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How to improve the value and saleability of a home

How To Sell Your Home For More Money In Less Time!!
This article is all about what you can do to present your home in the best possible light when you are trying to sell it.
· Replace older systems. Old systems are a fear of problems to home buyers
· If roof is old, replace it. Old roof brings the fear of problems again.
· Kitchens & Bathrooms sell houses. Clean, declutter, paint, update
· Drive up appeal; does your home have any? First impressions many times are the only impression you will get with home buyers. Plant flowers, re-mulch the flowerbeds, keep the lawn cut and trimmed, clean (power wash) the front steps, paint the front door.
· All walls and ceilings which have not been painted in 5 years need to be painted
· All Trim should be cleaned and painted (if trim is painted already, gloss paint is called for here).
· Clean your home as if NBC News was going to showcase it on the nightly news.
Another suggestion I have been made aware of is garage floor epoxy, It really does make a garage floor look nice and well kept, and does not cost much.
Just as an example here is a little background on my direct experience, back when we were in a sellers market (2005) I flipped a few homes and made good returns doing it. One of the homes I will now tell you about had been sitting on the market for 5 months without selling. The town house was about 17 years old, had 3 bedrooms 1.5 baths, the carpeting, paint, windows, kitchen, leaky roof, heating / air conditioning system & poorly working garage door opener, were in fair to poor condition.
Here is what I did:
Replaced the HVAC system, home buyers love new systems ($5,500)
Replaced the Roof, bragging point, Brand New Roof ($3,400)
Painted All Walls & Ceilings, Makes everything look fresh ($600)
Replaced all Carpeting, Bragging point Brand New Carpet ($2,300)
Replaced Kitchen Counter Tops, Inexpensive but nice neutral ($1,100)
Repaired Windows, some needed new glass, local repair shop fixed ($400)
Replaced Garage Door Opener ($200)
Replaced Kitchen Appliances With Mid-Grade Stainless Steel ($1,800)
Replaced all light fixtures with modern Home Depot purchased fixtures ($550)
Replaced some of the sink faucets, Home Depot again ($300)
Cleaned the place to showroom standards
Planted some nice annual flowers out buy the front door and in beds ($50)
Total Spent = $16,200
Results = Town Home put back on the market for sale in 5 weeks, Sold in 2 days, full asking price. Return Improvement Investment = Over 300%
What is my point? You can do this with your own home. You may not have the same things that need to be done. Here is a little exercise for you, step outside your home; pretend you are walking in as a home buyer. Look at your home as if you were thinking of buying it, what things do you see that you wish the homeowner had taken care of. Or have a good local Realtor or home stager come in and advise you on how best you could stage your home to achieve the best value if you were to sell your home.
A home stager likely will charge you a fee of about $250 for a 2-hour consultation session.
By : James Boyer    Five stars rating
Submitted 2008-11-19 05:05:59

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Written by James Boyer NJ REALTOR, Specializing in Morristown NJ Real Estate and the New Jersey Real Estate markets up and down the Midtown Direct New Jersey Transit Train Line. If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Northern New Jersey, look to your New Jersey Real Estate specialist.

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