Being a Buyer's Specialist I have being showing homesin several different towns and I have been coming across the same situation daily. New Home Buyers are looking for almost the same thing whether in different price ranges or not. Buyer's want CLEAN, and Updated Homes with little to do. Buyers these days are generally both working to purchase a home, do not want to spend time working around their new Home, or have children and do not want to live in what they consider a mess. When we invest in Stocks, mutual funds, etc. there are yearly costs to maintain those funds. However, we as Home Owners believe that our Homes should increase in value with little or no work or updating. If you really think about it, it doesn't make much since. Picture your yearly Home maintenance as a cost of living in your Home, then consider updating each year a few items as a increase in value. I am not talking about updating everything in your Home each year, but keeping things updated being investing a little in your Home yearly. Every week there are 15-25 new Homes entering the market in different towns. Out of those 15-25 homes there will be 1-2 homes that go under contract within days. Why? Because their Clean, have great curb appeal and are updated. They bring more money and they do it fast! Buyer's actually pay over the asking price to get these homes. Agents fight over listing these homes. Does this cost tons of money- heck no! Can you do this projects over a weekend, most of them you can! Have you ever walked into a home with the 5 1/4 inch white baseboard and and Crown Molding and thought, " I would love to have that in my home but it is too costly!". Did you know that you can buy the baseboard and crown molding for the average size room for under $200? Did you know that most of the updated light fixtures I have seen I know have come from Menard's and are priced around $40.00 a piece?
I feel like I am beating a dead horse here to death, but I can not express strongly enough how much of a difference this makes when selling your Home-The current Buyer's think these items are extremely costly and have very little knowledge on changing out lights! Oh, and have I ever mentioned that these Buyer's think dirty caulk in the shower means your Home is full of Mold and that you do not bother to take care of your home at all? This is a new generation of Buyers. A New way of thinking. If you want to get the most value in your Home Sale then you need to invest in your investment-
For more ideas and suggestions on inexpensive home updates to increase your value, please feel free to give me a call at 630-674-2215
As Always, Karen