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These tips can help you convince buyers your property offers top value for their dollar. Even in a seller’s market, it is important for most sellers to maximize their return on investment so together in the weeks before going live, we will create an Action Plan on how to do so.

Amp up Curb Appeal
Look at your home objectively from the street. Check the condition of the landscaping, paint, roof, shutters, front door, knocker, doorbell, windows, and house number. Observe how your window treatments look from the outside. Something special—such as big flowerpots with fresh healthy plants or an antique bench—can help your property stand out after a long day of house hunting. When working with home buyers, I can recall countless times where we give nicknames to homes based on a stand out feature, whether good or bad, so that it’s easier to identify later in the game to write an offer on… or make a lighthearted joke about. Let’s work together to keep your home from being on the joke side of the process.

Enrich with Color
Paint is cheap, but it can make a big impression. The shade doesn’t have to be white or beige, but stay away from jarring pinks, oranges, and purples. Soft yellows and pale greens say “welcome,” lead the eye from room to room, and flatter skin tones. Tint ceilings in a lighter shade. If you have popcorn ceilings, consider either scraping them or painting them if they are noticeably dusty or looking their age. Never use stark whites, with the exception being trim and molding.

Upgrade the Kitchen and Bathrooms
These are make-or-break rooms and can provide the biggest return on their investments. Make sure they’re squeaky clean and clutter-free, and update the cabinet pulls, sinks, faucets and even worn toilet seats. If you’ve chosen wood toilets seats for your personal preference, remove them and replace with a color that matches the look and style of the porcelain toilet itself.

Add Old-World Patina to Walls
Crown molding that’s at least six to nine inches deep and proportional to the room’s size can add great detail on a budget. For ceilings nine feet high or higher, consider dentil detailing, which is comprised of small, tooth-shaped blocks in a repeating ornamentation. It’s a perfect reason to break out that compound miter saw with a laser sight that you bought years ago and never used! Just remember to measure twice, cut once!

Screen Hardwood Floors
Often times I’ll enter a home with buyers and they note the age, look and condition of wood flooring. Refinishing is costly, messy, and time-consuming, so consider screening instead. This entails a light sanding — not a full stripping of color or polyurethane —then a coat of finish. Contact a professional for this, as a mess up can be costly to recover from, and as with any contractor, check references and make sure they warrant their work.

Clean Out and Organize Closets
Remove anything you don’t need or haven’t worn in a while. Closets should only be half-full so buyers can visualize fitting their stuff in. In my personal closets, I swap them out seasonally or more precisely between winter and summer. It will be easier on you on sleepy mornings getting dressed and will really reduce the amount of clutter in your closet that inevitably builds up. Buyers look everywhere!

Update Window Treatments
Buyers want light and views, not dated, heavy drapes. To diffuse light and add privacy, consider energy-efficient shades and blinds. Try to not go cheap and get plastic blinds, from a return on investment standpoint, nice paint, bright clean trim and appropriate blinds can make a room pop!

Hire a Home Inspector and Sewer Inspector
Do a preemptive strike to find and fix problems before you sell your home. Then you can show receipts to buyers, demonstrating your detailed care for their future home. This can also assist in a multi-offer environment by relaxing buyers if they do not have time to execute their own inspection between viewing and deciding to write an offer and our offer review date which could lead to more buyers writing offers in short notice.