How You Can Compete with Other Homes for Sale

Selling a home entails numerous factors. For instance, you need to take into consideration what housing market you’re dealing with. Looking at Austin homes for sale, for example, requires you to study the Austin real estate market. You need to prepare your property so you can effectively compete against the real estate industry in your area. No matter where you're selling your home, you can do a few things to improve the chances of your house being sold for a higher price. Doing this doesn’t have to cost you a lot. You just need to be creative and resourceful. Here are a few tips that you might find helpful.

1. Maintenance Tips for Outside the House

In order for you to sell your home at a higher rate, you need to create a good initial impression.  Create curb appeal, which means making your home more appealing and attractive from the outside.  Simple acts like having a good wreath, a new doormat, or even a finely swept covered entrance will make prospective buyers feel warm and welcomed.  Create that cozy and homey feeling that will allow them to imagine the house as their own.

2. Maintenance Tips for Inside the House

Selling your house may involve keeping the property well maintained at all times. You need to show the prospective buyers that your house has been well kept and treated with the utmost care. If you maintain the upkeep on the inside of the house, you're more likely to receive higher offers, and there will be higher chances of getting your house to sell. You should try to make small renovations and alterations, but they don’t need to hurt your pocketbook. A little refurbishing of certain areas that have scratches and slight freshening up of places that make your house look dilapidated almost always does the trick. 

One more way of keeping the house well maintained is to simply keep it clean and spotless! This may seem like something every homeowner who intends to sell their houses should know, but a lot of properties are put up for sale with an unkempt appearance. Keeping your house in an immaculate condition can add to its value.

3. Maintenance Tips for Frequently Used Rooms

Both the kitchen and bathroom are critical places when it comes to showcasing your house to prospective buyers. The kitchen is the place where the family gathers together and spends quality time with each other. This is also the place where homeowners welcome their houseguests, so it's important to have the kitchen in perfect condition. To make it really attractive, you can set up new kitchen counters and install modern appliances. If you can’t afford these kinds of things, you can simply do some deep cleaning to improve the kitchen’s appearance.

The same thing applies to your bathrooms. Scrub your showers and baths clean to make them look bright and pristine. Make the bathrooms look clean and fresh. There’s nothing more off-putting than a dirty bathroom!

4. What to Do with Furniture

Free your house from clutter. Remove any unnecessary and extra furniture. You want the buyers to see the beautiful layout of the house, and that will never be achieved if your home is overstuffed with furnishings. Extra space will allow prospective buyers to imagine a home’s possibilities, and that's a good thing!

So, now you have a roadmap to follow to give your house a competitive edge in this market. You can now painlessly renovate your home to get it ready for sale while staying within your means. If you follow all the previously mentioned home renovation tips, you'll sell your house a lot sooner than you expected.

Still Time to Find the Perfect Summer Home

Megan Gates - Even with Labor Day in sight, there is still plenty of summer left for people to enjoy a vacation getaway. Renting a summer home is a great way to get out of town, live like a local, and gather with a bunch of friends and family. Whether you own a property near the ocean, a lake, or a destination city, what sort of summer home are people looking to rent?

Summer homes are meant for people to enjoy time together. Having a house with an open concept, especially in areas like the living and dining room, are beneficial for achieving that goal. The negative aspect for having a house that is too open is that people also crave privacy, especially if they are sharing the space with a lot of other people. There lies the benefit of having more closed off rooms, privacy. The negative side of a more closed concept can make a property feel smaller than it is.

When it comes to functionality, no one wants to go to a summer home and fight over bathroom time like they do at home. Renters want something different than what they’re used to at home and usually more luxurious. Having a property with a lot of bedrooms makes a great vacation home to rent because people tend to vacation with friends and family. The housing trend for this year calls for bigger, more luxurious bathrooms. Having a lot of bathrooms or adding one may not be always be an option in a rental property. However, giving whatever bathrooms are available a face lift to give them a spa feel would be a must have for renters.

A hot trend of new homes is outdoor living space. This doesn't include your typical space of plastic patio furniture and pink flamingos in the garden. People want outdoor kitchens, living rooms and garden rooms. The outdoor space can now be created to be an extensive of your property's square footage instead of a separate area. In terms of flow, keep the outdoor kitchen close to the indoor kitchen.

When it comes to interior design, work with what you have. If you own a home on a beach, play up the beach theme by using inspiration but all the water and sand elements around you. If you have a cabin on a lake, use the natural elements and colors around you for design inspiration. Remember that renters are looking for luxury when they vacation so trying to incorporate a lavish feel into the rooms is a benefit.

With these design tips, your property will become as hot as the summer heat and rented just as quickly. Share any other summer home tips below!

Megan Gates is an active blogger and handles communications on behalf of Elliman.com. She provides written work to the blogosphere pertaining to New York Luxury Real Estate, Long Island Rentals, and the latest in architecture, design and fashion. Follow her on Twitter @ MEGatesDesign.