’s worth it for you to upgrade these so your house passes an electrical inspection. These can also be a safety issue, so be sure to prioritize.
Kitchen appliances
If your refrigerator never gets too cold or you have a trick burner on your stovetop, now is the time to get these things fixed or replaced. Appliances are a huge cost to a new homebuyer, so most of them find it critical that appliances be modern, up-to-date and most of all - functional.
Sinks and faucets
It’s worth it to bring in a plumber to check all sinks, faucets and water sources. Hot water should be hot, cold water should be cold, and water pressure should be normalized. A plumber can easily fix most of these issues without huge replacement costs, and your buyers will breathe a sigh of relief that they won’t end up soaked head-to-toe when they go to wash their hands. This goes for baths and showers as well!
Draining issues
Septic tanks, gutters and downspouts are just something that new buyers don’t want to deal with. If you are able to upgrade these drainage processes before selling your house, you’ll avoid a ding on your inspection and the ire of buyers who might have to deal with unfortunate flooding problems.
Drywall
You may have had a great gallery wall, but chances are your buyers may not be as excited to hang two dozen pictures on the wall. Do them a huge favor by filling and painting over any holes in the wall. This will allow them to decorate the space in a way that fits their style without one extra chore. The refreshed paint also makes your walls look brand new - a huge plus.
Flooring
New buyers aren’t going to be thrilled if they have to replace cracked tile, decaying hardwood, or rotten carpet. If your flooring situation is less-than-ideal, it may be time to assess the cost of repairs and refreshes. You may not want to rip out all your floors right before making a sale, but a few key repairs may go a long way with how your potential buyers view your home.
Doors
Exterior and interior doors are critical to new buyers. Exterior doors should be in great condition - they are the center of your home’s curb appeal. If your exterior door is old, consider replacing it with something modern and in-style. Interior doors do not necessarily have to be replaced, but consider painting them and adding new doorknobs. This is a low-cost way to make your doors look brand new.
Major landscaping issues
Don’t spend too much money on the landscaping details, but definitely pay attention to potentially problematic vegetation. A tree that could fall on the house or pervasive weeds should be dealt with by the sellers. Buyers will not see a beautiful oak tree - they will see the dollar signs that they’ll have to put in to keep themselves safe in their new home.
Garage door
We don’t always think about our garages as part of the house where we’re selling. For many of us, its just storage. However, having a garage door that’s easy and safe to open is important to buyers. Whether its manual
Repairs are a huge reason that people pass on buying a new home, so by making these investments, you are paying yourself in the future.