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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-10-18, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2012. MS –Men and women who have tried to sell a home are likely familiar with the phrase “curb appeal”. Curb appeal is similar to getting ready for a big date, only you’re not dressing yourself up to make a strong first impression. Instead, improving curb appeal involves dressing your home up in the hopes it makes a strong first impression on prospective buyers, many of whom will have a strong opinion about the property before they even get out of their cars to have a look around. A home with strong curb appeal can entice buyers who are likely to believe that a home with a well- maintained exterior is likely to have an equally impressive interior. Homeowners can improve curb appeal in a number of ways, many of which don’t necessitate a substantial home improvement budget. • The most effective way to improve curb appeal is to clean up the property. Many homeowners are savvy enough to remove toys and other items from the yard before showing a home, but cleaning up goes beyond removing clutter from the property. Make sure all hedges are trimmed and remove weeds, sticks and other debris from any flower beds. Lay mulch in the flower beds and garden, as mulch prevents weed growth while helping the soil retain moisture, resulting in more attractive gardens to catch a buyer’s eye. • Edging is another easy and effective way to improve curb appeal. Edge driveways, sidewalks and other walkways around the property, removing or trimming anything that is hanging over the driveway or walkways. If the boundary between your driveway and lawn is not distinct, consider installing edging materials such as stone or bricks. The edging can be level with the driveway or elevated, but keep in mind that elevated driveway edging can protect the lawn, preventing kids from riding their bicycles onto the lawn or cars from driving onto it. Adding edging is not a very difficult do-it-yourself project. • Many homeowners grow accustomed to overgrown trees around their property and may not notice that low-hanging, unsightly branches are hiding the home from view. Buyers want to see the house, so take to the trees and trim any branches that hang too low or obscure your home. • Leaves and sticks hanging from the gutters are a red flag to buyers, who tend to associate clogged gutters with roof damage. Clean the gutters thoroughly before putting your home up for sale and keep them clean throughout the selling process. If your property includes lots of trees, install guards to keep twigs and leaves out of the gutters. • Many homeowners enter their home through a side door or through their garage. If you fall into this category, keep in mind that prospective buyers will be entering through the front door, so make this area accessible. Clear any clutter, such as overgrown hedges, away from the front door, and consider upgrading the door handle to a more modern feature. In addition, make sure the lock on the front door doesn’t stick, forcing the realtor and buyers to immediately struggle before entering the home. You want buyers and their real estate agents to get in and out of the home as smoothly as possible. • Dehydrated or dead plants and flowers are eyesores and they will give buyers the impression that you didn’t pay much attention to your property. Make sure all plants are alive and thriving and replace those that aren’t. You can replant new flowers or plants or just use potted plants instead. When purchasing new plants, choose low-maintenance varieties that appeal to buyers who want good vibrant plants but might not want to put in much work into the garden. Renovating a home prior to putting it on the market can be an effective way to spruce it up and entice buyers, but Coldwell Banker Festival City Realty representative Brenda Campbell says that not all renovations are equal. “The kitchen can be the most important room in the house when putting money into it before selling,” she said. “It can easily add value to your home.” She said that people can easily picture themselves in the kitchen and a newer kitchen adds value to the house. “When a kitchen is well organized with ample storage and lots of counter space, people can see themselves in it,” she said. “An updated kitchen adds value by making a strong impression and a well-done kitchen can bring a 100 per cent or more return on the investment. The kitchen really sells the house.” The next room on the list is thebathroom which, in terms of returns,can bring about a 90 per cent return according to Campbell. “After the kitchen, the bathroom is the most important room in terms of where sellers should invest remodelling dollars,” she said. “Most of the time sellers can recoup all the money they put into a renovation or nearly all the money. Adding a new bathroom if the house only has one, for example, broadens the appeal and makes it more enticing to families who need the extra space.” Campbell said that, in both the kitchen and the bathroom, minor changes can also really help to sell a home. “Replacing the faucets, putting on a fresh coat of paint or simply cleaning and making the space more functional will result in people buying the space,” she said. Campbell says, when renovating, a potential seller needs to be aware of how much they can spend and still expect to get it back. “Before renovating, research localmarkets to see how muchneighbouring houses are going for,” she said. “You want to avoid pricing yourself outside of the market, so it’s a good idea to keep additions and modifications consistent with other properties.” As far as inexpensive changes, painting rooms can be a great way to make the house pop and is, according to Campbell, the most cost-effective way to increase the value and salability of a home. “You can expect to get most if not all your money back when you paint your home,” she said. “People see wallpaper as work, stick with paint and stick with neutral colours. Painted walls make an entire room feel new and clean and help to make the house valuable.” Flooring is also a concern when buying a new home since most buyers aren’t interested in carpeting any longer. “Carpet has really fallen out of favour,” Campbell said. “Most buyers are now leaning towardshard-wood, laminate or tile becauseit’s easier to clean and maintain.” The easiest way to prepare a home for showing to potential buyers, however, requires a bare minimum of work if the home has been well maintained. “You can paint if you want, but before that a seller should be repairing any problems, cleaning and decluttering the house,” she said. “Then stage the house.” Campbell said that staging is really what makes one house stand out from another on the market. “I’m a firm believer in staging,” she said. “It makes your house lookbigger, cleaner and warmer andhelps people picture and imagine what opportunities they have.” Other changes that can help, but can also end up costing in the long run are exterior renovations which typically result, in Campbell’s experience, in a 50 per cent return on the dollar, new windows and doors which return 45 to 50 per cent, new heating systems (provided the old was still running) result in a 40 per cent return and other changes go down from there. 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