Maybe you landed a new job in a different state or just need to move to be closer to your family. What happens to the house you’ve been living in for a couple of years? In most cases, your best shot is to sell it.
Granted, your old house might be a mess with leaky kitchen sinks and filled up with junk. Considering that the real estate market is full of really choosy clients, it is important to spruce up your house a little to make it more sellable.
Here are some cheap and easy ways to improve your home.
Do Some Cleaning Up
Your house may be cluttered because of a lack of care and some rooms may develop smells due to the many years you lived in it, or some other underlying issue. There might even be some marks and crayon stains if you’re living with children.
Would you buy a house that is smelly and dirty? Most likely you wouldn’t. This is why it is important to ensure that the house you intend to sell is spotlessly clean. If there is any junk that you accumulated over the years, get rid of it. Some painting may work wonders as well.
You could also give your basement or garage floor a second life by using a coating to recreate the appearance of granite floors. Companies like granitegaragefloors.com use an epoxy coating to create the illusion of granite on floors and garage doors, minus the cost.
Create More Room
Most current homeowners value space. A spacious room allows for fresh air to flow more efficiently and offers more options when it comes to lighting and decoration. In some cases, you might consider knocking out a few unnecessary walls to create more room.
One of the most common things that you can easily get rid of is the kitchen island. Although it provides more working space while cooking and for storing kitchen hardware, it can also consume a lot of your kitchen space.
If you have enough cabinets around your kitchen, you can afford to remove the island in your kitchen to make it roomier. Although you may have to cough up a few hundred dollars in the process, you will actually increase the value of your house considerably.
Many real estate brokers will concede that the kitchen is one of the most important parts of your home and will often determine whether you sell your house at the right price or not.
Focus on Energy Efficienc
Ensure that the energy consumption of your house is minimal. This will be a strong selling tool as it a more energetically efficient home means reduced energy costs. Moreover, there is a lot of hype currently on the need for energy efficiency and sustainability.
One of the things you should invest in high-efficiency windows. These types of windows have been known to reduce energy bills by up to 15%. LED lighting is also something you can consider. LED lighting consumes considerably less energy, lasts longer, and produces superb lighting.
- Look at the Carpets
One of the things that can make a home look older than it actually is, is old carpets. Luckily, you don’t need to rip out your carpets and replace them to change how they look and feel. An easier, and cheaper, idea is to hire a professional commercial cleaning company to come and clean your carpets for you. Unless it’s in a really bad state of repair, this can drastically improve the way it appears.
If your carpet does have some tatty areas that even a good clean won’t fix, another option is to add a few strategically placed rugs.
Forgoing basic home improvement might increase the amount of time your property stays on the market and how much you can fetch for it, but a little renovation can make a whole world of difference.
