Increase the Appeal of Your Home Before You List It - 10 Tips

5/13/2021

First impressions are everything when it comes to trying to sell your home. Visually appealing homes tend to gain more attention from buyers and buyers are oftentimes willing to pay more for homes that look newer, cleaner, and in better shape. Here are 10 tips to increase the appeal of your home before you put it on the market: 

1) Clean windows

Clean windows can make even older windows look new again, which can increase the perceived value of your home. They can also simply make it more visually appealing for people to look through. Don’t let dirty windows ruin your great views or make potential buyers think all of the “old” windows will need to be replaced!

2) Replace burnt out light bulbs and incandescent light bulbs

Make sure all of your light bulbs are properly functioning so that potential buyers can fully see all of the parts of your home. Swap out light bulbs that don’t emit enough light to illuminate the room or make the colors in the room look unnatural with ones that brighten up the room and emit natural looking light. Here are some benefits of replacing your light bulbs with white LED light bulbs.

3) Deep clean each room

Not only will each room look more visually appealing, but your home will also smell fresh and new! People judge spaces with their eyes AND their noses. Giving the carpet a cleaning, cleaning grout, wiping down cabinets, and wiping down the baseboards are some of the details you don’t want to miss.

4) Clean and repair appliances

Clean your oven! We know, it’s like the most tedious, frustrating, and dirty job, but it’s totally worth it when potential home buyers are evaluating the upkeep of your appliances. Pull out everything from your refrigerator, give it a good wipe down, and tidy up everything you put back in it (it’s also a good time to get rid of all of those expired salad dressings).

5) Organize your closets

An organized, clean, and not overstuffed closet can give potential home buyers a sense of order that they might have in the future in the home and a way to visualize how they might place their belongings.

6) Give your front door a fresh coat of paint

First impressions matter! And your front door is literally the first thing a potential buyer will see when they enter your home. The front door is also one of the most used and abused parts of the home. Give it a new coat of paint and maybe change up the color if it would help to make your home more appealing to potential buyers.

7) Remove dead plants from your yard

Your yard should look like an inviting oasis, not a plot of land where things go to die. You want to show potential buyers that your yard is fertile and lush.

8) Repair water damaged surfaces

Signs of water damage anywhere in your home can be red flags for potential buyers, even if the cause of the water damage has been fixed. It is always best to fix or paint unsightly water damaged surfaces in your home.

9) Modernize and repair window coverings

It’s time to get rid of those 90’s window swags/coverings! Older types of window coverings can make rooms look outdated and the home appear older than it may actually be. It’s better to have no window coverings than outdated ones. If your blinds are damaged, you should also fix those. 

10) Refresh woodwork

Murphy Oil Soap can do wonders if you need to revive woodwork. Don’t forget to touch up wooden furniture as well! Scratches can be easily concealed with stain-colored pencils. For woodwork that is more severely damaged, you might need to apply a new coat of stain.