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.

Kitchen Islands in the Sun

Anonymous UK Homemaker - I'm loving my new house, and the best thing about it is the amount of natural light. The windows are enormous, and there are French doors all across the ground floor overlooking the garden. In the kitchen, I'm making the most of this by having my primary work space facing the doors so that I get a great view all the time.

I've always admired kitchens with islands, and now I own my own! It took a long time to decide on how best to use the island – with a sink, a hob, a split-level breakfast bar, or simply a work surface. In the end, I went for a plain and simple granite top so that I can spread out my ingredients when cooking, or clear everything away for eating. It's become my new favourite place to be for coffee breaks and culinary creativity alike, and as Spring arrives, the sun through the open doors is paradise.

Click to read more ...