Landscaping:
Best thing to do:
Monica: Freshen up your home’s curb appeal with mature landscaping and dark-brown mulch or simply invest in two oversized urns to accommodate year-round plantings.
Elizabeth: Also, clear away cobwebs around the door. You can only make one first impression.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Spending money on plantings that won’t survive through the seasons. Flowerbeds filled with dead annuals don’t say much to buyers during the fall and winter months.
Elizabeth: I disagree with my friend here. I think a few flats of flowers go a long way and are so much more inexpensive. Landscaping can cost thousands of dollars and you won't see a return on your money for a few years.
Exterior Lighting
Best thing to do:
Monica: Installing large-scale exterior lighting to dress up the front of your house.
Elizabeth: Agree — get rid of cheap, rusted coach lights. So many people forget about exterior lighting.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Miniature exterior coach lights can look cheap. Elizabeth and I agree that this is one of our major pet peeves. Our best advice is to grab the lights you think you need and then look for the same lights but three times bigger. Lighting needs to reflect the scale of the front of your house and not just the wall space next to the front door. It is worth a few extra dollars.
Elizabeth: Amen, sister!
Cabinetry
Best thing to do:
Monica: Reface or replace worn kitchen cabinets.
Elizabeth: Yes and no. Reface or paint old cabinets for sure. However, replacing can cost thousands of dollars.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Repainting unsalvageable cabinetry to save money. A new coat of paint can only go so far. Elizabeth and I disagree on this one. There is an abundance of affordable cabinetry out there for someone who is willing to get their hands dirty in order to get a return on this investment. The hunt is half the fun.
Elizabeth: Older cabinets are most often solid maple or oak. If you have to, replace only the doors or have a carpenter add a trim frame to the outside then caulk and paint the cabinets. It will cost hundreds verses thousands of dollars.
Kitchen Appliances
Best thing to do:
Monica: Invest in matching kitchen appliances. All black, white or stainless steel will give a kitchen a current look.
Elizabeth: I agree. New appliances every 10 to 15 years is a good idea.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Spending too much on one high-end appliance thinking buyers will complete the rest.
Elizabeth: I concur. Unless you are planning on staying in the house for seven to 10 years, you won't get your money back on the designer appliances.
Bathroom Fixtures
Best thing to do:
Monica: Get rid of outdated bathroom fixtures like pink toilets and seashell sinks.
Elizabeth: I agree. Please, no colored tubs or toilets. It will only make your real estate agent’s job a lot harder.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Remodeling an outdated bathroom and leaving a colored bathtub in order to save money. Reglazing a tub costs around $300 in most parts of the country and can save the day when it comes to keeping costs down for a remodel.
Elizabeth: Buyers love white toilets, tubs and sinks.
Flooring
Best thing to do:
Monica: Refinish worn hardwood floors.
Elizabeth: Yes, if you have yucky carpet over hardwood floor pull it up. Hardwood is always a plus.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Installing hardwood floors to make a sale. This is a costly and timely endeavor. Save some money and install beautiful pre-engineered wood and laminate floors. Elizabeth has some strong views on these types of floorings that only tell me she needs to get out of open houses and spend some time at home improvement stores or better yet visit the set of Designed to Sell, where she might change her mind on their look and value.
Elizabeth: Monica darling, I have had buyers actually tell me they would have bought the house if only it had real genuine hardwood floors. Laminate floors aren't fooling anyone. We all know they’re not real.
Straighten Up
Best thing to do:
Monica: Declutter and clean. Use professionals for jobs like window washing, carpet cleaning and configuring storage spaces.
Elizabeth: If it's dirty clean it and if it's broken fix it. Leaving a to-do list for the buyer could end up costing you $20,000 to $50,000 in the negotiations, whereas having it fixed by a handyman might only cost $2,000.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Shoving everything into a closet before the open house. Buyers want to see what kind of storage they are getting and a crammed closet only says not enough.
Elizabeth: I totally agree. I tell my sellers to start packing. Box it up and get it out. Kids don't need 75 toys; let them pick out a few favorite things and pack the rest away.
Coordinating Hardware
Best thing to do:
Monica: Match hardware throughout your home.
Elizabeth: I say hardware and fixtures.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Mixing brass and chrome or brushed nickel on doors, hinges and faucets — ugly!
Elizabeth: Yes, but be careful because these items can add up. Go for something moderately priced, since you won’t get your money back on super-expensive hardware and fixtures.
Carpeting
Best thing to do:
Monica: Install inexpensive, low-pile neutral carpeting when a good cleaning won’t suffice.
Elizabeth: Agree. If it smells, if it's ugly or if it's ripped, it needs to be replaced.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Installing colored or boldly printed carpeting because it is a cheap fix. Look to save money by using neutral remnants — every carpeting store has them.
Elizabeth: Carpet is cheap and it makes a room look fresh.
Neutral Colors
Best thing to do:
Monica: Bring in some of the year’s neutral color trends with a coat of paint. Your walls will look fresh and buyers will get the impression your home has been updated as they recognize popular color trends. Also, using trendy colors makes finding staging accessories much easier.
Elizabeth: A fresh coat of paint can do wonders for a room.
Worst thing to do:
Monica: Painting your kitchen the red you’ve always wanted. Save the drama and buy a cute pair of red shoes instead.
Elizabeth: I also want to say a few words on wallpaper. It is a very personal thing. If you’re looking to sell, choose paint over wallpaper.
Source: HGTV
No comments:
Post a Comment