Selling your home isn’t always easy. While there’s always a buyer out there somewhere, connecting with that buyer and agreeing on a price sometimes takes a little effort. There are a lot of little things that you can do to make this a lot easier, though. Many of these solutions are fairly easy on the budget and can also be added on short notice – and some of them may only take an hour or two to implement!
Add a Coat of Paint
Touching up the paint in your home can do wonders for the marketability of the place when you’re looking to sell. Fresh paint can cover up colors that weren’t a great choice in retrospect and will also make whites seem whiter. You may also hear suggestions about painting large floor tiles or bathroom fixtures, but that’s a job you should only take on if you know what you’re doing.
Change the Doorknobs
Dull doorknobs can give buyers the doldrums, so swap them out with new hardware for an instant front-door facelift. You can also change out cabinet and drawer handles if you want to add some extra flair to the various rooms of your home.
Update Your Light Fixtures
Other changes you can make to your home’s existing hardware include things like light fixtures, replacing old fixtures with something a bit nicer looking. While you’re at it you can also update your light switches and even electrical outlets to replace anything that seems worn or out of place.
Hang Some Mirrors
Few things can open up a room as quickly as adding a mirror. A few mirrors around the house will create the illusion of more open space and will also help to fill blank spaces on your walls if you’ve taken down family photos or other personal items. (Here’s a tip: Take down family photos and other personal items.) Just make sure that you don’t position the mirrors where they’ll be hit by direct sunlight during the day, since nobody wants to be blinded by their wall furnishings.
Tame That Lawn
Now is the time to put extra care into your lawn maintenance, taking the time to weed, seed and feed that lawn into emerald perfection. Trimming the shrubberies, adding some tasteful decorative bushes and finally doing something about that tree stump from three years ago might be a good idea as well.
Add Accent Lighting
While you’re working on the outside of your home, consider adding some path lighting, home accent bulbs or other outdoor lights. This will not only add to the beauty of the home but it will also give you a chance to show off some of the home’s best features in the evening and at night. As an added bonus, additional lighting around the home can be a good selling point from a security standpoint.
Replace the Toilet Seat
Spruce up the bathroom before you put your home on the market. While you’re in there, consider replacing the toilet seat. Not only will this get rid of one of the things in your home that’s most likely to be dirty, but it will also give potential buyers the thrill of possibly going where no one has gone before.
Get Smart
If you really want to impress, consider swapping out some of the light bulbs with LED smart lights. Be sure to choose Wi-Fi-enabled bulbs that can easily sync with Alexa or Google Home for maximum compatibility – and keep a copy of the syncing instructions for the eventual buyer. If you really want to go the extra mile, pick bulbs that can provide multiple colors of lighting… then have a smart speaker set up so you can show off how they respond to voice commands to your buyer.