You’ve decided to sell your house, but want to get the edge in a competitive market. Maybe you don’t have the money or just don’t want to spend it on costly upgrades or repairs to a house you’re leaving, but still want to get the most for your home. Either way, there are cheap and easy things you can do to appeal to buyers without spending a lot. Try some of these ideas.
- Add fresh flowers to your foyer to make the home inviting and welcoming. A nice bouquet can be bought at a local store from anywhere from $5-30.
- Freshen your bathroom with a good cleaning. Soak your shower heads in vinegar overnight to get them sparkling. Run a bath with salt in it to refresh an old, moldy shower curtain. A bottle of vinegar and large salt container for about $2-3 each.
- Make sure there is toilet paper and switch out bar soap (which can be messy) for liquid soap. Each of these can be purchased for under $5.
- Make sure your grooming items are put away as potential buyers don’t want to see your used toothbrush, shampoo, shaving products, etc. You can get a travel set to use a bin to store your items out of the way for $5-20.
- Stain kitchen cabinets to give a fresh, updated look. Wood stain or paint can run you anywhere from $15-50.
- Refresh your hardwood floors with cleaner and polish. Each item can cost anywhere from $5-25.
- Go for the stainless steel look in the kitchen on a budget. You can paint your appliances with liquid stainless steel to give them a new, updated look. Be sure you follow all the instructions and warnings. You can see a how-to here. 12 oz. of liquid stainless steel can be purchased for $25-30. Just be sure you don’t list the appliances as true stainless steel.
- Replace the kitchen hardware and cabinets with new, updated pulls. A package can run from $5-20 and can add some popular stainless steel feel throughout the kitchen.
- If you have some nice dinnerware, set the dining room table for a dinner party or even a romantic dinner for 2. This will help buyers imagine throwing their own dinner parties. If you don’t have any you can purchase some at a thrift store or even get a few individual items from retail stores like JC Penny or Bed, Bath and Beyond that aren’t in sets.
- Move or remove furniture to make rooms look bigger. Chairs in the middle of the room may work well, but if you push them back against walls you’ll get the appearance of a larger room and a better flow for showings.
- Save small spaces by using uniform colors. Remove the accent colors and keep a more monotone look in small rooms to make them appear larger.
- Utilize the awkward spaces in your home by turning them into spaces with purpose such as a custom built-in or a cozy reading nook. Shelving boards and hardware run around $10-20 and you can re-purpose a chair and side table from one room with a throw blanket to make a cozy reading nook.
- Open your closets. When you buy a home, you want to know how much closet and cabinet space you’ll have to work a home has when you take a tour of it. The same goes for potential buyers of your home. Be sure to keep your closets accessible and open. You’re going to have to move anyway, so you might want to start packing up things you don’t need to make your closets appear larger. A cluttered closet with tons of stuff will appear small.
- Decorate to the season. Adding a few seasonal accent items will make your home seem inviting and warm. You can get items from $5-35 from your local craft store, but remember less is more. It’s always better to not have clutter, but a bowl of apples in the fall on a kitchen table or a few small items on shelves can go a long way to creating a place buyers can imagine living in.
You don’t have to spend a lot to stage your home, but in today’s market it is a requirement to stage your home in order to get top dollar. For more tips or a free personal consultation, call Helen today at 847.967.0022 or email [email protected].
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