Important first impressions include painting a porch
By Mark Schadenberg
I’ve certainly covered this topic before with two coats of
paint, but it’s a good concept to open up the discussion again as more and more
is always written on the subject.
How do you maximize the value of your home?
Good painting is likely on the top of my list, which means
hire a professional (unless you’re very good yourself or cousins Jack &
Diane are accomplished with a brush).
I would always believe that first impressions are paramount,
which includes firstly sprucing up the outside – pruning overgrown trees,
removing weeds, replacing the roof if required, and painting the porch.
The term ‘open concept’ is often over-used in real estate,
but home owners like less walls and more space. I saw a house on our MLS tour
of new listings this morning which had a large-and-open landing area at the top
of the stairs to the second floor. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but to me that is
wasted space as the 3-bedroom layout could have easily been 4 bedrooms, or for
today’s smaller families, could have smartly been 3 very large bedrooms.
Awkward, narrow and non-functional kitchens were popular
in 1915 and so were tiny butler pantry work areas. Today, the butler’s pantry
is likely a walk-in food pantry for cereal boxes and the 8 packages of penne
you picked up at Costco. These older smaller
kitchens often have now had a wall removed, an island installed with a breakfast
bar and additional counter space for your holiday baking.
Today’s home buyers truly expect a house to be in move-in
condition, which includes the wiring and plumbing, and modern bathrooms. Modern
mechanicals translate into 10 out of 10 prospects in your specific price range
having at least some interest in your property. Instant gains in home value can
also be found by updating carpet in a few rooms (End-of-the-roll remnants are
not expensive) and replacing ancient light fixtures.
When all your little improvements have been completed, you
will sell your home for more money -- for many reasons. The top reason may be
that there simply will be more interest in your property. Also, the combination
of many inexpensive improvements help a house sparkle.
An appraiser terminology would be that you’ve reduced the ‘effective
age’ of the home versus its actual age. I’ve seen many 20-year-old houses that
you would need to be convinced it’s actually that old. Meantime, often there
are 20-year-old homes which require almost a full makeover from carpets to
shingles to painting to countertops to landscaping to doors and windows. By the
way, if your plan is to sell, don’t install granite counters as that should be
a project for the next owner (in my opinion) based on both cost and style as
the buyer may not like black and grey as theme colours in the brand new
counters.
Keep in mind, many so-called improvements can be deemed
maintenance, but a brand new high efficiency furnace (or new roof) most certainly reduces the
effective age and that in-turn indicates your asking price could be a notch
higher as well.
I’m often asked how
to maximize the selling price and my answer is to make your home “shine”.
Some of the links below have many many (many) more good
ideas. When the term de-clutter is suggested, there is an absolute truth about
removing the majority of your family’s personality from the home and creating a
bright and sparsely decorated neutral décor. You do not have to remove all the
family photos, but cousin Diane’s bowling trophies should be stored in a box at
a rented storage unit, as well as the extra furniture you love as your living
room does not require 3 wing-back chairs, 2 large sofas, 4 coffee tables, 2
occasional tables, and 5 credenzas.
In a market such as Woodstock I do not believe it’s
necessary to hire a home stager -- in the modest price ranges -- as much of the
labour can be done yourself. A stager or other expert should be hired if you’re
selling for an estate or person requiring assistance if they are moving to a
retirement home.
I tell clients that no one visiting your home after the ‘for
sale’ sign went up would know what it looked like 2 months earlier, so you
should carefully plan your move. You house must also be always ready for a
showing, which does result in more visits to Swiss Chalet.
In the links below, there is also a Globe And Mail story
describing items that do not add significant value to your property.
LINKS:
Before
After
Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Call: (519) 537-1553
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