It is common knowledge that houses sell faster and for more money when they are prepared properly for the market. Don’t let a small budget for doing so dissuade you. After all, in some areas such as the bathrooms, buyers spend about a few seconds looking into these rooms. You should ask a friend or neighbor to come over and give you some objective advice because after you live in a home for a while you may not see the things that will distract some home buyers.
Always Start With the Exterior
When selling Frisco real estate first impressions – curb appeal count. Your yard needs to be inviting and welcoming. Trim the bushes and trees, especially ones that block views from the windows and make your home difficult to see from the street. Here are some other low cost exterior improvements that you can do relatively inexpensively:
- Clean or replace the front porch light fixture.
- Keep the lawn mowed, trimmed and weeded
- Plant colorful flowers along the walk or by the front door.
- Clean exterior windows.
- Paint or stain the front door and buy new hardware.
- Power was the house to get rid of dirt
- Buy a new welcome mat for the front steps.
- Paint or replace the mailbox.
Remove Excess Furniture and Clutter
Many homes contain too much furniture. With Flower Mound real estate you may benefit from removing a couple of pieces of furniture from each room. Having less furniture will make the rooms appear larger. It only cost about $100 a month to place the furniture into storage.
- Rearrange your kitchen pantry, kitchen cabinets in an orderly manner.
- Remove all of your personal photographs. Patch holes in the walls or hang non-personalized artwork over the existing nails.
- Clean out the closets and store non-essential items.
Thoroughly Clean the House Before Putting on the Market
You can hire a professional cleaning crew for about $250 or do it yourself for free. Make sure you don’t miss the inside windows.
- To give your house a open feeling remove a few doors that open into each other or block the flow of traffic.
- Have the carpets professionally cleaned.
- Dust the tops of your doorways and window frames.
- Wipe down all wood / ceramic flooring.
- Clean all light fixture coverings and ceiling fan blades.
Updating the Kitchen on a Budget – Really?
In the Highland Village real estate market kitchens are the most important room in the house. It’s the heart and soul of the home. Even if a buyer is not much of a cook, the kitchen is still where family and friends tend to gather.
- Consider installing kitchen pendant lights over the sink. .
- If new granite is out of your budget, consider either re-grouting the kitchen counter tiles or covering them with granite tiles instead of a granite slab.
- For wood cabinets, stripping the finish and re-staining or painting will save you more money than re-surfacing the cabinets.
- Buy new knobs and / or pulls for the cabinet doors. New hardware will transform the appearance of your cabinets.
- Replace an old kitchen faucet.
Painting the Interior Walls
Professional painters will probably charge you anywhere from $200 to $400 to paint each room but you can paint the rooms yourself.
- Choose a soft color in a light earth tone (never white), and paint all the rooms the same color.
- Painting will go faster if you paint the ceilings the same color, but ceilings will really pop if they are a lighter color than the color of the walls (these can be white) and also make the ceilings appear higher.
Freshening up the Bathrooms
If you have wallpaper in the bathroom, it’s most likely peeling and should be removed. You can rent a steamer to remove the wallpaper or strip it yourself.
- Store all your personal items under the bathroom sink or in a cabinet.
- Consider replacing the toilet and vanity, especially if they are stained or outdated.
- Buy a two-light wall fixture or a light bar for over the sink. .
- If the tub is stained or pealing, hire a professional to refinish it.
- Replace water-stained shower doors or clean them with a lime dissolving detergent.
- Buy a new shower curtain and rods.
- Hang fresh towels and lay down a new bath rug.
- Place scented candles near a basket of tightly rolled wash cloths to create a spa-like look.
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