Many people contemplate painting their home when they are getting ready to put it on the market for sale. Are improvements worth it? Will a new paint job help sell my home? Should I power wash my deck? Why should I paint my front door when I am about to move?
While it might seem counterproductive to paint your home or make other improvements when you are planning on putting your house on the market, the opposite is actually true. Not being able to sell your home can be a costly and frustrating experience. Improvements can help make your home more marketable, thus making it sell quicker, and often for a higher price. Due to the current state of the housing market it’s imperative that homeowners do their best to make their home stand out, which will generate the interest of buyers. Give people reasons to WANT to live in your house. This may take some time and effort up front, but in the end it will be worth it, making the process of selling your home a positive and productive experience.
CHECK OUT THESE TIPS ON HOW TO PAINT TO SELL:
1.KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF CURB APPEAL-Painting the exterior of your home can attract buyers. Whether driving by or searching Online, the first thing a potential buyer sees is the front exterior of your home. A newly painted exterior gives people a great “first impression” of your house. If people see a home that needs to be painted, they may never take time to look at its interior because your home will negatively stand out compared to other freshly painted homes for sale. You can improve your curb appeal, make a good first impression, and get people interested to look at the inside of your home, by painting the exterior of your home. Want to improve your curb appeal, but don’t want to put in the time, money, or effort that goes into painting the entire house? Consider painting the garage door, front door, and/or shutters. These small improvements, can make a BIG impression! Note-It is important to use neutral colors when painting the exterior of your home. Consider the colors of other homes in your neighborhood when making a choice on paint color.
2.GO NEUTRAL-Buyers need to be able to visualize themselves living in your home. You may love your bedroom painted in fluorescent colors, but buyers may be turned off, get distracted, and may have difficulty seeing themselves and their furniture in the room. Neutral colors give potential buyers the ability to visually see themselves living in your home. Additionally, buyers sometimes don’t want the hassle or added expense of knowing they MUST paint, knowing they have to get rid of a color they think is horrendous, or dated border -before moving into a new home. Some buyers will lose interest or submit a lower offer because they are factoring in the cost and time of repainting, repairing, and/or getting rid of wallpaper. Don’t want to paint the interior of your entire home? Consider painting the rooms that need it the most and/or rooms that have the most extravagant colors. Rooms that are a priority include those with dated wallpaper or border, nail pops, stains, holes or other marks. Walls with marks can make the house appear dirty, when it isn’t. New, neutral, paint will “spruce the place up”.
3.A CLEAN EXTERIOR IS ESSENTIAL-If you don’t want to paint, you can improve the look of your home’s exterior by power washing, which gets rid of mold and dirt. Power washing gives the exterior of your home a clean, fresh look for minimal cost and effort.
4.THE KITCHEN IS KEY-A lot of buyers will make compromises, but not everybody will compromise when it comes to the kitchen. Often the kitchen is the center of the home and people envision themselves cooking and entertaining. Redoing an entire kitchen can be inconvenient, expensive, and there may not be a return on your investment. Painting the kitchen cabinets and updating cabinet hardware makes the cabinets stand out and the kitchen more inviting. Remember the cabinets and new hardware should “match” the current style of your kitchen. Updating cabinets helps to make your kitchen aesthetically pleasing to potential home buyers and can be completed quickly and for a low cost.
5.DON’T FORGET THE DECK-A freshly stained can help sell your home. A deck with chipped paint, mold, missing boards, etc. can be a turn off and a safety concern, particularly for families with small children. Also, it’s important to have any missing or rotting boards replaced, which can be done for a minimal cost. A deck newly stained gives potential buyers thoughts of birthday parties, picnics, and fun times outside. This appeals to homebuyers emotions and gives them happy thoughts related to your home. Another way to update your deck is by having it power washed. Power washing cleans your deck, gets rid of mold, and overall improves your home by making your backyard look pleasant. Swing sets, sidewalks, and fences can be power washed to help improve the appearance of your backyard and get people enthusiastic about living in your home.
6.GET THE BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK- Get the help of trusted professionals, such as a painter, realtor, and/or a home stager. Professionals can help you identify what improvements will get the best financial return. You will have people looking at your home who have different lifestyles, personalities, values, and tastes than yourself. While you may not even notice marks on the wall or roller marks from your paint job, it may be the first thing a home buyer sees when viewing your home A home that needs improvements can evoke feelings of hassle to the potential buyer. A home with fresh paint or other improvements can elicit positive feelings, which leads to interest and a quicker, more profitable, sale. Beware-Although some buyers want a house they can fix up, those people generally want a bargain. Take all this into consideration when deciding whether or not to make improvements, and what improvements to make before selling. You can consult a professional to help identify what .can best improve the overall appearance of your home’s interior and exterior. Make sure this person is trustworthy, has your best interest at heart, and isn’t trying to sell you an unnecessary service.
7.LOOK UP!-Home buyers often inspect ceilings for evidence of leaks. You may have replaced your roof, but the water stains are still on the ceiling. Have the ceiling painted to get rid of stains or other flaws. Don’t paint just to try to cover up bigger problems. Make sure the source of the leak is fixed first, then fix any sheet rock and paint that was impacted. Other imperfections on the ceiling that can really turn off homebuyers may include brush marks from the wall paint, faded paint, nail pops, and/or smoke stains. Painting the ceiling will positively impact a room.
8.LESS IS MORE-Improvements as simple as caulking windows, sinks and bathtubs, or painting doors, can take away “eyesores” in your home and give it an overall clean and new look. Don’t overlook or devalue the importance of small improvements that will greatly enhance your home.
9.TRIM MAKES AN IMPACT-Baseboards or crown molding with nicks or faded paint can negatively impact the look of rooms in your home, even if there is new paint on the walls. A new coat of bright white paint on the trim can improve a room by making it look fresh, clean, and attractive.
10.NO NEW PAINT JOB IS BETTER THAN A BAD PAINT JOB-Realtor.com states, “a sloppy paint job can be worse than no paint job at all”. Simply slapping paint on the walls will not improve the look of your home or make it more marketable. You may leave roller marks, have flashing, and get wall paint on trim. There is a lot of prep work that goes into a quality paint job. Painters do this everyday, know what paint to use, and quality painters are excellent at the process of application. Additionally, a professional painter understands prep work and how to best complete it. If you are unsure of your home improvement skills or don’t have the time, you can take away the work and hassle by hiring a painter. A trusted professional can get your home in pristine condition quickly and efficiently.
Painting is one of the most inexpensive and quickest ways to improve your home.
If you are getting ready to put your home on the market contact Platinum Pro Painting at or platinumpropainting@yahoo.com. We can give you a FREE ESTIMATE and will provide you with professional recommendations on how to BEST get your home in shape to put it on the market. Platinum Pro Painting offers customers in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas with priority scheduling, so you can get your house on the market in a timely manner.
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