When it comes to boosting the property price of your home, there are many different things you can do to help you increase the value of your property and make sure that your home is more attractive to potential buyers. Of course, if you are happy to sell your house fast for cash, then you won't have to worry about making these changes. But, if you need to go the traditional route, then these steps are essential.
From new kitchens, bathrooms, modernization features, and open-plan living, many attractive qualities can increase the sale price and help you get a good return on your investments.
But on the flip side, there are also aspects of your home that you might be overlooking. The more minor details you have become blind to that buyers will notice in a heartbeat, seriously affecting your chances of selling up quickly.
When selling, read on for the often-overlooked aspects of your house that will impact the price you are offered and the time you are on the market.
Botched DIY
Not everyone is good at DIY, and that's ok. Still, if you have been carrying inefficient repairs or makeshift repairs around the home, these will likely stand when people come for viewings and lead them to wonder about the state of the house as a whole and what other issues they will uncover. No one wants to move into a new place to fix the damage you made from botched DIY, So before you list your home, get an expert out to rectify those issues and make sure everything is working or fixed as it should be to help you boost the impression of your home and have it looking less like a DIY disaster and more of a well kept home.
Poor Curb Appeal
Your house's curb appeal is the first thing people see when they come to view it. It doesn't matter how your home looks on the inside. If it looks shabby or worse for wear on the exterior, then you will find people have already decided what they will find on the inside too and won't be able to move past this opinion. Look for damaged fencing, tidy unkempt lawns, book a saguaro removal for that dead cactus in your yard, touch up paintwork, and clean pathways, for example, to help you make sure the front of your home looks just as good as the inside of it.
Smell
How does your home smell? Everyone's home has an aroma, mostly made up of the activity you do in the house, the products you use, and how you air it out. But chances are you don't always notice it and have become nose blind as you are so used to this now.
No one wants to arrive for a viewing of a house to find it smells less than desirable. So open those windows, have a good clean, vacuum, and identify any foul smells that might put people off. From dirty laundry to overwhelming pet smells, piled garbage, and more, rid your home of the nasty whiffs and fill it with a fragrance that entices them to want to move in. Freshly baked goods are always a winner, as is a fresh, clean air smell.
Converted Bedrooms or Garages
Your home is yours to do with as you please, and while you might have bought a 4-bed property with plans to use one bedroom as a gym/office/study/walk-in closet, etc., others might not appreciate the use of the space if they need the extra room as a bedroom. If your conversion requires potential buyers to carry out extensive remedial works to change the use of a room, this can be off-putting. So before you arrange any viewings, try to reduce the impact this will have by taking out as much as you can and giving the room a more neutral appearance. While this might involve putting some bits into storage or hiring a storage unit for the weekend, staging your home this way can remove any uncertainty about whether or not this is somewhere they can live.
Neighbors
Honestly, there isn't much you can do about any nuisance neighbors when it comes to selling your property, and bad neighbors can knock tens of thousands of dollars off your sale price. However, you are legally required to disclose any information that can affect the buyer's decisions. And they will have a legal recourse to come back at you if you fail to disclose any information they should have been informed of before buying your property.
Attempting to talk to your neighbor about any issues, such as ongoing noise complaints, ongoing DIY, infringement of your privacy, etc., can be a good way to start the ball rolling, but if this bridge has already been burnt, you might need to escalate it to the relevant city department or council or homeowners association to get the issue sorted before it severely impacts your ability to sell your home.
Outdated Features
Not everyone has the ability to keep updating their home every few years, but neglecting or updating anything at all will not work in your favor come the time you need to sell up. This can be things such as not having replaced the carpet ever, so it's very threadbare and has a nasty dor emitting form. It can be failing to upgrade your home's electrical or plumbing system, meaning new buyers will be put at risk of disaster from trying to navigate electrics or plumbing that isn't up to code or fit for use. It might even be not getting that hole in the roof repaired despite the whole roof needing completely replacing many years previous.
Understandably, you don't want to sink all of your funds into a home you are moving out of. Still, this decision to leave things unfit for purpose can reduce your ability to sell quickly or at all and get the price your home should be worth had you put time and effort into rectifying these aspects.
Selling your home in this climate requires you to be presenting your property in the best possible light. However, there are likely going to be areas you have overlooked when it comes to selling, and these mentioned above are some of the more common aspects that cause a house not to sell quickly or for its full asking price. If you want to ensure your property is snatched up quickly, you need to take a step back to see what you are missing and get to work sorting any issues out.