If your budget doesn’t extend to a team of tradesmen and landscapers to help prepare your property for sale, here are a few tips and tricks that can make an enormous difference when it comes time to sell your property.
Home Selling on a Budget Starts With the Exterior
First impressions count. That’s why your yard needs to be inviting. Trim back the bushes and trees, especially if they block views from the windows and make your home difficult to see from the street. Here are a few curb-side tips:
- Keep the lawn mowed, preferably on the diagonal.
- Plant yellow flowers such as marigolds along the walk or by the front door. The colour yellow sells.
- Wash the exterior windows.
- Paint or replace the front door and buy new hardware.
- Hose down the house to get rid of dirt and cobwebs.
- Buy a new welcome mat for the front steps.
- Wash or replace a front porch light fixture.
Updating the Kitchen on a Budget
Kitchens are the most important room in the house. It’s the heart and soul of the home. Even if a buyer is not much of a cook, the kitchen is still where family and friends tend to gather.
- If new bench tops are out of your budget, consider either re-grouting tiles, which is surprisingly cost effective and makes the kitchen appear clean and new.
- Buy new knobs and / or handles for cupboard doors. If you have 40 or so knobs on your kitchen cabinet, at a cost of about $5 per knob, your total outlay for new hardware will be about $200. New hardware will transform the appearance of your cupboards.
Painting the Interior
Professional painters will probably charge you anywhere from $300 to $500 to paint each room, but with a little patience, you can paint the rooms yourself. This is not the time to get creative.
- Choose a soft off-white colour (never white), and paint every room the same colour.
- The painting will go faster if you paint the ceilings the same colour, but ceilings really stand out if they are a lighter colour than the colour of the walls. Lighter colours also make the ceilings appear higher.
Freshening Bathrooms on a Budget
If you have wallpaper in the bathroom, it’s most likely peeling and should be removed. You can rent a steamer to remove the wallpaper or strip it yourself.
- Consider replacing the toilet and vanity, especially if they are stained or particularly outdated.
- If the tub is stained, hire a professional to clean or refinish it.
- Replace water-stained shower doors or clean them with a lime dissolving detergent.
- Buy a new shower curtain and tie it back with ribbons.
- Hang fresh towels and lay down a new bath rug.
- Place scented candles near a basket of tightly rolled wash cloths to create a spa-like feel.
