Preparing a home for sale can be quite a daunting task especially for first-time sellers. It’s easy to miss many aspects of wear and tear that have happened to your house over the previous years. But when you decide to put your house on the market, the reality of the state of your home hits you.
You know very well that there are things that need cleaning, fixing and renovating, but your time and money are quite limited.
As you already know, putting your house into a good condition before selling can put more money in your pocket, however, you need to prioritize on the most important repairs and fixes that actually count.
In this article, we will share the most important essential repairs and fixes you need to do before selling your home if you want to get the most out it. Read on.
Garage Door Repairs
When a potential buyers visit your home, the first thing they see is the garage door. If your home is like most homes in Alpharetta, Marietta, Johns Creek or other Metro Atlanta Georgia areas, chances are your garage door is one of the primary parts to the front side of your home. If the garage door is dented, rusty or poorly maintained, the buyer will generally have a low opinion of your home.
Consider hiring a professional garage door repair service to fix any obvious issues like garage doors off track, broken garage door spring repair, garage door opener repair, and door panel installation / replacement. Feel free to carry out simple maintenance issues on your own like repainting and cleaning the door and lubricating any moving garage door parts.
If your garage door has major dents and dings or is extremely rusty, you should consider replacing it with a new one. If you can get an insulated garage door or a custom wood garage door installed, that would be nice; it will tremendously improve your curb appeal and increase the face value of your home.
Paint
Painting your house is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to upgrade the look of your house before you put it on the market. You can either source the services of a professional painter or go the DIY route. Since you don’t know the color preferences of your next potential buyer, it’s always advisable to go with the neutral and lighter colors because they appeal to most people.
Unless you have a good budget for it, the painting doesn’t have to be too professional and you don’t have to paint every single room; just the exterior and the rooms that really need painting. Focus more on rooms that have dark paint and dirty or chipped paint. If you have a wallpaper, you should consider removing it.
Exterior
The exterior is the first thing that sells your home (or gives you a hard time selling it). Some of the things to take care of include mending the fence, cleaning up your yard, mowing your lawn, fixing street lighting, repainting your gate, weeding your garden, and so on. Other things that buyers may notice include missing shingles, moss on the roof, and issues with the siding. A good power washing is always in order too! The more of these issues you fix now, the fewer questions you will have to answer about your home later.
The same counts for your roof as well. When selling your home, the condition of the roof will play a role in the offers you receive from potential buyers. If your roof is clearly damaged and needs repairing, you’ll likely receive lower offers than you expected. This is why it’s important to have a roof replacement carried out before selling – this way, you can be sure of receiving the highest offer your house can possibly get.
Curb Appeal
Curb appeal has a lot to do with the tweaks and upgrades that make great first impressions. When potential buyers pull up to your house, they should really feel at home. So in addition to painting, fixing the fence, and clearing up your yard, you need to trim back the hedges, repaint your garage door, upgrade your landscaping, and repair the walkway and driveway. You can easily introduce easy-to-maintain pot plants as well as colorful flowers to add beauty and some natural color to your garden. Don’t forget to keep your front porch clutter-free.
Flooring
A well-maintained and updated floor is vital if you want to fetch good money from the sale of your house. But, in the spirit of keeping the cost of repair low, you should probably skip replacing your carpet with a hardwood floor. If you have a tiled flow, just make sure that you replace any cracked or missing tiles, and have your carpet professionally cleaned. If you already have a hardwood floor, get rid of any stains and replace any sections that are severely damaged either by water, dents, mold, or otherwise.
Final Thoughts
There Are obviously other important things that need fixing before you sell your home, like a leaking roof, a faulty heating system, structural issues, and broken fixtures, but the extent of your repair will depend on your budget. The above-listed five repair issues are the most common ones that the buyer will notice at first, but if you have a generous budget for this project, consider fixing even more issues that you might stop the buyer from giving you a valuable offer for your house.
