SELLING YOUR HOME WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK: 10 LOW-COST IDEAS
House Selling on a Budget, Beyond Your Wildest Themes
A lack of funds hinders many homeowners from listing their homes confidently, or even at all. A home’s fine details can also catch the attention of buyers. It’s not just major renovations that make a house stand out. Here are some budget-friendly tips for selling your home.
1. Curb Appeal: How to Improve It
There is a reason why it is called “curb appeal.” A positive first impression begins with your home’s exterior and landscaping.
Examine your gutters for loose parts or clogs if they aren’t in good working order. Furthermore, check your gutters to make sure no flashing materials are broken or missing. The garage door and the window shutters on your home should be in good working order. The last thing you need to do to spruce up your yard is to cut the grass and trim your hedges.
It is often more cost-effective to replace parts of your gutters rather than replace the entire gutters. Starting prices for gutters and downspouts begin between $6 and $8 for 10 feet. For as little as $19, you can get a decorative garage door hardware kit that can cost up to $1,000. It is also possible to fix a garage door yourself if you or a loved one are particularly handy.
2. Get Your Front Door (And Doorbell) Noticed
It is well known that first impressions matter in life and during open houses as well. The front door may not always be the first place prospective buyers enter a home, but it’s still the first thing they see. While the REALTOR® fiddles with the lockbox, the buyer is looking around.
Doorbells usually cost $10 or more and exterior paint starts at $30 per gallon.
3. Each entrance must be evaluated
Doors are a great investment visually. As an interior door update or at least a replacement of hinges and knobs should be considered by homeowners. In addition, he recommends changing any junky bi-folds to solid-core or double-swing doors.
An unfinished pine interior door costs $99. Bronze door hinges can be $3.
4. Be sure to look down
The flooring will catch the attention of buyers as they remove their shoes and wipe their feet. If your carpets are stained, your rugs are dirty, or your floors are scratched, these are easy things for you to fix before an open house.
Area rugs can be purchased from your local hardware or furniture store for around $100, and carpet steamers can be rented for $60.
5. Scent Selection
Candle aisles at the grocery store are filled with different scents that you might find compelling or comforting. Remove any nose agitators and avoid asking: “What is that smell?”
Keep your pet’s necessities clean, especially the litter box for cats. It is important to keep cages for small caged animals clean, including hamsters and guinea pigs. Make sure you bathe your pets before any showings if you’re living in the home during the sale – just in case potential buyers mistakenly associate your home with a wet dog smell.
It’s a good idea to clean out your refrigerator as well – no one wants to see what’s in there! Don’t let your kids’ stinky sports equipment stink up the basement or garage.
Choose a scent you love and use it throughout your home once you’ve eliminated any potential for house stink. When using a candle, room spray, or plug-in, make sure not to use too much fragrance or combine too many scents.
Plug-in odor eliminators start at $17; scented candles cost $10.
6. The Quick-Clean and Spot Treatment
As well as being a great canvas, walls also reveal age, dirt, indifference, and even structural issues. Make sure all scuff marks, nail holes, and paint cracks are repaired. Removing peeling wallpaper and repainting it in neutral colors to maximize natural light.
Paint costs as much as $28 per gallon for interior paint. Spackling paste starts at $18 per tube.
7. Place Everything In Its Place
It can be hard for potential buyers to envision themselves living in your home after a showing when clutter reminds them of the current owners. Clients should remove at least a third of their closet contents. You should keep everything out of sight – shoes, coats, papers, pots, pans – neatly tucked away.
Basic shelving systems begin at $200; attractive bins and baskets cost $20 and up.
8. Be sure to check your drawers
Similarly, you wouldn’t want potential buyers to open a cabinet or drawer that sticks or jams since you wouldn’t want an ill-working doorbell. So, if you’ve learned to live with a lopsided utensil drawer, just know that your buyers might not be able to.
If you can’t afford the cost of new cabinetry, just fix dangling handles and screws, and replace dangling drawer slides.
Decorative cabinet knobs start at $4 per piece, whereas rail-drawer-track kits start at $3.
9. Shine up your appliances
Cleaning your home before hosting guests may seem like common sense, but the kitchen is a space that often goes unnoticed. Make sure you clean the refrigerator, microwave, oven, stovetop, sink, and any other appliances included in the sale. Rather than last week’s tuna casserole, buyers will want shiny new appliances.
You can get elbow grease for free, whereas most cleaning products start at $4.
10. Add some finishing touches
Renovating a bathroom can be costly, but replacing faucets, showerheads, towel racks, and toilet paper holders can make a significant difference. In contrast to satin nickel or oil-rubbed bronze, chrome faucets and shower valves match any chrome accessories. Additionally, she suggests buying new shower curtains, hand towels, and bathmats to improve the room’s appearance.
The cost of a showerhead can be up to $40; towels start at $10; faucets can be up to $70.