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When deciding to sell your home, you might be tempted to sell it “as is” so as not to go through the hassle of fixing it. Unless you need to do so right away, selling your home “as is” is not a good option.
There is a reason why house flippers gain more profits in buying and fixing homes than re-selling (flipping) them. As much as possible, always fix your home to make it more appealing; increasing its value.
Most home buyers do not want to purchase a house that needs to be fixed. Those who do will use the portions of the home that need fixing as bargaining chips to negotiate lower prices. Even if your home is regularly maintained, you still need to add some finishing touches to raise its value.
Learn some simple yet effective ways to prepare your home before selling:
- Start with your lawn
Your lawn is the first thing prospective buyers see and interact with, as they come to inspect your property. Leakage or flooding issues can be noticed by experts. Mow your lawn and do some patch repairs using mulch.
Mulch is inexpensive. You can even get them for free if you ask some landscaping companies or arborists. Start pruning your shrubs as well. However, do not overdo this part because it will create irreversible damage to your vegetation.
Experts can also notice this and will be able to determine that your lawn vegetation will just die in a few months. This will deduct points from your property value. To be safe, let an arborist manicure your lawn before scheduling any viewing.
- Beautify the facade
Initial impressions will not stop at your lawn. The prospective buyers will next centre their gaze on the front of your home — the facade. Clean the front area from ceiling to floor. Yes, even a minute cobweb will give visitors an impression.
Polish your outdoor furniture and test your electrical fixtures like the doorbell. Add in some new throw pillows to the furniture as well. You can also replace the light bulbs to be sure they will function properly during the inspection.
The focal point of the facade is the door. Sand and paint your door and make sure there is no squeaking or creaking sound when you open it. You can add some sweet-smelling, but hypoallergenic potted flowers near the entrance as well.
- Go minimalist or declutter
If you are waiting for the property to be sold before you can make a transfer, remove as much of your things as possible. Prospective buyers can easily imagine how it would look with their own things if there is not much of your personal stuff.
You can sell most of your old stuff through a garage sale. If your things have sentimental value to sell or give away then you better rent a temporary storage space, like storage lockers in North York. You can leave a little of your personal stuff like framed photos because prospective buyers would also like to take hints from the previous owner’s personality. Yes, a loving and happy family portrait can have an effect on people.
- Schedule a preventive maintenance
If you have been religiously following the recommended maintenance schedules for your plumbing and electrical systems, then this part will surely have no issues for you. You can just ask them for a maintenance check as usual to make sure.
However, if you just rely on DIY repairs all those years, you can’t gamble that no emergency problem will occur during an inspection. DIY repairs and poor maintenance are also evident to expert eyes.
This is the time to hire an inspection service to thoroughly check your systems including the structure like the roof. Sources for possible major problems like the need for furnace repair from Mississauga experts should be addressed to increase the property appraisal value.
- Enhance the interior
This part is now fairly easy since you already have decluttered your home. Clean your house from top to bottom. If busy with work, you can just hire professional services to do the job for you.
Once the area is cleaned, you can easily get more ideas on how to improve the look of your interior. If you decide on repainting the walls and doors, choose neutral colours. You don’t want a possible property sale to be negatively affected by just having imposing colours on your walls.
If you have the budget, this is the right time to replace your floor with hardwood from Toronto. You can never go wrong with engineered floors as they give a touch of class. House flippers usually use engineered floors to immediately increase the property value.
As a property seller, get into the mindset of a buyer to know how best to offer your home. As a previous buyer yourself, you already have a fair idea on what factors can affect the purchase outcome. These 5 simple and effective tips can make a big difference in that outcome, not to mention the profits you are going to enjoy.
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