Maximize Your List Price

Maximize Your List Price

Sometimes it takes a full-scale overhaul to prepare a house for market and maximize your list price. Other times, only a series of small adjustments are required to make a listing’s true potential shine. Whether you’re gearing up for an open house, assessing a list price, or maximizing a property’s appearance prior to photography—the devil is in the details. However, touch-ups and refreshes don’t have to dominate your schedule or break the bank. For a few ideas of where to begin to maximize your list price, consider our handy check-list below for quick home projects that will fortify your bottom line.

• Refresh grout for a sparkling clean look.

Perhaps the quickest and most cost-effective way to make bathrooms, kitchens, and other tiled areas shine is to refresh grout until it looks good as new. Specialty grout stain removers and cleaners are inexpensive and sold at most home improvement stores. Plus, the project only takes a bit of elbow grease and an hour or two for a major makeover effect. Suddenly, dark, stained, and worn-down bathrooms gleam as if tile has just been placed.

• Create mood lighting with soothing bulbs and fixtures.

A warm white light from specially chosen LED bulbs creates a welcoming environment when potential buyers come calling. If outdated fixtures are bringing down a home’s otherwise modern styling, consider more design-neutral replacements that won’t detract from the property’s charms. These are inexpensive but highly noticeable and impactful upgrades that shift a home’s ambiance for the better.

• Repaint doors for an updated and inviting entryway.

It may sound like a hassle, but repainting doorways with a fresh coat signals a well-kept property—and that’s before prospective buyers even pass through the threshold. You can also change out generic doorknobs and switch-plates to add an updated flare while on a budget. Color-of-the-year trend choices can turn heads, while neutral paint choices signal less hassle for future homeowners.

• Make windows shine—both inside and outside

Cleanliness goes a long way in communicating a well-cared for home in which buyers can imagine themselves. Cleaning the inside and outside of windows not only refreshes a room, but it allows light to infuse the space while appealing to the move-in ready crowd.

• Closet spaces are not an afterthought.

Every prospective buyer wants storage options to maximize your list price, and you’ve surely led a home tour where guests inspect closets and pantries. Don’t let these hidden spaces go overlooked. Make sure they’re clean, cleared as much as possible, and you can even touch them up with fresh paint, a good scrub, or with the addition of new shelves or styled bulbs.

• Remove tough appliance stains with a bit of elbow grease.

If you’re packaging appliances with the sale of a property, you’ll want to make sure those big-ticket items are also in top shape to showcase their value. Stainless steel polish, electric cooktop polish, and stain removing pads for the kitchen sink can make your appliances look five years younger with nothing more than an hour or two’s labor.

• Organize garage and basement areas to maximize storage and hint at bonus space.

It may take a labor of love, but organizing and decluttering these special storage spaces can add significant value to a property. Instead of telling prospective buyers how much storage space there is—let these areas speak for themselves by giving them a neutral, airy bout of cleansing. That way, craft-lovers, car aficionados, and buyers with interest in renovating basement areas can witness the potential immediately.

Individually, these bit to-do list items might seem like extra work maximize your list price without the promise of a major return. But combined? These small tasks go a long way in crafting a home’s image and projecting pure potential to maximize your list price. After all, prospective buyers imagine their lives unfolding inside those walls. That’s why cobbling together these small-scale projects can have a big payoff in the end. Not only will a home present itself in a cohesive, attractively-packaged form, but it can also translate to higher interest and a significant pay-off—in more ways than one. To get more ideas check out Top Agent Magazine’s Facebook page.