Carlos Montes Calgary Real Estate

How to Sell your Home Faster – Part II

In the last blog we talked about what you can do ahead of time to plan to sell your home, this week’s blog will focus on specific improvements and changes that you can make to your home to sell it faster.

Minor Upgrades

You may not be able (or willing) to put a ton of money into your home prior to selling, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend a little cash to improve the look of your home. If your home is 15 years old or older you can “de-age” your home buy changing out the following for more modern designs:

-          Door handles and hinges

-          Light fixtures (particularly in kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms)

-          Window treatments

-          Kitchen and bathroom hardware

-          Electrical outlet and light switch covers

These minor changes won’t cost a fortune, and will help bring your home up to date. The only caveat is if you have a heritage home, in which case you may be better off looking to ensure that any changes keep the home in its own era.

A Fresh Coat

Painting may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a great way to freshen up your home, make rooms feel larger, and make your home look more cared for. It is also a good idea to repaint if you have rooms with bold or dark colours. By offering potential buyers a “blank slate” you can ensure that your home won’t be overlooked because a buyer didn’t like your colour choices. For around $30 you can refresh a room or two, and help your home sell faster.

Fabulous Flooring

New floors? That’s not a minor upgrade! It depends on what you replace it with. Today’s new laminates can cost as little as $1 per square foot, making it easy and affordable to make your living room, kitchen, or master suite look brand new. Additionally, place like Home Depot have some fantastic laminate products that simply stick together – so you only need an exacto knife and an afternoon to completely change the look of a room.

If you have carpet, an upgrade to laminate or hardwood is recommended. If it’s not in the cards then at the very least consider a thorough steam cleaning. For the cost, though, changing one or two rooms may make a world of difference in the speed of sale, and may also result in higher offers.

In part III of this series we’ll discuss final preparations to ensure your home is spic, span, and ready to sell!

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