Lorraine Ryall
With the holidays behind us, it’s time to look ahead and start planning for the New Year.
This year may be the year you are planning on making the move, maybe leaving the area or even the state, moving up or downsizing. Whatever the reason, if you are planning on selling this year, you need to get your home ready to be listed.
The days of buyers wanting a fixer upper went out with the foreclosures and short sales. Today’s buyer is looking for a move-in-ready home. They would rather increase their purchase price to find a home already updated, instead of having to come up with the cash after the closing to do the updating themselves.
The kitchen and bathrooms really sell your home. A well-appointed kitchen will dramatically increase the value of your home. So, it’s worth spicing up yours to grab buyer attention. The same is true for the bathrooms.
Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home. Therefore, having an updated kitchen sure to wow the buyer can be the key to selling your home, and it doesn’t have to break the bank.
Buyers still want granite countertops, or something similar, and changing the countertops will have a big impact, but before you embark on changing the countertops make sure your cabinets are in good condition. There is no point adding granite if the buyer will have to replace the cabinets anyway. If the cabinets are in good condition but are outdated, depending on the type of wood, they can be refinished, painted or just the doors replaced for a fraction of the cost of new ones. My neighbors have a huge kitchen, and just had all their cabinets refinished at a fraction of the cost of replacing them, and they look brand new.
When you get the bid for the kitchen, ask about the cost for the bathrooms. You may even have enough granite left over to do the bathrooms or at least one of them at no extra cost other than the install.
Light Fixtures, Plumbing and Hardware
Even if you are on a tight budget, there are still things you can do, which will have a big impact on how buyers see your home. If you have old style light fixtures and plumbing fixtures, changing them out for updated ones really isn’t that expensive and will change the feel of the entire home. Replace old lighting with pendant fixtures, recessed can lights or modern surface mount fixtures. While an updated kitchen may get the wow factor, homebuyers also notice small details, such as the lighting and plumbing hardware. Changing or adding hardware to the existing cabinetry can update the look of the kitchen.
Bathrooms
You can transform the look of a bathroom very easily. We are in the process of remodeling both of our bathrooms upstairs, and purchased framed mirrors, as well as new faucets and new light fixtures. They were pretty inexpensive, but just doing that made a huge difference to the look and feel of the bathroom. If the cabinets are in good condition, you can paint or refinish them. If the budget will allow, add granite countertops, too. With bathrooms, you usually can find large enough leftover pieces of granite, which cost less than the big slabs. Even if all you do is the framed mirror and light fixture, the result still will be a big impact for a small cost.
Front Door and Staircase
We used the same company hired to refinish our neighbors’ cabinets to come and refinish our front door and staircase, changing it from an oak front door and white staircase to a dark espresso color. The difference is amazing. The rich color on the stairs complements our kitchen cabinets and pulls it all together, and the front door just finishes the home off. After all, the front door is one of the first impressions the buyer will get. So, it just sets the stage.
I offer a free home staging consultation, and have a contact list of local contractors and service providers.
Please contact me if you would like a free consultation on home staging and updating, a copy of the Contractors List, or a free home evaluation to determine the current market value of your home.
Lorraine Ryall has been a Multi-Million Dollar producer for the past seven years. You can reach Lorraine at (602) 571-6799, send her an email at Lorraine@Homes2SellAZ.com or visit her website at www.Homes2SellAZ.com.