When selling your home, there’s often a long list of to-do items, from finding a real estate agent you feel comfortable working with to bubble wrapping your valuable heirlooms. Adding home repairs to that list can significantly boost the marketability and sale price of your home.
If you’re on the fence and wondering “should I renovate my house before selling it?” The answer is definitely yes! This guide will walk you through which of your home’s most visible features and highly-trafficked areas (inside and out) should be improved to ensure that you get top dollars on your sale.
Exterior Repairs: Securing the All-Important “Curb Appeal”
A real estate agent loves to talk to their clients about curb appeal—the attractiveness of a property (home and land included) as perceived by a prospective buyer. As it turns out, focusing on curb appeal is a meaningful strategy because outward appearance can have real impacts on marketability.
A few thoughtful repairs and updates can really transform a property’s exterior look. A recent study found that in hot markets, homes with high curb appeal sold for 7% more on average, and this jumped to a 14% increase in the sale price for homes in slower markets.
Paint
Perhaps the most prominent and impactful update you can do to the outside of your home is adding a fresh coat of paint. Be sure to touch up every corner of your home, including:
- Trim – For those on a tight budget, painting the trim around the house can be an affordable option that still freshens up the look of your home.
- Entire exterior – While repainting your entire home can be expensive, adding a fresh layer of paint to each of your rooms can give your home an updated and clean look that will appeal to buyers.
- Color – Whether you choose to paint trim or the entire house, color choice will be key. Choose neutral colors like beige, gray, and off-white. Avoid eclectic colors like bold blues, greens, and oranges.
Windows
Just like flaking paint and flashy colors can distract the potential buyer, old and outdated windows may also be less than satisfactory to home buyers. When updating your windows, you’ll want to consider:
- Restoration – Restoring the glass panes and panels can be a more affordable option for windows that do not need to be entirely replaced. Ensure that the glass is not cracked, broken, foggy, or water-stained to help your home stand out within the real estate market. Also, make sure that you order your glass replacement from a reputable glass shop as well.
- Replacement – Wondering if you should repair or replace home windows? Sometimes the best course of action is to replace outdated, inefficient, or broken windows. Many companies can retrofit windows in order to avoid removing the existing window frames entirely. Various window pane options are available, including double pane, triple pane, and Energy Star types.
Landscape
Even if you spend a great deal of time and money updating the exterior of your home, your curb appeal will be limited if you do not dedicate some of that energy to landscaping. Keeping the plants, lawn, driveways, and walkways clean and tidy will go a long way toward improving your home’s appearance.
Here’s how to keep your landscaping looking its best:
- Trim your trees and shrubs to remove unruly or dead branches
- Keep your lawn mowed and manicured
- Add pops of color with low-maintenance plants and flowers
- Power wash your driveway and walkway
Interior Repairs: Making Your House a Home
Once you have established a high curb appeal, potential buyers will be eager to schedule showings or come to open houses to view your home. But they will be sorely disappointed if your pre-sale renovations only focus on the exterior.
Your external repairs will help to entice buyers to see the inside of the home, but interior updates will keep their interest high and help you seal the deal. Thus, committing to both exterior and interior repairs will make your house marketable at a higher sale price!
Paint and Flooring
Just like with the exterior of the house, the most obvious interior features should be a priority for updates. Redfin also thinks painting is the top option to add value to your home prior to putting it on the market. As paint and flooring are a significant feature of every room in your home, they should be updated so that the potential buyer can focus on seeing themselves in the space rather than thinking about necessary adjustments they’d make right after moving in.
Giving the inside of your home a fresh coat of paint will go far in terms of brightening the space. Choosing a light, neutral color will help your home feel fresh, clean, and updated.
While flooring can be more expensive, there is huge payoff potential. If you have scratched or damaged hard flooring, this will be a huge turn-off for potential buyers. The same goes for dirty, stained, or outdated carpets. Hardwood floors are a big draw, but simply replacing old carpets can really give your home a makeover.
Lighting
Other than making sure to replace home windows, be sure to replace old and outdated lighting, especially if it’s dull. Just as a fresh coat of paint can brighten a room, so too can new light fixtures. Well-lit spaces are inviting and can appear larger. You’d also be surprised how much just a few lighting updates can make a place feel significantly more modern.
Kitchen Updates
The kitchen and primary bathroom are two major public areas in a home. As such, they get a lot of attention from potential buyers, and it’s always a good idea to do cosmetic remodels of both rooms to ensure that they are in tip-top shape.
Kitchen home repairs to make before selling include:
- Replacing damaged countertops
- Fixing broken drawers or cabinets
- Updating faulty appliances or fixtures
If your kitchen still needs that je ne sais quoi, try giving your cabinets a fresh coat of stain or paint to brighten the area.
Bathroom Refresh
Bathroom home repairs to make before selling include:
- Refreshing caulk for a fresh appearance and enhanced functionality
- Fixing broken drawers or cabinets
- Updating broken or outdated fixtures
- Buying a new toilet seat
- Replacing your shower curtain with glass shower doors
In the end, it doesn’t take a full kitchen or bathroom remodel to give these two heavily-trafficked areas new life before a sale. With a small renovation budget and a little elbow grease, small upgrades can significantly impact the home’s value. If this guide still hasn’t convinced you of how to get the most value out of your home, you can also find great inspection guides to read before putting your house on the market.
The Glass Guru: Your Go-To For Glass Repair
Selling your home is no small task, but making home repairs can improve your home’s appeal and quickly secure a buyer. If you’re looking to refresh your home, the glass professionals at The Glass Guru can help you cross window restoration and replacement off your to-do list.
We aim to save you time, money, and hassle, so you can rest assured that you are getting the best deal and the best curb appeal.
