Home Improvement Tips

Home Improvement Tips on How You Can Sell Your Home for More Money in Less Time on a Budget

Staging Tips:

If you follow these simple steps on staging your home, potential buyers will be
greeted with something worth living in.

1. Clean and De-clutter: A neat and orderly home tells potential buyers,
   “this home is perfect for you.” The presence of personal effects such as
   ironing boards, pet food, etc. will make it harder to sell your home. If you
   can’t put away all your clutter, consider renting a small storage unit.
   Don’t be lazy. This is actually the most important tip I have for you.
   According the HomeGain.com survey, spending $402 on cleaning and
   de-cluttering your home will yield a benefit of $2,024 and is recommended by
   99% of real estate agents. This is your first $1,600 out of your $10,000
   goal.
2. Depersonalize: Unfortunately, you will need to put away your personal
   photos. The purpose of staging is to give prospective buyers a better
   environment to imagine themselves living in your home. Personal affects only
   detract from this.
3. Furniture: Like the term “dress to impress,” show off your best
   furnishings in a similar way. Place furniture to highlight your home’s best
   architectural features.
4. Wall art: To make your home more appealing to the potential buyers, add
   neutral wall art that targets your local demographic. You could also just
   take down the wall art only caters to your personal taste. Wall art doesn’t
   have to be expensive.
5. Exterior staging:
   1. Adding a new and inviting front doormat is part of making the first
      impression a welcoming one.
   2. Adding potted plants can be used to detract attention from unsightly
      areas of your home.
   3. Consider buying a new set of patio furniture only if it’s on sale.
      You could also try Big Lots for buying patio furniture.

Remodeling & Repair Tips:

Almost every store has a clearance sale on select items. If you can’t find
anything good at one store, go to another. The best deals are usually located in
ugly industrial areas in little known areas off the beaten path. For light
repairs and remodeling, hire various tradesmen directly like plumbers,
electricians, window installers, etc. from reputable sources. However, if you
are considering a full remodel, hire a general contractor. Shopping around for a
general contractor can be a daunting task. Currently in this economy, a
wholesale grade contractor (“flipper grade”) can do a full remodel and
restructuring for as low at $25/SqFt or 9% of the sales price of your home,
which will provide a value add of about 7-17% based when comparing the sales
prices of unremodeled homes to remodeled homes. During the 2005 housing bubble,
the same remodel would cost $60/SqFt. While these contractors are hard to find
and are reluctant to work with homeowners on a one-off basis, the difference
between your lowest bid and your highest bid will be double. So, shop
aggressively for contractors. Once you have found prospective contractors,
lookup their license status online through your state’s contractor licensing
board before you interview them. Contractors rarely charge to give you an
estimate on remodeling your home.

