Like it or not, first impression counts. Estate agents insist that it’s critical – I’m not convinced, but think that it matters. A lot. Enough to make you want to present your house in the best possible light.
Here is what you can do to make your house a buyers-magnet:
1. Ask your friends what they like and dislike about your house. The reason why is that you can’t be objective about your own house, so you need a “second opinion”. Think how you can enhance the areas they liked. Think how to make areas they disliked look more attractive.
Example 1. You ask your best friends Fred and Linda what they like about your house. They say it’s your deck. Buy some flowers in hanging baskets and hang on the deck to make it look like a little piece of paradise, buy a nice candle holder and a beautiful scented candle and put it on the table to make the place look more romantic. These are just a few ideas, I am sure you can come up with more.
Example 2. Fred says he doesn’t like your ugly coat rack and shoe rack by the front door. You remove the coat rack and hang a picture to hide holes in the wall. Instead of the shoe rack, you decide to put an plant in a pot by the door. Again, when you think of your specific home, this may seem as a silly idea, but it’s only here to emphasize that you shouldn’t be afraid of moving things around.
2. Go to inspections of other houses in your area. Make a list of all the negative things that you notice there, and then compare it to your property – does you house have any of them? What can you do to fix them or make them less noticeable?
3. Make a list of the good things you notice about other houses for sale in your area, can you make yours look the same?
4. Have your house spring-cleaned (even if it’s the middle of winter). Clean windows will make it look brighter, nicer and well looked-after. Get a cleaner if you’re too busy to do it yourself, but get it done before the first inspection.
5. Have your carpets cleaned (especially if you have pets). You may not notice the smell, but the buyers certainly will. Pet hair is a major turn-off even for people who have pets themselves, not to mention that some folks are allergic to it.
6. Cover ugly spots on the carpets with little cute rugs. Any house with wall to wall carpets will have stubborn stains that can’t be removed even by professional cleaners, but with a little creativity you can mask those using rugs.
7. Put slipcovers on dirty or worn out furniture. This is the a much cheaper alternative to reupholstering. They will make your furniture look so much nicer with so little effort. On top of everything else most slipcovers are machine washable and you get to keep them even after you’ve sold the house.
8. De-clutter. Take this as a general guideline; my next post will have specific tips for de-cluttering the problematic areas of your home.
9. Each room needs to show what it’s for. If you’re using one bedroom as an office / study, make it look like a bedroom again. Yes, it’s a nuisance, and no, you shouldn’t leave things as they are. Otherwise potential buyers might remember your house as 2 bedroom instead of 3 bedroom – see the difference?
10. Put stylish pictures on walls.
11. Make your bathroom(s) look nice. How? Using colours. Instead of choosing towels and rugs of the same colour as bathroom walls, chose a different colour – the colour of tiles or floors or of accessories, such as soap dispensers etc.
12. Add a stylish touch to your bathroom cabinets – replace the old knobs and drawer pulls to make them look SO much better. Same goes for kitchen drawers and cabinets.
photo source 1 photo source 2 photo source 3
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Hey, nice tips. I just sold my house – wish I saw this a few weeks earlier
Chris, the other day my friend Steven mentioned he is thinking of selling his flat, and might go ahead if he gets a really good price for it.
I can see how he might benefit from these tips! I’ll get him to read this article.
Great tips. Faux plants help as well. They can add color, design, and do a great job of hiding spots on the wall too. Walmart has great prices on these and even puts the on sale sometimes.
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