It's Worth It
If you are selling your house, or thinking about selling your house, these are some of the simple (and often very inexpensive) things you can do to help get the highest offers and the most money you can out of it.
Clean Up
It sounds obvious—and it's probably the first thing any good real estate agent will tell you—but it really is super important. When potential buyers walk into a home, you want them to see the home—not the clutter. Clutter is a turn-off and it often makes rooms and spaces look smaller than they are (which obviously isn't a selling feature).
Declutter
And we aren't just talking about cleaning up as in putting everything away. Getting rid of things is also something to consider. Or at least putting them in boxes and out of sight. All those family heirlooms and knickknacks might mean a lot to you and make your house feel like home—but the goal is to make the potential buyers feel like it could be their home. So, make it feel like a blank slate they can see themselves creating a home on.
Popcorn Ceilings. Nope.
Popcorn ceilings used to be cool decades ago. Not anymore! Make sure you don't have asbestos in the ceiling and then scrape that popcorn off. It's a relatively simple job that you can do yourself—and it can modernize a space just like that.
Enoch Leung, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Usable Square Footage
Now, we're not saying you have to drop hundreds of thousands of dollars expanding the house and building a new foundation. But look around and see where you can add usable square footage that doesn't require a full on excavation and the like.
Usable Square Footage
Maybe you have an unfinished basement that you can finish with some insulation and drywall. Maybe you have room to add a half-bath (more toilets are almost always a selling feature). There are options galore at all expenditure ranges.
Attic Conversion
People always think about basements as a great place to add value and square footage...but what about looking up at the attic? It obviously will depend on your house and how it's built, but many homes have space up there that—with a little work—can be converted into very nice usable space (bedroom, playroom, office, etc).
New Rugs/Carpets
Over the years, rugs and carpets get dirty. And while you might've been able to ignore the rundown look—many buyers won't. Rugs are easy to replace, but carpets will cost more to bring in people to remove and replace. But, if a deep cleaning doesn't cut it, new carpets might just be something you have to do.
Energy Efficient
From smart thermostats to upgraded windows, making the home more energy efficient is good for you, potential home buyers, and the environment.
Curb Appeal
It's one of the things real estate agents harp on the most: curb appeal. What does your house look like from the curb, when potential home buyers are pulling up, before they've even walked in? This first impression can put buyers in a positive or negative frame of mind before they've even stepped foot in your home. So, what can you do?
Curb Appeal
Plant some shrubs and/or flowers. Prune the trees in the front yard. Clean and touch up the siding. Even a brand new door can really boost the excitement factor as folks walk up to the house.
And speaking of doors...
Garage Door
Given how most garages are right out in front, this ties into curb appeal. Replace your old, ugly garage door with a brand new one and, according to some journals, you could see a 200% return on your investment.
The Kitchen
If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: The kitchen is the heart of the home. And as the "heart," it's probably the one room whose improvement can add the most value to one's home. Whether it just needs a little sprucing up or a full-on renovation, making the kitchen appealing will go a long way in getting ultimate value out of the house.
The Kitchen
Upgrading the appliances can have a rather dramatic effect on the kitchen. This is also a good time to upgrade to energy efficient appliances if you haven't done so already.
Paint
Giving the whole house a repaint isn't a bad thing—it can really brighten up the home and make it feel new again. Also, color palettes might have changed since you bought the house and what was appealing back then isn't what buyers are looking for today.
Paint
If repainting the whole house is too expensive, try refreshing the rooms that need it most. Maybe you did a cool striped accent wall in your bedroom back in the day–or maybe your kids got to pick their own paint colors in their rooms. Sure, it was exactly what you wanted, but it might not be what buyers want.
Bathroom
If we're discussing rooms that add value–we can't forget bathrooms. We already mentioned adding more bathrooms (if it's feasible), but don't discount the value in upgrading the already existing bathrooms (new fixtures, re-grouting, a new mirror, etc). Experts say you can recoup upwards of 90% of your investments in bathroom remodels.
Small Luxuries
There are inexpensive things you can add/upgrade that can really add some twinkle in the eyes of potential buyers. Installing smart features like connected lights won't set you back a lot—but will impress buyers when they see they can turn the lights on and off from anywhere with their phone (or even just ask Siri, Google, or Alexa to do it for them).
Small Luxuries
Things like fancy toilets with heated seats and a built-in bidet might sound unnecessary, but they're also very impressive (and if we're being honest, they're really cool). It will definitely make your place stand out from the crowd.
Bigger Luxuries
They may not be worth doing on their own, but if you're already redoing the bathroom or the kitchen, adding heated floors to the work order is a very smart idea. Just wait till buyers feel their feet warming up as they walk through your house.
Bigger Luxuries
Again, we might not tell you to tear up your shower if it's in good shape. But if you were going to redo it anyway, spend a little extra and add in some steam and extra shower heads to give it a spa-like look and feel.
Home Inspector
When you sell your house, buyers are more than likely going to ask for a home inspection as part of the deal. So, why not do it first? Hire a home inspector to check out the house and get ahead of any issues they might find that could turn off buyers or negate deals in the future.
Rental Unit
Putting a little apartment over the garage or turning your basement into its own living space—with a separate entrance—can be a big selling feature for many who love the idea of a separate stream of income to help pay the mortgage. And even if they don't want to rent it, many buyers are looking for an in-law suite for their aging parents, and now you've given them one.
A Deck
We talked about adding usable square footage earlier—and one of the easiest (and cheapest per square foot) ways to do that is with a deck. Depending on what you do, a deck can get you a return on investment of over 100% when you go to sell.
Stage It
Obviously this is something you do once you put it on the market. But staging the house properly can have a bigger impact on buyers than many folks realize. You could do it yourself—but if you can afford to hire a professional, it's often money well spent.
Don't Put In A Swimming Pool
After all of the "Do's," we wanted to end with one big "Don't". Don't put in a swimming pool. While they can be selling features, the cost of building and installing a pool is almost never going to get you a good return on investment.
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