Selling Your Home: Small Fixes That Can Make a Huge Impact

When it comes to selling your home, there’s a laundry list of things to check off of your list (and not all of them are quick and easy). Although there’s packing, finding a new home, and deciding on logistics (like movers, securing boxes, and researching new schools if you have children), ensuring your home looks its best for potential buyers should be a big priority.

But figuring out how to make your home show well can be a difficult task. Where do you start? What’s most important? And most importantly, what can you do with the least amount of effort that will make the biggest impact on your home sale? 

Before your house begins to be booked for showings, there are a few simple things that you can focus on to make sure that it’s not only presentable, but that it looks its absolute best.

1) Clean Your House
Although this sounds like common sense, it’s absolutely something that’s worth putting some effort and focus into. The simple act of cleaning your home will ensure that potential buyers can easily see the standout parts of the house, as well as the potential of what could be if they were to go through with a purchase. Dirty laundry in the room, unmade beds, unnecessary items on your counters, and dishes in the sink all detract from the integrity of your home. And, if a potential buyer gets the feeling that you’re not taking care of the simple things in your house, like daily upkeep, they may begin to worry about the bigger things that could have potentially been neglected.

2) Minimize Clutter
Kitchen counters covered with condiments, dressers topped with an excess amount of personal items, and bathroom counters covered in day-to-day grooming items doesn’t make for a pretty picture. Even if it’s living room shelving units that are packed with knick knacks, clutter can lend to dust, and the appearance that a home isn’t meticulously cared for. When it comes to selling your home, the goal is to make your home look appealing to a wide array of potential sellers, and doing this often means minimizing. Ensure that only must-have or must-see items are out on counters and obviously visible, allowing potential buyers’ eyes to see the features of your home vs. the things you’ve put
in it. 

3) Install Smart Gadgets
Smart gadgets are awesome. Not only do they add an entirely new level of convenience to the home you’re trying to sell, they give a modern vibe that can help buyers to see your home as up-to-date and above and beyond in the amenities department. Smart gadgets can range from door locks that can be accessed via your smart phone, thermostats that allow you to adjust the temperature (even from across the country), and even app controlled home fragrance dispensers. While the cost can range depending on which one you go for, the price remains relatively low when compared to the value you can get from a buyer with these installed.

4) Paint
A fresh coat of paint on a wall, or even touchups, can do wonders for a home. Painting can not only make a house look new again, it can absolutely transform a room. Even better? Freshly painted walls convey to a buyer that you’re taking good care of your home, that you’ve taken the time to make it look its best, and that, in turn, you’re passing along a house that’s been well maintained. What’s more, a fresh coat of paint can be surprisingly effective when it comes to helping a seller obtain asking price and beyond.

5) Remove Your Window Screens
Don’t get us wrong. Window screens are a necessity. Not only do they make life easier in a number of scenarios (like keeping your windows open without turning your home into flying bug central), they also come standard in most homes. However, when it comes time to show you home, take off your window screens. Why? A small edit like removing your screens will make your home look brighter, and make your windows appear shiny and clean. Remember, don’t throw out your screens completely. Store them in the garage so that the home’s new owners can have access to them after they move in.

Creating a space that attracts buyers (and helps them to picture themselves living happily in their potential new home) is the goal when it comes to earning maximum dollars for your house. Part of achieving this means making your home as appealing as possible. To do this, you don’t always need a massive budget to make a big difference. Be on the lookout for small enhancements that you can make throughout your home to help ensure it looks clean, cared for, and loved. In the end, this is one of the best ways to help a buyer connect with your house and more, being to envision it as their very own home.