Increasing the value of your home

The outside: First impressions are lasting ones

  • Lawn—make sure your grass looks healthy and trim.
  • Walkways—they should be level, crack-free and grass should not overlap the path
  • Porch or Front steps—if the area is plain, add some nice large potted plants on each side
Paying attention to landscaping could increase your homes valued up to $2,000! *
  • Railings—they should be painted and splinter-free. There are little planter boxes you can buy
    at Target or Lowes to hang off the railing. They really brighten the front of your house!
  • Front door—it should look secure and looked-after. If it needs paint, paint it. If the locks are old
    and don’t work, go ahead and replace them so your home is secure when Realtors show it.
A nice front door can increase the value of your home by another $1,000! *

The living room: Cluttered rooms look small

  • Short of moving furniture out, try to keep the room as empty as possible.
  • Keep magazines and mail off surfaces or make tidy stacks of essential papers
  • Since you’re going to move—go ahead and pack knick-knacks, books, and dishes.
    You want the buyer to see “space” to fill. This gets their imagination flowing.
  • Paint the inside a subtle color—the lighter the better. When I show homes with colored
    walls, the first thing a client says is: “We’ll have to paint.”

Buyers mentally subtract hundreds of dollars from the asking price for the trouble.

The kitchen: One of a home’s top selling points is an attractive kitchen

  • Clean up your counters or spring for new ones. Get rid of cracks, cuts or dirt marks.

Nice counters boost the value of your home by about $5,000! *

  • Clean up or buy new appliances, especially stoves and dishwashers.

All new appliances can ad $10,000 to $15,000 to your home’s value! *

Bathrooms: Buyers worry about plumbing!

  • Fix drips! Dripping faucets and running toilets send a message of disrepair and
    possibly a sign of bigger plumbing issues.
  • Replace or re-glaze sinks and tubs with stains and chips.
  • Remove or replace cracked mirrors.
  • If the faucets are old and crusty, go ahead and replace those so they’re shiny!
  • If you’re bathroom is wallpapered consider painting it white-white makes rooms
    like big and clean.
  • Take a look at counters, too. Replace or clean countertops if they are in poor condition.

Bedrooms: Closets are big selling factors!

  • Buyers are often concerned with bedroom size and closet space. Any type of organizing
    or moving of furniture that open the room up, go for it!
  • Make sure your window coverings are in good condition—mini- and vertical blinds are
    inexpensive and allow the buyer to feel comfortable about not having to replace them right away.
  • Working on getting your closets tidy! Move off-season clothing out of the house. Fewer clothes
    allow people to see that there’s plenty of room.
Finally, some general tips:

  • Don’t forget to cover damage…the leak on the roof may be fixed, but the water stains will still
    scare buyers away. Likewise if there are holes in the walls from electrical or plumbing work,
    have them re-plastered.
  • Better quality carpet lasts longer, but if you can’t buy the top of the line, invest in good padding.
    It improves wear and helps the carpet to look its best.
  • Always sand down splintered wood before you paint to avoid chips in a new paint job.
  • Go look at open houses to see what draws your attention…see what others have done to make
    their homes attractive and what mistakes they’ve made that make you not want to buy.

*According to 100 Questions Every Home Seller Should Ask, by Ilyce R. Glink.

Katie Cotter
Century 21 Sparow-Shoreline
www.cotterrealestate.com
cotterrealestate@msn.com
(562) 493-6555 x607