With the millennials eyeing the real estate market in the US, now is the time to refurbish your home and put it up for sale. However, it is easier said than done, since you don’t really know how to go about improving your home, so that it fetches more than the asked price in the real estate market.
Improving your home
Improving your home adds value to it to get the best price in the real estate market. Let’s see what all you can do to achieve this:
- Get the house repainted
A freshly painted house not only brightens the interiors, but also gives it a clean and untouched appearance, since it covers all the traces of wear and tear, and the weather. Don’t spend big bucks on repainting every square inch of your home; just focus on what is of priority, such as kitchen and bathrooms. The choice of color also matters. Go in for neutral color scheme, using whites and off-whites. This scheme makes the interiors look more spacious.
2. Make kitchen your first priority
The first thing a buyer surveys while considering a home is the kitchen. The first-time buyers, especially the millennials, give priority to a modern and updated kitchen. So, your first point of focus in to improve your kitchen. You can go in for a new suite of appliances, a new countertop and flooring. This will provide a contemporary and coordinated look to your kitchen.
3. Increase living space
Go for an open floor plan with a flexible living space. This is what present-day buyers have on their list of desired features, after kitchen. Focus on both the basement and attic and give them a nice finish. This will add usable space to your home that can be utilized as work-from-home office space, as a dedicated playroom for kids, as extra space to house an additional family member,0 and even as a laundry room.
4. Lower energy costs
People are sensitive to energy costs, so your effort should be to lower your home’s energy consumption. This makes energy-efficient homes high on their priority list. According to the 2015 survey by the National Association of Home Builders, the preference of buyers for ‘energy-efficient’ homes was only next to their preference for ‘safe community’. For lowering the energy costs, you can go in for LED lighting, low-E coatings on windows, greater R-value on the insulation, efficient water heating, and the like.
5. Easy to maintain
Gone are the days when buyers preferred symbols of luxury, such as stone countertops, ornate cabinets and wall-to-wall carpets, since they require additional efforts to clean. The millennials, today, are looking to cut down on extra work and take on the extra stress of cleaning. So, install easy-to-clean components in your home, such as hardwood floors and new roof. Also, ensure that your major mechanical systems, such as the heating system, plumbing and electricity, are in working order.
6. Provide for the aged
You may be aiming to sell your house to millennials, but they may move in with their elder parents. So, ensure that your home is equipped with safety features for the aged, such as non-slippery step-in bathtubs and showers, staircase with not-too-steep steps, easy to open and close doors,taller toilets that makes getting on and off easier, and the like. You can also provide a bedroom on the ground floor to obviate the need for climbing steps.
7. Make exteriors attractive
The first impression of a house is conveyed by its exteriors. Make sure that the lawns are freshly mowed, flower beds are not overflowing with weeds, shrubs are nicely trimmed, pathways are well-paved not cracked, and suchlike improvements. You can replace turfgrass with native ground covers or pea gravel to reduce maintenance costs, as also to retain its visual appeal. Previously, a swimming pool used to be a great attraction, but, today, the millennials are not keen on it since it involves high maintenance costs. In lieu of it, provide an open-air barbecue with seating around it.
In short, the process of selling a house may often take a lot of work; hopefully, this advice will help you to increase its value. However, there is also the chance to sell your house in “as-is” condition to an investor like The Local House Buyers.
