Add Curb Appeal With Landscaping
Curb appeal makes a huge difference. When we bought our house the front yard was nicely landscaped already. This made us feel like the people who lived there actually appreciated the property. It’s hard to do landscaping properly but there is a lot you can do yourself to make your home look its best. It’s a big pain to get a front yard looking great. But first impressions are based on a lot of small details and they all add up to give a buyer a certain feeling about a home. Pull weeds in summer and make sure your lawn is always mowed when you’re selling. Sweep your front walks, and clean up any leaves or garbage that may have blown onto the lawn. Besides these items, small things like proper lighting, clean front windows and some seasonal decoration can have an effect on a buyer’s perception.
If you live in an apartment condo, clean the carpets in the hallway and make sure the stairwells are clean. Often cleaning staff only come once a week. You want to show your property at its best, not on a day when someone has tracked in mud and the cleaner isn’t showing up for three days.
Cleaning and landscaping isn’t something you should do the day before you list your home. This is something that you should keep up all the time – it’s just too much trouble to deal with it last minute. Whether it’s vacuuming a hallway or pulling weeks, this stuff only gets harder to tidy up if it’s left for a long while. Again, if you show you care about your property, chances are a buyer will care about it as well.
Make A Full Bathroom Out of a Half Bathroom
Full bathrooms either have a shower or a tub. If you have a basement bathroom that is just a half bath and you have the space to convert it, go for it. I saw a listing with my clients a few weeks ago and there was no basement shower. This wouldn’t be much of an issue, but the only shower was in a main floor bathroom and the ceiling was too low for a tall person to shower. That’s just silly. That bathroom wasn’t conducive to having a shower at all and there was so much room in the basement! Think about what buyers will want. I know most Edmonton houses are new enough to have two full bathrooms, but if yours could have another full bath, you should make the most of that space. Getting ready for work and school is much easier when you don’t have to share. And besides the every day, when you want to renovate
Fence in Your Yard
People like to have their privacy. Fencing marks out your back yard and provides a sense of security. A fence keeps people from wandering into your yard but also keeps prying eyes off any tools or sporting equipment you may have left out. Also, many home buyers will have children or a dog and will appreciate a fenced back yard. If your fence is falling down or missing altogether, consider replacing it. Fences can cost a fair bit, but again, there is some stuff you can do yourself to reduce the cost. Painting a fence can be done by anyone and you can dig your own post holes even if you have to pay someone else to install those posts.
Add a Bedroom in the Basement
If you have the room, a basement bedroom might help you out when selling. Some people need extra space for kids, and some people would like a spare room for guests or even a stay at home nanny. A basement bedroom can add value to your home when selling but there are some considerations. Bedrooms need to be large enough for a bed – you can probably get away with a double but your guests may appreciate a queen sized bed. Also, bedrooms need to be properly heated so may sure ductwork is in place to heat the bedroom. I know if my downstairs office where I am writing this article I didn’t have any heat until I realized the duct wasn’t attached! Now that I have it hooked up, I can bring you Edmonton real estate articles all through the winter.
The biggest issue with basement bedrooms, though, is going to be the bedroom window size. You need a window that meets building code for something called egress. That is the ability to get out of a room through the window in case of an emergency – most commonly a fire. If the window isn’t large enough, you can’t call this a bedroom and shouldn’t use it as one. And egress considerations affect your window well also, so it can get complicated. All this being said, cutting a larger opening and getting a window that meets egress requirements is possible, but it can cost a couple of thousand dollars. So think about this as an option to make your home more useful to buyers. An extra bedroom could go a long way.
Renovate Your Kitchen
This one is expensive. Kitchen renovations are among the most expensive renovations you can do on your home. But you don’t have to gut the kitchen to spruce up your home to sell. One thin you can do is replace appliances. People really put a lot of stock in new appliances. It’s not as if white appliances from a few years ago won’t work, but there are a lot of buyers who just want all the appliances to be new. Even if you need to go to a scratch-and-dent appliance shop, it might be worth it. I tell my clients all the time that a new stove isn’t that costly. If you have really old appliances, it should be worth considering. If they are just a few years old, then you can probably just make sure they are clean and you’ll be ok.
Other things in the kitchen that are worth working on are hardware – kitchen cabinet hinges and pulls for example. And flooring might be a good idea to replace. If you have a smaller kitchen, it isn’t that much to tile the floor. Also make sure to replace plug-ins with GFCI plugs if they are near the sink and make sure your kitchen faucet works properly. If anything is broken, fix it or get it replaced. New lighting will go a long way in a kitchen as well. Consider replacing fluorescent lights with small LED pot lights if you can. It’s a pain to do, but a bright kitchen will make all the difference to a buyer.
If you can afford a new counter top, it might be worth replacing. If yours is dated or damaged, a home buyer will not appreciate the wear and tear or the style. Be aware that putting granite or quartz over old cabinets is not worth it, though. If you can get a new laminate counter top veneer for a good price, go for it. Don’t overdo something that will get torn out later – no one will want to pay for something they’ll have to get rid of.
What are some of the renovations that you did to sell your home? What do you think worked and what wasn’t worth it?
by +Alan F Macdonald REALTOR® | Copyright © – gimme-shelter.com
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