When buying and selling a home, you want to be sure you can resell your home for a profit. That way, you have more to invest in a newer home that suits your family’s needs better. Buying a home is considered one of the smartest investments you can make, so here are all the ways to ensure you get the most out of that investment.
Work With a Local Expert
Most importantly, finding an expert who works locally will help you on your journey to buying and selling. While you might have done this a few times, they do it every day. They’ll know the market, the best way to find a property, and how to sell your home. Professional realtors can use their knowledge to price your home in the most effective way, bringing in interest without starting too low. Since they work within the local area, they’ll have an excellent understanding of what homes are going for that are similar to yours. They might even be able to hook up buyers who they know are looking for a home similar to yours. So although you have to pay fees, you’ll have much better success with an expert on your team.
Timing a Sale is Everything
Knowing when to sell your home will also affect how much you get out of it. Not only does it matter what time of year it is, but it also matters how long you’ve been in the home. Experts say you should wait at least five years before reselling your home. According to Rocket Mortgage, this is typically enough time to cover realtor costs and other costs associated with buying and selling homes. Usually, the longer you stay in a home, the more equity you build. This means you’ll have more money to invest in a downpayment for your next home.
Staging the Property
When you’ve decided it’s time to sell your home, it’s also time to optimize the merchandise. Meaning you’ll want to stage your home during the selling process. You’ve probably scrolled through realtor sites and looked at photos of homes that were blurry, and the house was filled with residents’ clutter. Even if the home is beautiful, it can be a huge turn-off. Buyers might not even bother going to look at the home! So to ensure you put your home’s best foot forward, clean, declutter, and stage the home and property for photos and open houses.
Research Your Ideal Buyer
When businesses want to sell a product, they spend a lot of time and money learning who their ideal client is. When selling your home, you’re in a very similar situation, and it can help you market the house if you know the type of person who would be interested in it. This can also help you stage it properly and maybe even promote it on social media. Take a minute to look around the neighborhood and consider the type of person who lives there and would be interested in living there.
Create an Online Home History
When buyers look at a home, they want to know everything about it. Buying a house is a considerable step in everyone’s life, and giving someone all the information they are looking for can make them feel comfortable and at ease with this massive purchase. Provide as much information as you can to realtors and ensure it’s easy for interested buyers to find. Houses aren’t just buildings we put our things into; they are homes where we live our lives and raise our families. Give those details, tell a story of the house, and bring life to it.
Do Everything You Can to Boost Curb Appeal
You would never wear a stained shirt and muddy pants to an interview. First impressions are everything; your home’s curb appeal will be the first impression potential buyers have. Invest in creating an inviting and clean entrance. Maybe even hire professional landscapers to tidy the yard and plant new flowers. Buy a seasonal wreath for the door and perhaps a new welcome mat. This might also be an excellent opportunity to repaint the door and fix that front step that wiggles too much.
Is Remodeling Worth It?
If you’re not quite ready to sell your home but think you will be within the next few years, you might be wondering if remodeling is going to be a worthy investment down the road. Although this is a case-by-case basis, there will almost always be a return on your investment when you remodel the kitchen or a bathroom. These rooms get the most use, and when potential buyers see new countertops, updated cabinets, and a large shower, they are much more likely to be interested.
Money is in the Details
Perhaps you’re looking to sell your home now and can’t invest in a massive remodel project. All is not lost; there are plenty of other ways to enhance the look of the home with a few updates to the smaller elements throughout the home. For example, cabinet and door hardware upgrades can bring a shiny new feeling to a home. In the bedrooms, consider adding ceiling fans. People love having fans in the bedroom to increase airflow at night. If there are old carpets and rugs throughout the home, you might want to get them professionally cleaned or completely replace them. Nothing is more uninviting than dirty carpets. Lastly, natural light and bright spaces are attractive when people are visiting a home. So clean the windows and pull back the shades or blinds to allow as much light as possible.
Invest in Smart Home Technology
This option can get pricey very quickly, but it’s a huge bonus that all home buyers will love to see in the home. Exterior cameras that link to a phone, smart locks on the doors that you can lock while at work, thermostats that can be controlled from a smartphone, and even smart technology appliances are all excellent ways to bring modern life into your home. It can make a house feel safer and more appealing. Again, these options tend to get pricey, but if you can afford them, it’s sure to be a worthwhile investment.
Improve the Aesthetic of the Walls
An affordable way to update the look of your home is with a fresh coat of paint. Even if you paint them the same colors, it will not only brighten the color but also bring a lingering smell of fresh paint. While it’s nothing like baking cookies, fresh paint makes a home feel newer, even if it’s not. Just like that new car smell!
Additionally, you could add trendy decor and pretty artwork to your walls to bring life and style to the space. Maybe flip through some magazines for inspiration. The more the home looks like the photos on those pages, the more intrigued a buyer will be.
Maintenance Updates
Life happens, and you probably don’t change the filters on your furnace as often as you should. To ensure everything is running correctly and ready for the inevitable inspections, spend some time checking everything around the house. For example, hire professionals to inspect the water heaters, furnace, and AC units. Check the filters on your appliances, clean the oven, and check for any small leaks around the plumbing. If that faucet in the hall bathroom still isn’t working and you haven’t gotten to it yet, now is the time.
Be Friendly!
We’ve all seen those scary movies where the family is buying a new home, and the selling homeowners seem sketchy. While you’re yelling at the screen for them not to buy the house, they do anyway, and no surprise, it’s haunted. Don’t be those creepy homeowners! When potential buyers visit the home, be friendly, open to conversation, and talk lovingly about the home you’re selling. Tell a story about happy times spent in the house, and be willing to talk about yourself and how living here was a joy.
No matter what you do, selling a home is a stressful event in our lives. Use these tips and tricks to enhance the value of your home and make the most of your time and money.
