1. Paint the walls
This is an easy and inexpensive way to completely change the look of a room. If you are feeling rather bold, don’t be afraid to use color! Although neutral colors are better for resale, if you are not moving anytime soon, go bold. If you are planning on selling in the near future, go with a neutral color palette, such as shades of white, gray, or beige. (By the way, gray is the new beige- you see it everywhere now.) There are many great brands of paint, some more expensive than others, but all will get the job done. I personally always paint with Valspar from Lowes. It gives great coverage with only one coat, especially if you purchase the paint-and-primer-in-one. They also have a great collection of historic colors if you are going for a timeless, older, or vintage look. Some other great brands include Benjamin Moore (found at Ace Hardware), Behr (found exclusively at home depot), or Sherwin Williams (its own separate store). I personally have never painted a room with the Martha Stewart collection of paints, but there is a handy feature in her collection where she has already labeled different colors that work well together with stars, moons, etc. so you can easily find colors that work well together. As I mentioned, simply painting the walls can completely change the look and feel of a room. Many buyers go to open houses and see bright red walls and are instantly turned-off. This makes the house much more difficult to sell. But with a simple paint job, buyers will be able to see the potential of the house and can visualize themselves living in it and personalizing the home to make it their own.
2. Invest in hardwood floors
Every buyer today seems to want flowing hardwoods throughout the house, but they can be pricey Carpets attract dirt, look dingy, and do not last long. They also are bad for people with allergies because of all the dirt and dust particles they collect. But not all hardwood floors are expensive. If you have icky carpets in your home, it’s time to throw them out or sell them on Craig’s List for landlords to use if they are not in too bad of condition (You would be surprised how quickly they will sell). My dad and I recently tore up our old sea foam-green rug in the living room and put it up for sale on Craig’s List for about seventy five dollars. Within only a day or so we had multiple offers and people interested in the rug. We ended up selling it to a landlord for fifty dollars, but continued to receive emails from people interested in it for weeks and weeks after it had already been sold. We replaced the rug with hardwood floors from Lumber Liquidators. We went with a four-inch wide, prefinished natural maple. Even though it is not the hardest wood you can by, we installed it anyway for its beauty since it won’t be getting much traffic in the living room anyway. Lumber Liquidators is a terrific source for inexpensive yet high quality hardwood floors. There are many selections of woods to choose from. If you look on the clearance rack, you can get a high quality wood floor for fewer than two dollars per square foot! Now what’s pricy about that? My best advice for sellers is to invest in hardwood floors. They add so much warmth and richness to a home and make the space feel so much larger. Believe me, you can find great deals out there if you just look. And if you’re looking to save even more money, install the floors yourself. It is actually a lot easier than you might think. My dad has never hired anything done on our house. He does all the projects himself, which saves us a LOT of money and we also don’t have to rely on workers to get the job done well and on time. We can work by our own schedule and plan things out carefully to ensure the outcome is exactly the way we want it. When choosing your floor, go for something wider than three inches. Narrower floors are outdated unless they are less than 2 1/4 inches wide.
This is an easy and inexpensive way to completely change the look of a room. If you are feeling rather bold, don’t be afraid to use color! Although neutral colors are better for resale, if you are not moving anytime soon, go bold. If you are planning on selling in the near future, go with a neutral color palette, such as shades of white, gray, or beige. (By the way, gray is the new beige- you see it everywhere now.) There are many great brands of paint, some more expensive than others, but all will get the job done. I personally always paint with Valspar from Lowes. It gives great coverage with only one coat, especially if you purchase the paint-and-primer-in-one. They also have a great collection of historic colors if you are going for a timeless, older, or vintage look. Some other great brands include Benjamin Moore (found at Ace Hardware), Behr (found exclusively at home depot), or Sherwin Williams (its own separate store). I personally have never painted a room with the Martha Stewart collection of paints, but there is a handy feature in her collection where she has already labeled different colors that work well together with stars, moons, etc. so you can easily find colors that work well together. As I mentioned, simply painting the walls can completely change the look and feel of a room. Many buyers go to open houses and see bright red walls and are instantly turned-off. This makes the house much more difficult to sell. But with a simple paint job, buyers will be able to see the potential of the house and can visualize themselves living in it and personalizing the home to make it their own.
