Maximise The Sale Price of your House

It's house selling season and everyone wants to increase the value of their house, but what are some of the best tips on maximizing the sale price?

A touch of paint

Paint, paint paint. Paint interior and exterior surfaces. If you are unsure what colour to paint, look at what colours are being used in new developments and choose similar shades. The colours of the developments have been chosen for a reason, so use their research to your advantage. 

A race around with the mower

Spruce up the gardens. Make sure that the lawn is mowed, the garden is weeded, maybe put down some new bark, plants and trees. Make it look fresh and inviting, so buyers will walk through the front door. 

Say Bye Bye

Get rid of the junk! No broken down cars and bikes in the yard, and no clutter on the inside. You want your property to look as big as possible, and nothing makes a place look smaller than too much stuff and especially junk.

Fix, finish or replace

Is there anything that needs to be repaired or replaced? Any cracked or broken windows, does the roof need to be repaired (or will you factor that into the price?)  Is the deck half finished? You need to fix, finish or replace anything that is obviously broken as this will turn people away.

What does the floor look like?

You don't need to replace the flooring, but if the floor is wood has it been buffed and polished recently? If the flooring is carpet, has it been cleaned and looks as good as it can?

Consider putting a warranty on appliances

When you are buying a home the last thing you want is for the oven to break down 2 weeks after moving in. Consider adding a warranty, this will ease the minds of potential buyers and may give you a point of difference.

How energy-efficient is your home?

Have you got rid of the incandescent light bulbs? Any option of including solar heating? What about the drafty windows? How is the insulation on your property? Is it fully insulated, or could it do with a top up. These are very real concerns for people now, try and give buyers what they want.

Feature Lighting

You can make a good impression by installing a new outstanding light fixture in the entrance, it makes a statement  and leaves a good impression - buyers will see it first when they walk in and last when they walk out

Freshen up the key rooms - bathroom(s) and kitchen

Add a new stove to instantly 'upgrade' the kitchen especially if the kitchen is very dated. You don't want to pour in thousands and thousands of dollars when you are selling, but this may do the trick in convincing buyers this is the house for them. In the bathroom, paint it, get rid of the mildew and stains, and put in a new sink, a simple upgrade that could make the difference.

With all these changes you may fall in love with your house all over again and want to stay. But if you are still determined to sell, these changes will go a long way in maximizing what someone will pay for your house.