Maximizing Your Home's Value

Are Style Choices Decreasing the Value of Your Home? Competition in the housing market is fierce, and that’s true for both sides of the equation. Home buyers have to compete with everyone else looking to find a property, while homeowners have to stand out among the crowd of other properties on the market. According to experts, interior design can make or break a real estate deal, and you won’t believe what style choices might make it a bit difficult to get your home to sell.

Wallpaper Can Sink a Real Estate Deal

Yes, bold, bright wallpaper is in style right now, but the pattern you pick is unlikely to appeal to all potential buyers. You want a buyer to envision themselves in your home, and bold wallpaper makes it difficult for them to do that. Additionally, wallpaper is notoriously difficult to remove, so if a potential buyer doesn’t absolutely adore your kitschy turtle wallpaper in your guest bathroom, they’ll see it as just another task to complete once they move in. That’s the opposite of what you want to convey.

Bright Paint Makes a Home Difficult to Sell

It might be the year of coral, but when it comes to selling a home, you’ll want to wipe bright paints from your color palette. Bright paint colors might make your home feel happy to you, but for most home buyers, it will seem like a little bit too much. Before you put your home on the market, consider repainting the place in a neutral color scheme. The investment in a paint job will more than pay for itself when the house moves quickly.

Significant Return on Bathroom Updates

A great room to update for less than $750 is the bathroom. The two rooms that benefit most from even small renovations are the kitchen and bathroom. One cost-effective change — like replacing an outdated vanity, old plumbing, and lighting fixtures or adding a new tile floor — will guarantee a lot of bang for your buck and give your bath an updated, modern look.

Large Furniture can Ruin Your Aesthetic

Your large sectional couch might be cozy and comfortable. It might be the perfect place to host a massive game night, but homebuyers are just going to see a small room with too much furniture. Real estate experts suggest removing large pieces of furniture or anything that doesn’t serve an important purpose. You want your rooms to look spacious and inviting. Too much furniture will make the space look cramped, leading to fewer offers.

Save the Popcorn for the Movies

Next, what's on your ceiling? Few structural elements date a house more than popcorn ceilings. So dedicate a weekend to ditching the dated look and adding dollar signs to the value of your home. NOTE: some older ceilings could contain asbestos so before undertaking this project, have yours tested by professionals. Once you're in the clear, this is a project you can tackle yourself. First, visit your local hardware store for a solution to soften the texture, then scrape the popcorn away. Removing a popcorn ceiling may not seem like a big change but one of the keys to adding value to your home is to repair, replace or remove anything that could turn buyers away.

Bold Patterns Can Drive Potential Buyers Away

Just like bold, bright wallpaper and saturated paint hues, bold patterns can drive potential buyers away from even viewing your home. Intricate tiles are a prime example of permanent fixtures that can cause a problem, but even non-permanent items, like a comforter, can make buyers think twice about viewing a home. Why is that? Simply put, a bold quilt or rug draws the viewer's eye away from the home in online photos, and you want people perusing your listing to remember the house, not your paisley throw pillows.

Clean Up The Lawn

Overgrown or patchy lawns and outsized bushes will cause your home to stand out — in a bad way. The good news is that taming your jungle is an easy fix. For a few hundred dollars, hire a lawn service company to trim your lawn and shape your hedges. Your curb appeal will go from messy to maintained without blowing your budget.

A Statement Door Might Make the Wrong Statement

Statement doors are trendy right now. It makes sense, too. A brightly colored door is undoubtedly appealing, but your statement door might be making the wrong statement. Real estate experts suggest keeping your statement door as neutral as possible. Swap out bright yellows and reds, for a more muted blue or black. The color will still draw attention to the door, but won’t be too distracting.

Hidden Problems Will Cost You In The End

Not every home improvement is cosmetic. Deteriorating roofs, termite infestation, or outdated electrical systems — you can't fix it if you don't know it's broken. Hire an inspector to check out the areas of your home that you don't normally see. They may discover hidden problems that could negatively impact your home's value. Small problems (such as a hidden water leak) can become big, expensive problems quickly; the longer you put off repairs, the more expensive those repairs will be

Update Before You Sell

It might seem unnecessary to change up the interior of your home right before you sell it, but it is the perfect time to do some redecorating. To get a home sold, you have to remove your family from the property so potential buyers can envision themselves in it. Neutral colors, clean and uncluttered rooms, and plenty of curb appeal can make that happen, leading to more offers, more quickly.