15 Simple Home Tips You Need To Know To Attract Top Dollar Offers

There’s no doubt 2021 has been an excellent year for home sellers accross the country and especially here in San Antonio. But the reality is there are still homes that sell for less than they should or worse do not sell at all.

I’ve witnessed some of the issues first hand and heard feedback from other agents all year. Let’s eliminate the chances of this happening to you!

Home tip #1| Let in as much light as possible

So first thing you can do to make it inviting is open the blinds or curtains to let in natural light. Letting in natural light will help make just about any room feel bigger and send a clear message to buyers that they will have room to live in your home. You are selling space! Keep that in mind as you prepare.

Home tip #2 | Check all bulbs inside and outside of the home

Check all your light bulbs, make sure that they are working, every single light bulb in the house. Don’t let any light bulb in the house go. All the ones in the bathrooms, the ones in the closets, the ones in the fans, make sure they all work. This will ensure every part of the home has proper lighting during showings, enforces confidence in the buyer that the home is well maintained and passes inspection when the time comes.

A secondary goal in this project would be to make sure the bulbs you have are not too dim. Many home owners opt for lower power bulbs to save energy. While this is a worthy cause it may make the rooms feel small and stuffy. Adding higher watt bulbs may be just the ticket along with added natural light in tip #1 to help enhance the feel of the room sizes.

Home tip #3 | Touch up Scuffs on the wall

They may seem minor and insignificant, but it shows that the house is cared for if there are no scuffs on the wall. So go through the home, get a can of touch up paint and touch up all those scuffs at the very least.

I personally, when I sell my house, I’m going to paint the whole thing because it just gives it that new home smell. There’s no better way to simulate that new home smell like a fresh coat of paint can provide.

Home tip #4 | Fix anything that is broken

This tip can go on seemingly forever especially if you have an older home. So, first focus on the high traffic areas that will be noticed right away; doors that will not open and latch properly can be annoying, kitchen drawers that are not working correctly, light switches, plugs, garage doors, faucets etc. Anything that will make day to day life a pain I would recommend getting fixed. A handy man/woman can knock out a whole lot of these issues. And doing them ahead of selling can save so much more money. Trying to shop for help during a sale can be stressful and you might over pay just to get the job done.

Home tip #5 | Give a clear purpose to each room

Giving purpose to each room is a very important part of the selling process because it sparks the imagination of the home buyer.

If you have grown out of your current home this can be challenging because you likely have a few things going on in each room. You may have a school area in the kitchen, a play area in the living room or a work from home area in the bedroom.

Stage each room for one single purpose and conceal the secondary use of the rooms. This will allow buyers to imagine themselves living in the home and not running into space issues along the way.

Home tip #6 | Deep clean all vents vacuum, mop and sweep

A deep clean of all those hard to reach places will not go unnoticed by the very buyers that can offer higher than market rate for you home. Vents can be hard to reach but I can assure you people are looking at them.

Home Tip #9 | Vacuum, mop, or sweep floors

Sweeping, vacuuming and moping prior to taking listing photos and showing the home will pay dividends in getting people into the home and keeping them from running for the door. So formulate a plan to keep it clean at a moments notice while on the market.

Home Tip #8 | Do away with clutter

Clutter happens to the best of us. Don’t feel bad just get rid of it. Clutter can happen in the garage, a kitchen drawer, a bathroom cabinet, closets, a shed and even right in the open in the back yard.

One of the most popular place that get cluttered as a result of selling a home is the garage. If at all possible you should avoid doing this. It may seem harmless but the garage can be an important area for many people and if it it is full of your stuff the buyers can not get a true picture of them living in the home. Sell it or store it off site if at all possible.

Home tip #9| Organize counter tops, cabinets and closets

Treat counter tops, cabinets and closet areas like they are rooms. Buyers looking for places to put all their clothes, they’re looking for places to put all their dishes, they’re looking for places to put all of their collectibles. And if your collectibles and items are falling out of the closet or the drawers, it’s going to make it feel like you’re running out of room again. So pare it down.

Home tip #10 | Minimize family photos

Many experts agree removing family photos increase the likelihood that prospective home buyers will have an easier time imagining themselves in the home rather than picturing the current home owners. Some owners are offended by this notion others not so much. If you have large a wall, mantle or refrigerator full of pictures I would definitely suggest at least minimizing that area. To many photos of any kind can look cluttered reduce the perception of spaciousness.

Home Tip #11 | Power Wash Outdoor Surfaces

First, a huge impact that you can make is power washing the outdoor surfaces. Okay. You can do a soft rinse of the house and you can do a power washing of the walkways, the driveways, even the curb. Okay. Those all can be power washed. If you have an older fence and it’s a natural fence, power washing the fence is perfectly fine as well. It’s going to make it look like it’s brand new, at least for awhile. So I would recommend doing that.

Home tip #12 | Wash the windows

The next item on the list here is wash the windows inside and out. This is going to make the house feel so much brighter and cleaner, and the pictures are going to really pop when you take a picture of the house with all the lights on with clean windows. Okay. Trust me, get that done.

Home tip #13 | Tidy up the landscape

And then tidy up the landscape. Okay. That’s from trees to bushes. Make sure all the bushes are formed up and edge out. All deadwood from the trees trimmed out and hauled off.

Home tip #14 | Freshen up the entry

And then you want to freshen up the entryway. This is where you’re pulling people in here. Okay. Everything else is working for you. You’ve got everything manicured and the lawn. Use a theme maybe if it’s the fall, when you’re doing this, put a fall theme at the front door. If it’s Christmas, put a Christmas theme. Okay. You get the idea. Have a little fun with it. Okay. Get people drawn in to the home so they want to go into the home and see the rest.

Home tip #15 | Sweep patios, decks and walkways

And then the final piece here for the landscaping or curb appeal is going to be sweeping all patios, and decks, and walkways. I know mine need a lot of attention. And when I finally do it, I feel so great about it. Home buyers are going to feel the same way when you do this to your patios, decks, and walkways.

Bottom Line

Right now in 2021 the market home sellers are heavily favored and homes with minor to moderate problems can sell no problem. However homes can still go unsold or take losses if not prepared properly for the market. Not every single step is necessary to sell but the more that is done to prepare, the higher probability the home will sell and a price that will more than justify the effort with a higher net.

When you find yourself asking what else you need to do to prepare reach out and we can discuss some options customized to your neighborhood and needs. Schedule a callback below.