Most of us like to think that if we take care of our homes, they will make us money in the long run. But which home improvements generally pay off? Many of us now work from home some days of the week, so we've had to rethink what we want from our living space. So it's a good idea to think carefully before spending money on home improvements.
If you want to sell your house soon, we have some suggestions for how you can make sure you get higher offers.
Try Virtual Staging
Virtual staging is more than just using software to place fake furniture in real rooms. Instead, a photographer takes pictures of empty units and "virtually" changes the way they look to make them look more inviting. This modern approach has become increasingly favored by real estate experts. Take, for instance, the application of virtual staging by a home staging company in Washington DC, or any other location. Through this method, vacant spaces are transformed into inviting environments, enabling potential buyers to better visualize a property's full potential.
This can be an ideal way to not only get higher offers for your home than you would if people saw it just the way it is with your furniture in it, but it can also sell property faster. The easier it is to imagine yourself living somewhere, the easier the decision to put in a (good) offer is.
Declutter, But Don’t Depersonalize
Get rid of things that have piled up. Store it, sell it, give it away, or throw it away. You might want to get rid of any big pieces of furniture that make the room feel smaller and replace them with smaller pieces.
People need to be able to imagine what it would be like to live in the house. This is hard for most people, so make it easy for them to see all the great living space you're giving them.
But don't make it look like a bland hotel; give it a little character. Aside from anything else, it tells buyers who don't have any ideas what they could do. People often buy not only a house but also a way of life, which is why the virtual staging we mentioned earlier works so well.
A Fresh Lick Of Paint
A fresh coat of neutral paint on your walls will make your home look lighter and bigger. It will make it easier for people to picture how they would change the rooms to suit their needs.
If the walls were still bright pink or turquoise, it would be harder for the new owners to move in and start using the rooms right away. It may not seem like much, but it’s certainly something that could put them off making an offer or cause them to make a lower one that you would like.
Clean And Fix
Repair any minor damage, such as cracks in the walls, broken door handles, cracked tiles, and worn carpet. Most buyers won't want to do much - if any - work when they move in, and would be willing to pay more for a house that doesn't need any fixes than pay less and then have to do the work themselves.
Everything should be cleaned until it shines. Get rid of limescale, clean and fix the grout between tiles, wax the wooden floors, get rid of smells, and hang up new towels. This will make the place more interesting and let people imagine what it would be like to live there.
Clean up the garden by trimming the bushes, removing lichen and dirt from the patio and furniture, and cutting the grass. Even though this doesn't add much value to your home, it makes it easier for people to imagine themselves using the garden, which makes it more likely to sell.
