Selling your home can be a long and complex ordeal. Depending on how you want to sell it, there will likely be a lot of paperwork, meetings, and calls involved in the process. Not only this, but you’ll likely be searching for a new home at the same time you’re selling your old one, which adds another set of problems and responsibilities to the mix.
In all this chaos, it can be easy to forget that your old home doesn’t just have to sell for its current value. You can raise the value of your home significantly by making relatively inexpensive upgrades that will appear attractive to prospective buyers. These upgrades don’t necessarily have to be major DIY projects either, they can be small and subtle.
If you would like to raise the asking price of your old home by a large margin, there are a handful of upgrades you can make that will have potential buyers swinging their heads around to take a second look at your home. Let’s have a look at some of them right now so you can decide if you might want to use a few to bolster your own home-selling efforts, shall we?
1) Replace Your Mailbox
We all know that first impressions are everything, right? Well, it’s no different when it comes to selling your home. Though the first impression buyers get is not when they walk in your door, it’s when they see your mailbox. As the mailbox is typically located at the end of your driveway, it’s the very first piece of your home that buyers will see.
They’ll likely be giddy with anticipation, eager to judge the first thing they see. Have you ever driven down a road and shuddered at somebody’s old, worn out, beaten-down mailbox? On the contrary, have you ever driven past a really well-done and beautiful mailbox without feeling impressed?
The mailbox is a preview of what’s to come, so make sure it’s a good one. Even if you have a wall-mounted mailbox on your house, upgrading it will still do a lot of good. These can be found for around 20$ but if you want to really make an impression you can find a good roadside mailbox for anywhere from $50 – $200. Just make sure you’re not breaking any city codes when you install it.
2) Beautify Your Lawn
Just like your mailbox, your lawn will make an impression on people before they even step foot in your house. You don’t want an overgrown lawn full of weeds and lawn pests greeting the potential new owners, do you? Whether you have an artificial turf lawn installed or you choose to go the all-natural route, keeping your lawn in tip-top shape is essential to boosting your curb appeal.
For keeping insects at bay, Wikilawn.com has an excellent list of plants that are known to do just that. This list includes plants like Garlic, Petunias, Borage, Chrysanthemum, Rosemary, Mint, Lavender, Thyme, Basil, and Cilantro.
Be sure to water your lawn often enough to keep it lush, and don’t overdo it when you mow. Mow only during morning or evening hours to avoid stressing your lawn in on hot days, and leave behind some grass clippings every now and then so they can decompose into your lawn and fertilize it with valuable nutrients.
Also, make sure to watch out for any signs of pest infestations or lawn weeds. By checking your grass for signs of abuse and looking over your lawn for abnormalities caused by weeds you can keep your yard free from outside attackers that will make it look ugly.
A mailbox is typically not a deal-breaker but sometimes a lawn really can make or break a deal, especially if the buyers don’t want to spend the time and money to fix up a lawn which is past the point of no return.
3) Spruce Up Your House Numbers
Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference. If your house numbers are looking a bit weathered, why not get them replaced? Try going with color and style that matches other features on the outside of your home, like light fixtures or window shutters.
4) Add Some Flower Boxes
Depending on whom you’re angling your home towards, adding some flower boxes might be a good idea. They’ll give your home a sense of class and friendliness that might just strike the right chord with your potential buyers. If your house is a more boring color like white or grey, flowers can be the perfect addition to add color and life to the outside of your home.
A home with well-cared-for flowers tells buyers that the rest of the house must be in good shape too. It’s a good impression to leave in their minds and it could end up drawing out a higher offer without them even realizing it. Try bright colored flowers like roses, tulips, daffodils, or anything else you think might catch the eye.
5) Buyers Want to Feel Good about Your Home
The average home buyer doesn’t write up a checklist of things they need in a home and then strictly adhere to that checklist. Sure, they might have some essentials in mind, but they largely tend to go on feel. They are going to think back to all the homes they saw and let the general impression of each one wash over them.
You want to give them any ugliness or problems to dwell on, instead offering nothing but beauty and cleanliness. People want to feel proud of their home. By upgrading simple little things like your house numbers and your mailbox, you can make it very easy for them.
Of course, don’t forget to maintain a beautiful lawn as well. A good lawn can entice somebody who doesn’t even have much intention of keeping it that way. It’s impressive and makes your home seem more valuable, even if it’s a feature that requires constant maintenance.
By utilizing all the tips in this article you can effectively increase the value of your home and get buyers to offer you much more. If you want to have extra money to put down on your next house, don’t leave your old as is. Spruce it up with some of the upgrades discussed here and you should be fielding great offers from every direction before long. Sprucing up a house can take time and money depending on its current state, so if your home needs too many repairs or you just don’t have the time or budget to make them, you can always sell it in its current condition to a real estate investor like Your Trusted Home Buyer.
