With today’s tough financial conditions and experts predicting another difficult year for the housing market, the idea of finding a buyer for your home can appear challenging. Your home may be the ideal rational purchase for many potential buyers, but human beings are often irrational – we can find ourselves being turned off by the most illogical things. From the point of view of the buyer, here are three relatively inexpensive projects that will help turn a suitable home into a dream home.
New Door. It may be a tired old cliché, but you never get a second chance to make a first impression. It’s not unusual for buyers to dismiss a house before they have even set foot inside. Your front door is a great marker for how buyers perceive the quality of your home. Remember the last time you bought a car? Be honest, did you find yourself opening and shutting the door to see how well it closed? The rest of the car may have been in mint condition but if that door didn’t close properly, no amount of the seller’s reassurances of the car’s reliability would have made you shell out. The same applies to the front door of your house. Keys that don’t turn properly, sticking hinges and awkward movement are all factors that can give a potential buyer a negative impression of the rest of your home. New, modern composite doors will give an impression of quality as well as an added sense of security.
Fresh Paint. The experts at Orange County painters know that loud colors will make it difficult for the buyer to feel at home. It’s better to use a warm, neutral color palette to make your home feel more inviting. Light colors will open up the space making the room appear larger. An eggshell finish is recommended to help hide any imperfections in the plaster. Avoid the temptation to add borders or other trimmings; your home should be a blank canvas in the eyes of the buyer.
New Grout. Buyers must imagine themselves living in your home. Although you may take great pride in keeping your kitchen and bathrooms spotless, discolored grout can give the impression of dirtiness. Before you replace your grout, try giving it a good cleaning. All you will need is baking soda and a cheap electric toothbrush; you could even use a regular toothbrush and a lot of elbow grease. Add water to the baking soda to make a thick paste, and clean the grout using a wet cloth to remove the dislodged grime and dirt.
You will be surprised how much cleaning your grout will brighten up the room, making it appear larger and airy.
