"The Big 4" of High-ROI Home Improvements

CURB APPEAL

-Buyers scroll through homes like a dating app, waiting to see something that catches their eye. The first thing they see online and as they drive up to the home is its curb appeal. If your home's curb appeal is not very appealing, Buyers are less excited about the home and sometimes don’t consider it at all. You can’t change the architecture, but every home can benefit from the following curb appeal updates:

POWER WASH EXTERIOR

-HouseLogic by REALTORS® claims that washing a house can add $10,000 to $15,000 to the sales price of some homes. Washing the siding, brick, stone, eves, gutters, walkways, and driveway can make a dingy home look new again. I get my home power washed every quarter.

TRIM TREES & BUSHES

-Overgrown trees and bushes can hide the house and make the home look neglected. I use a lawn care company to trim small trees and bushes. A tree trimming company is usually best for larger trees.

IMPROVE FLOWER BEDS

-Adding fresh mulch and clearing out weeds and debris can make a huge difference in a home’s curb appeal. Most lawn care companies offer a spring and fall cleanup that include lawn care, trimming, weeding, and flower bed improvements.

GREEN MANICURED LAWN

-Grass should be green and well-trimmed. Have your lawn care company use a nitrogen-rich fertilizer with daily watering. It can take a week or two to see a significant improvement. Dead grass may need to be replaced, and painting the grass is an option in some dryer climates.

HOME ODORS

-Not all smells are bad, but many people are sensitive to certain smells, and strong smells can turn potential buyers away or cause them to offer less money. Owners can’t smell anything odd in their home because they are used to it. The goal is to have a clean home with little or no noticeable smells before it goes on the market. Deodorizing a home means removing smells, not masking them with sprays, candles, or baked cookies.You should hire a professional cleaner that knows how to deodorize. Here are ways to deodorize:

BAKING SODA

-All carpet and fabric furniture get a light coating of baking soda. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes and then vacuum. Make sure to do this before shampooing carpets. Throw out the vacuum bags before they get full so the smells don’t escape. You can even add an open box of baking soda to a fridge. Baking soda is a remarkable deodorizer for a cheap price.

COFFEE GROUNDS & WHITE VINEGAR

-For stronger smells in bathrooms and laundry rooms, a bowl of fresh coffee grounds or white vinegar can pull smells out of the air. Make sure to empty or replace after a day or two, and don’t leave the used coffee grounds inside the house.

AVOID DRY P-TRAPS

-Every drain has a P-trap to keep the sewer smell from entering the house. This is simply a small water barrier that fills the U-shaped bend of the drain pipe. The P-trap can dry out in as little as a few weeks if water isn’t going down the drain regularly. Empty homes and floor drains need regular maintenance. For example, if your laundry room tends to smell, it may not be the dirty clothes, but the floor drain that never gets any water. You can also try the following:

BRODI sells a product called Vapour Block that’s made specifically for this problem. It’s a little pricey at around $50 per bottle, but it lasts 3-4 months. Only add this to drains no one uses or it will get washed away.

Another option is to add a 1/8 cup of olive or baby oil after you fill the P-trap with a bucket of water. The oil will sit on top of the water and keep it from evaporating as fast.

PERSISTENT ODORS

-Really strong odors such as pet smells, urine, smoke, and mildew may require professional help from a home disaster company that specializes in remediation. They may use an ozone generator, KILZ, or other options that may require a professional.

DECLUTTER

-It’s a blessing to live with so much bounty, but this can also lead to having too much stuff in our homes. Most of us are pretty good at buying things, but not so good at letting them go. Many sellers don’t realize how much stuff they have until they move. If you plan to stay in the house while it’s up for sale, it’s best to start clearing it out and packing before listing the home because it will show better.

  The following recommendations are for sellers that plan to live

in the home while it’s on the market:

REMOVE CURTAINS & WINDOW TREATMENTS

-Letting in natural light improves the pictures and showings. Curtains, blinds, and window treatments can also hold dust and smells. Removing window coverings lets the light in, and that’s what you want. If blinds are worth keeping, open them up during the pictures and showings.

PACK & STORE EXTRA BELONGINGS

-It’s best to remove family pictures, knick-knacks, and other visible personal items. You and your agent will need to decide what furniture stays for staging purposes. Anything that doesn’t stay should be packed and taken to a storage unit. You want to stage the home for buyers. It's convenient to live like this but it's necessary if you want top dollar.

FREEDOM IN THE FRAMEWORK

-You want Buyers to see themselves living in the home. Staging will help Buyers by "framing" the usage of each room, but leaving them the "freedom" to fill in the blanks. This means that you will have to put the majority of your furniture and decor into storage, only leaving a few items that help frame the usage of the room. i.e. couch & coffee table in the living room, bed & side tables in the bedroom.

Consider hiring a professional home stager if you'll be moving out and leaving your home empty, as they can provide furniture and decor to make your home more attractive to buyers.You want every picture look like your home came out of a magazine.

“If you want to get the most net gain for your home and sell it as quickly as possible once it’s listed. Staging your home is the largest return on investment advice I can offer."