sell home

How to Quickly Raise the Value of a Home

Introduction

Selling homes is not easy. There are many things you can do to improve your home’s chances of being bought. A simple cleanup goes a long way. You want your home to look inviting to perspective buyers so that they can imagine themselves living there. Your home should look bright and spacious to buyers. Buyers will look at your house from top to bottom so don’t forget to fix up big and small problems.

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You'll Need:

- Bush trimmers

- Gardening gloves

- Lawn mower

- Rags and glass cleaner

- Paint and paintbrushes

- Carpet cleaner

- Light bulbs

- Toilet paper holder

Instructions

Step 1

Fix up the outside of your home. This will be the first thing that perspective buyers will see. Trim overgrown bushes, pull weeds out of the flowerbeds, and mow the lawn. Make sure there is no garbage or junk on your lawn or driveway.

Step 2

Pressure wash your house’s exterior. Clean all your windows with rags and glass cleaner until they are so clear that you don’t see the glass at all.

Step 3

Clean up the inside of your home. Throw away any garbage. Organize all cluttered areas. Rearrange furniture to make the rooms seem more open and spacious. Put excess items into storage.

Step 4

Paint any walls that are peeling or damaged. A fresh coat of paint brightens up the room and makes it look brand new.

Step 5

Clean your carpets. Use a carpet shampoo and follow the directions on the bottle. Cleaning your carpets will remove stains that age the carpet and will eliminate smells from the fibers.

Step 6

Fix up your bathroom. Replace burnt out light bulbs, secure towel racks, and put in a new toilet paper holder. You can also consider repainting the bathroom walls.

Step 7

Tend to your kitchen. Remove all clutter from the countertops, including all of your appliances, to make the kitchen look spacious. Clean out your fridge and make sure there are no dishes left in the sink.

Tip

Homes that look neutral sell twice as fast as homes that are full of their owner’s personality so you may want to paint over brightly colored walls and remove personal photos from sight.

Warning

Don’t put a lot of money into the house as you will hopefully be moving shortly.

Forbes: Ten Ways To Raise The Value Of Your Home

http://www.forbes.com/2003/05/23/cx_bs_0523home.html