Sticking to a Budget When Selling Your Home
It’s a well-known fact that selling your home is one of the most stressful things you can do in your lifetime; add in the current economy and your stress levels may be going through the roof before you’ve even started to do anything about selling your home. Equally, when it comes to selling your home you’re often encouraged to make various home improvements to make the property more appealing to potential buyers – but what do you do if you simply cannot afford to make these kinds of improvements?
It’s simple – there are many ways to make those all-important improvements to your home without spending a small fortune. Things such as giving your home a fresh coat of paint, giving it a de-clutter and a good clean and tidy are just some of the simple yet effective budget solutions you can use to ensure your home appeals to buyers.
Tidying the Exterior of the Property
When a potential buyer arrives at your home to view it (or is passing-by) their first impressions will be made on the exterior of your property. Firstly, try to keep on top of your gardening by mowing the lawn regularly and making sure the weeds are kept at bay. Also ensure that the exterior of your property is tidy, with no clutter or rubbish around. If you can brighten up your garden too, this will help it look brighter and more appealing – budget flowers such as marigolds are a great way to add that splash of colour and warmth to your garden.
Another job that can often get missed is cleaning your windows and it’s important that these are clean for when buyers are looking round your home. Make sure you’ve washed away any cobwebs and dirt that surround the windows and windowsills; as these will all add to that first impression. Other little features that may need attention is your door mat and house numbers – if these are looking shabby it may be a good idea to replace them.
Creating Space Inside Your Property
You want buyers to feel a sense of space when they’re walking round your property and whilst you may like the clutter of various ornaments, magazines and other bits strewn around; this could be a big put-off for minimalistic buyers. Try to get rid of any unnecessary clutter, such as toys, books, paperwork and any items of furniture that perhaps don’t fit in with the overall look of the room. This will allow you to create a greater sense of space and will also give you chance to give the room a good spring clean; brightening its overall appearance up. Another simple trick to make your rooms appear larger and brighter is to purchase brighter bulbs.
Tidying up Storage Spaces
Don’t forget that buyers are going to want to have a look at what storage space they would have if they bought your house – so this means they’re going to want to have a look in those closets and fitted wardrobes. Whilst this may be one of the places everything gets shoved in and forgotten, it is important that they are organised and tidy to give an impression of a lot of space and space that is useful.
Have a look round your house and see where cupboards and doors might need a lick of paint or a new door knob; these are easy to obtain and will help to smarten up your home. Continuing on the illusion of space, one tip to get your rooms looking more spacious (should you need to) is to add roman blinds in place of curtains. They take up less space and can add to the airiness felt within each room.
Also have a look round your rooms to see if there are any ways you could move furniture to create a greater illusion of space; a simple re-jig of the sofas in your lounge may help to make it look more spacious.
Clean Carpets
It may be obvious that a clean home is imperative when you’re having buyers round, but do ensure that you’ve had a run round with the hoover and/or map before they arrive. Unclean floors could create a wrong impression to the viewer and even though it is just cosmetic, it can be enough to put them off the property.
Neutral Walls
These sell a property, as it gives more interpretation for buyers. A room that is painted in gaudy, bold colours could be off-putting to some buyers, particularly if it is out-dated and old fashioned. Lighter colours, such as magnolias and whites will help to create a cleaner, brighter space, and will often make rooms look larger.
Selling Your Kitchen
This is one of the main features of your home and many buyers will want a kitchen that they can keep for at least a few months after they’ve moved in as many won’t be able to afford to have a new one fitted.
To make sure your kitchen sells your house, you’ll need to give it a good spring clean, getting to work on the grouting and tiles and potentially changing the taps if they’re starting to look old and shabby. Equally, if your cupboards are painted it may be an idea to give these a fresh coat if they’ve got grubby marks on them. Adding new knobs to them can also add to the overall impact your kitchen will have on potential buyers. Finishing touches are also important, with things such as towels, tea towels and place mats all adding to the overall ‘feel’ of the kitchen; so try to colour coordinate all of these items to give a more modern, chic look.
Bathroom
This is another selling point of your home and one that needs to present itself as though it can be moved into straight away. Nothing would be more off-putting than a bathroom with mould or lime scale, so make sure you give those tiles a bit of elbow grease! Try to get rid of all the bottles of shampoo, shower gel and bath foam that accumulate around the bath and instead replace them with some decorative bottles that tie in with the colour scheme. Match this up with the towels and your bathroom will be looking like new.
The Finer Details
It’s a good idea to walk around your house as a potential buyer would, trying to pinpoint what could be off-putting. Have a close inspection of all your walls – is any of the wallpaper coming off the walls? If so, replace it or try and stick it back up. Look into every nook and cranny and give it a good clean, keeping an eye out for any cobwebs that might have appeared overnight.
The most important thing is to make your home look presentable and liveable and you can easily do this on a budget. By taking simple steps such as getting rid of any clutter, giving walls a fresh lick of paint and decorating your house to its full potential you could significantly increase your chances of selling it without spending a fortune.
If you’re struggling to think where to start with dressing up your home then why not ask a friend/relative to have a look round as though they are a potential buyer? Someone who has a more impartial view than yourself and someone who doesn’t spend a lot of time there would be ideal as they should be able to see things that you perhaps wouldn’t notice.
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