1.  Timing:
   1. Be sure to plan out which order you want to do your projects.
      Remodel one part of your home at time so that you can continue living
      there.
   2. You can get the best prices on seasonal items during end of the
      season clearance sales.
2. Repair: Take care of the more difficult stuff first like deferred
   maintenance and repairs. New buyers don’t want a house that needs a lot of
   work. You will recoup about 4 times the cost of repairing electrical and
   plumbing per HomeGain.com.
3. Painting:
   1. Paint the interior of the house
      with neutral colors. Wacky and tacky colors will scare away potential
      buyers.
   2. Painting the outside of your
      home dramatically increases its curb appeal without incurring too much
      cost.
   3. In the Santa Ana real estate
      market, newly painted homes sell for about 5-7% more per MLS data.
4. Exterior cleaning: For areas such as driveways, patios, fences, and tile
   roofs, hiring a professional to power wash these areas is an inexpensive way
   to improve your home’s marketability.
5. Doors:
   1. Upgrade or paint the front
      door: Replacing the front door of your home may cost upwards of $1,200.
      You can get fiber glass door that looks like wood from Home Depot or
      Lowes for a little as $300 when on clearance sale. As long as you don’t
      spend too much money on great looking front door, the resale value will
      be about $1200-2000 per Remodeling Magazine’s 2011-2012 Cost vs. Value
      Report. Remember, after updating your front door, remove and store the
      screen door so it won’t detract from the appearance of your front door.
      An alternative would be painting the front door in a classic color that
      ties with the rest of the exterior of your home.
   2. Replace door knobs, locks,
      plates, and hinges. (Currently, the brushed nickel finish is popular and
      it’s worth the extra cost.)
6. Lighten and brighten: Lightening and brightening the house is a quick,
   cheap fix.
   1. Normally, light fixtures are
      limited to 60-75 watt bulbs due to safety reasons. You can brighten up
      your house dramatically with 17-25 watt CFL bulbs, which put out more
      light than 60 watt bulbs without having to invest in more light
      fixtures.
   2. Upgrade your window treatments.
      The new faux woods are cheaper and better than real wood. Adjusting your
      blinds so that as much light comes in as possible will improve the
      marketability of your home.
7. Windows: Replace old windows with the newer double-pane vinyl windows.
   Homes for sale in Garden Grove sold for 3-7% more with double-pane windows
   per MLS data.
8. Fireplaces: Nowadays with modern heating, fireplaces do not improve the
   value a home. Most fireplaces are ugly and their appearance should be
   minimized. New stylish mantels for unaccented fireplaces usually cost more
   than $1,000 and are not worth it. Consider creative solutions such as
   painting the old brick surrounds with fireproof paint or tiling over it with
   nice looking 12-inch travertine floor tile.
9. Cabinets: Resurfacing or painting old cabinets is the cheapest option.
   Reface them if necessary, and save as much as the original wood as possible.
10. Countertops, sinks, and faucets: Granite countertops are not necessary,
    unless you can get a good price on them. You can get good looking Tier 2
    granite for a low as $300 per slab if you aggressively shop around. Replace
    faucets that leak or look old, and replace stained sinks if necessary.
11. Kitchen Appliances: Replace appliances only if dated looking and over 10
    years old.
12. Walls and Ceilings:
    1. Remove your wallpaper because
       you personal taste in wallpaper rarely appeals to prospective buyers.
    2. Paint dated wood paneling
       unless in good condition
    3. Scrape any popcorn ceilings
13. Flooring:
    1. Hardwood flooring is a major
       asset. If it is damaged, consider refinishing it.
    2. If your carpets are in good
       condition, but are only dirty, then hire a professional to clean your
       carpets. You can find the best deals on carpeting cleaning from the PennySaver. Other sources to consider are AngiesList.com and
       CraigsList.com. Choose neutral carpeting to replace old or damaged carpet. In
       the Santa Ana real estate market, travertine tile is popular, and it’s a
       worthwhile replacement for carpet in main living areas.
    3. For replacing damaged carpet in
       bedrooms, consider wood laminate flooring. It’s cheap, easy to install,
       and it adds value to your home, whereas carpet does not.
    4. Where there is tile flooring,
       clean the grout and fix broken tiles or replace.
14. Bathroom: Considering updating the look of your bathroom with a few
    simple tips.
    1. Replace fixtures with new
       faucets, towel bars, and toilet paper holders. Replacing old toilet
       seats goes without saying. Replace old chrome or white shower heads with
       the newer large metallic looking shower heads, which you can get for as
       little as $50.
    2. If you currently have a small
       vanity in bad shape, consider replacing it with an all-in-one vanity on
       clearance sale from a major hardware store or wholesale stores, like
       Costco or Sam’s Club. These vanities come with a white marble
       countertop, sink, and faucet fixture for as little as $350 on clearance
       sale. Installation labor should about be about $100-150.
    3. If the bathtub looks old, you
       can save money by reglazeing it rather than
       replacing it. Even if you do nothing to the bathtub, be sure to put new caulking
       along the bathtub.
    4. Mirrors: Instead of installing
       a fancy readymade mirror, consider installing a new flat mirror and then
       adding white or finished wood trim around it, which you can purchase
       from your local hardware store.
15. Pool: Before the prevalence of central air conditioning, pools used to
    add significant value to a home. Now, pools increase the time your home sits
    on the market because some buyers simply don’t want a home with a pool to
    take care of. Never add a pool to sell your home. If you already have a
    pool, just make sure that it has any needed repairs.

Landscaping & Gardening Tips:

According to local MLS data, homes with recent or well maintained landscaping or
sell for about 4-9% more in the Santa Ana real estate market. If you’re trying
to decide whether to hire a gardener or landscaper to do your landscaping, hire
a gardener. While a gardener may not have the skill set that a landscapers has,
you will get the best value for your dollar by using a gardener who knows a
little but about landscaping.

1. Timing: If you choose to plant new plants, remember that some plants
   take a lot longer to grow, which means you will not get any benefit for
   selling your home while the plants are still growing.
2. The front: Focus your landscaping efforts on the front of the house
   rather than the back because this is what homebuyers notice the most.
3. Simple maintenance: If you don’t already have a gardener, hire one, even
   if just for short time, to do simple maintenance such removing weeds,
   pruning overgrown plants, and fertilizing the lawn. To save money on
   gardening and water, choose low maintenance plants.
4.  Lawn: Tend to your lawn maintenance first because it takes the
   longest time to improve. A lush green lawn sets the first impression of your
   home and it shows pride of ownership. If your lawn cannot be restored in a
   timely manner, consider replacing the lawn with newly laid down sod.
5. Color: Add pots of colorful and attractive flowers to greet buyers.
   Flats of flowers like impatiens can be purchased very inexpensively at your
   local hardware store. The results are immediate.
   1. When planting new fruit trees,
      leave the labels on them because homebuyers often would like to know the
      names of your new plants.
   2. Avoid invasive plant species
      such as the purple loosestrife because they spread everywhere and take
      over your garden.
6. Depersonalize: Remove personal effects around yard such as garden
   gnomes, ceramic ducks, plastic flamingos, etc. because while they may appeal
   to you, they probably won’t appeal to prospective buyers.
7. Irrigation: Rather to worry about saving water and letting your lawn
   die, it’s time to optimize the programming of your irrigation timer. Check
   for leaks in your irrigation system. The cost from the water utility company
   of unattended to irrigation leak can exceed the initial cost of the
   irrigation system itself. Have irrigation leaks repaired promptly before you
   change your irrigation timings. If you don’t already have an irrigation
   system, for the short time of selling your home, it’s cheaper to hire a
   gardener to water your lawn and planters twice weekly than it is to invest
   in a new irrigation system.