2. Invest in hardwood floors
Every buyer today seems to want flowing hardwoods throughout the house, but they can be pricey Carpets attract dirt, look dingy, and do not last long. They also are bad for people with allergies because of all the dirt and dust particles they collect. But not all hardwood floors are expensive. If you have icky carpets in your home, it’s time to throw them out or sell them on Craig’s List for landlords to use if they are not in too bad of condition (You would be surprised how quickly they will sell). My dad and I recently tore up our old sea foam-green rug in the living room and put it up for sale on Craig’s List for about seventy five dollars. Within only a day or so we had multiple offers and people interested in the rug. We ended up selling it to a landlord for fifty dollars, but continued to receive emails from people interested in it for weeks and weeks after it had already been sold. We replaced the rug with hardwood floors from Lumber Liquidators. We went with a four-inch wide, prefinished natural maple. Even though it is not the hardest wood you can by, we installed it anyway for its beauty since it won’t be getting much traffic in the living room anyway. Lumber Liquidators is a terrific source for inexpensive yet high quality hardwood floors. There are many selections of woods to choose from. If you look on the clearance rack, you can get a high quality wood floor for fewer than two dollars per square foot! Now what’s pricy about that? My best advice for sellers is to invest in hardwood floors. They add so much warmth and richness to a home and make the space feel so much larger. Believe me, you can find great deals out there if you just look. And if you’re looking to save even more money, install the floors yourself. It is actually a lot easier than you might think. My dad has never hired anything done on our house. He does all the projects himself, which saves us a LOT of money and we also don’t have to rely on workers to get the job done well and on time. We can work by our own schedule and plan things out carefully to ensure the outcome is exactly the way we want it. When choosing your floor, go for something wider than three inches. Narrower floors are outdated unless they are less than 2 1/4 inches wide.
3. Update the kitchen
All buyers today want stainless steel appliances. I am not exactly sure why; I personally think they are hard to keep clean, but maybe that's just me. It will be worth the investment. It is actually a fact that remodeling kitchens and bathrooms adds the most resale value to a home. Another great way to update your kitchen without spending a lot of money is to paint the cabinets. White kitchens are very in-style right now, but they are also a timeless look that will never go out of style. White cabinets also brighten up a room. Natural stone counter tops are also very popular. White carrera marble is very popular right now. It is beautiful and looks great with white cabinets, but granite is usually a better option because it can withstand heat much better than marble. Marble is also very pricey. But wood counter tops also look very nice if you cannot afford a natural stone and tend not to go out of style. As long as you seal the wood with a mineral oil, you should not have any problems with having a wood counter top. If you want to add style to your kitchen, install a backsplash. They are usually very affordable and come in a wide variety of materials and colors. Tile backsplashes are the most common because they are durable, easy to wipe clean, and can be easily customized. Tiles come in all shapes, sizes, and colors and can be configured into a one-of-a-kind backsplashes.
4. Update the bathroom
-As I mentioned earlier, kitchen and bathroom renovations add the most value to a home. If you have outdated fixtures or vinyl floors, it's time for an update. Vinyl is cheap and extremely difficult to keep clean. Porcelain tiles are very durable and usually inexpensive. In fact, many porcelain tiles are made to look like natural stones such as travertine and they are actually pretty convincing. If you want a travertine floor in your bathroom but think you cannot afford it, you'd be surprised what great deals are out there. At the Home Depot, you can get travertine for under $2 a square foot! Natural stones are always a beautiful option and they look very luxurious and expensive. When installing new fixtures, stay away from brass! Brass is very outdated. Instead, go for oil-rubbed bronze, pewter, or chrome. You can also update your bathroom by replacing the knobs on the cabinet doors. For extra storage, add a medicine cabinet above the toilet, such as allen + roth 24-3/4" wood surface mount medicine cabinet from Lowe's. To store extra toilet paper, try Interdesign 4-Roll Reserve from Target.
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