KW Success Realty
April Davis, KW Success Realty Phone: (850) 774-7221
Email: [email protected]

Adding to Resale Value to Your Home

by April Davis 08/27/2020

Image by Breadmaker from Shutterstock

When you're motivated to get the most from your sale, it pays to add property value through preparation. Get started today with some of these tips:

Have your local real estate agent evaluate your home. As a professional, they know what sells and what doesn't in your area. They will assist you in determining how to spend your money wisely to get the best return.

  1. Pay for a home inspection. A certified home inspector will point out those areas needing fixing, correction, or removal.

  2. Clear up landscaping messes and debris. Add regionally appropriate and low-maintenance plants and ground cover.

  3. Paint your walls to a neutral but modern color. Gone are the instructions for all-white walls. Stick to gray or taupe tones though, to give a hint of timeless freshness. Remove dated, stained, peeling, or faded wallpaper. Instead of replacing it, finish and paint the area in a neutral palette with an appropriate finish.

  4. Request a home energy audit from your utility company. Most energy companies offer this service for free. Sometimes simply making changes to lighting or adding insulation gives your house a higher energy rating. Efficient homes are generally more attractive to buyers.

  5. If your home has "popcorn-style" texture on the ceiling, consider removing it. Replacing it with smooth plaster or a modernized surface increases your home’s value. Do not DIY this, however, until you make sure that your ceiling texture does not contain asbestos. Up until the late 70s, many textured ceiling preparations used asbestos flakes. If your home is newer than this, you're likely fine handling this on by yourself. An older home, however, requires a licensed professional with experience in asbestos removal and disposal.

  6. While you’re at it, replace old light fixtures. Upgrade them with high-efficiency fixtures and for little expense, bring your home into the LED era. Upgrade exterior lights with automatic options to add a safety factor to your home's exterior.

  7. Replace your roof. When living in storm-prone areas, hail or windstorm may cause damage that you cannot see and affect your roof’s integrity. Get a roof inspection (most roofing contractors do this for free). If your roof is storm damaged, contact your homeowner’s insurance to see about replacing it. In some policies, storm damage replacement has time limitations. If you've experienced heavy hail or windstorms, immediately have your roof evaluated or you may end up paying for repairs yourself. While a new roof may not increase your sale price, a damaged roof will lower it.

  8. Expose your hardwood. When you have wood flooring hiding underneath stained, faded, or worn carpeting, take time to remove the carpeting and expose the hardwood. Refinish the floor if you can do so. Even if you cannot, use some of these quick fixes to make your wood floors appear inviting to homebuyers.

When in doubt, always refer to number one above: call your real estate pro. They’ll help you determine the best options for you to get the most from your home.

About the Author
Author

April Davis

Congratulations!! You have found The Agent who truly believes in treating others the way she would want to be treated. I was NOT born a Bay County resident; I'm a transplant from Georgia. This actually gives me a bit of an edge in seeing things through the vision of a newcomer. This edge is the fact that I've done all the research and traveling to find the attractions, benefits, events and a wealth of other information most new arrivals to beautiful Bay County are seeking to find. I will walk that mile (or more) with YOU to find YOUR IDEAL IMAGE HOME. Although each of us has different wishes for our homes, we can all agree that we want it to be "A place of refuge, comfort, hope, memories and happiness". I know Bay County extensively and I'm familiar with being in the military "family". I am an extremely proud Retired Air Force spouse. My motto as your agent is: "It is my mission to treat YOU as I would desire to be treated". I would like to help you with full integrity, on a timely basis and with positively your best interest at heart. If you are currently a Bay County resident and wish to sell or purchase a home, please consider my services as well...because; that same integrity used for newcomers will be exactly the same for locals!