Top tips to spruce up your home
Below are TEN ways to improve the feel of your home to either increase its saleability or for your own pleasure.
For the former, make sure that the home improvements you are considering actually ADD VALUE to your property. The latest research suggests that several home improvements add little or no value to your home. Of course, this does not matter if the improvements are purely for you to live in and enjoy.
1. Regarded by many as the No.1 way to increase the saleability of your home and the feeling of space within it, de-cluttering is a must to help you achieve a quick sale for a healthy price. Moving excess possessions and furniture into storage creates the impression of additional space giving a lasting impression to potential buyers.
2. Create an inviting entrance. Your front door should invite potential buyers/visitors to enter. Re-paint your front door and polishing or replacing the brassware are simple ways of doing this. Fix the broken or old looking door bell along with any porch lights and house numbers/name plate and finally add a 'welcome' mat and a group of plants by the door/porch.
3. Add some Fresh touches. Placing a floral arrangement in the entrance hall or key rooms and bowls of bright coloured fruit in a kitchen or living room all help give your home a 'fresh' and cared for look. Other similar tricks such as new handsoap and fresh hand towels in bathrooms also give a great impression.
4. Redecorating has the least expensive, largest and quickest impact on your home. Keep colours neutral and inkeeping with the style of property. This will give your house a brand new look. Be sure to take care with the finish or use a contractor as a 'botch job' can devalue your property very easily. Although, often regarded as the easiest DIY trade it does take a lot of skill and procedural now how to get the 'show room' finish.
5. Garden Improvements. An attractive lawn or front garden will be the first thing people see when they visit your home. Select plants and other finishes that compliment your home and that are relatively easy to maintain. Potted plants near doorways or on patio areas also make your home more welcoming.
6. New/Clean Carpets. Make sure your carpets are clean and hoovered to help create a good first impression. If there is a room with a particularly bad stain(s), consider replacing it with an inexpensive neutral style carpet. Potential buyers will see it as an additional cost/hassle to the property - however small the room.
7. Kitchen Improvements - arguably one of the most important rooms in the house. Obviously replacing your kitchen with a new one would really help sell or improve your property. This can be time consuming, disruptive and expensive. A more economical way of giving you kitchen a face lift would be to replace the doors and trims for either a new colour or a different style. Similarly, adding under cabinet lighting and other light fixtures or replacing any 'tired' looking appliances will also help refresh the look. The addition of a breakfast bar or island can also change the whole look of the room.
8. New Bathroom - again one of the most important rooms in your home. A stylish, clean bathroom always helps sell a house. I new bathroom can be expensive but is a safe investment for your home. A new shower area, new tiles and new chrome fittings are all areas you can improve if not going for the whole room. Small items such as re-sealing baths and showers can help the appearance of the room as well.
9. Loft Conversion. A rather more specialist improvement but it has proved to be a great way of adding value to your home or simply adding another room or two. Care should be taken and, like any major structural work, professional advice should be sought before carrying out any work. Be careful to keep your home in proportion, i.e. adding 2 bedrooms in a loft space creating a 5 bedroom home with only one bathroom upstairs and a GF of a 3 bedroom home can put buyers off who are looking for that more spacious home.
10. Extend. A one or two room extension will add value to your home and increase the space available to you. Again, be careful not to make your home out of proportion with what ever rooms you are adding. A two storey extension, although slightly more expensive, will help reduce this.