How do you increase the re-sale value of your home? Let me share a buyer’s perspective.
We have just sold our home and are currently house hunting for another home. Having gone through this exercise a few times, I have found some house features that positively attract me to a house!
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White or near white freshly painted walls.
This provides a beautiful blank canvas and fits in with any style and colour scheme. Our last house was freshly painted – but in a warm buttercup colour. While the soft yellow suited the previous owner’s colour scheme, it did not suit mine. I spent far too much time trying NOT to paint over the freshly painted wall and try to make my furniture and furnishings fit in with this colour – with much frustration!
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Timber window frames or solid aluminum window frames.
By paying a bit more and installing either good timber or solid aluminum window frames, the owners actually increase the re-sale value of the place and re-coup their initial expense. There is nothing that reduces the perceived value of the house than cheap window frames. While it is well known that women focus on the state of the kitchen and bathrooms when buying a house, men invariably focus on windows and doors! So make sure the windows open and shut without creaking, there is no peeling paint and that these are good quality window frames.
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Furniture placement
One of the first things I do when I inspect a house is to visualize my furniture in the new home. Would it look good in the space and fit in the space? Ultimately, unless you plan to replace all your furniture (and let’s admit it, not many people do), a house which looks good with the furniture you already own comes up trumps every time.
But what does this mean for the seller? Declutter, declutter and declutter. The fewer pieces you have in your home, the easier it is for me to visualize how my furniture would look in the space. Simple really.
What do you look for when you are on the lookout to buy a new home?
Patricia
