Top Home Improvements to Help Sell Your Home Fast This Spring

What are the top home improvements that you can make to help your home sale fast this spring without breaking the bank? Having sold Real Estate in the Fairfax and Loudoun county areas for many years I find that these easy (and cheap) home improvements will greatly help you sell your home this spring.

Outside In

Curb appeal is hugely important in this highly competitive real estate market. It’s that first impression that can mean so much to those picky buyers. The wintertime is an excellent time to cut back those bushes and prune those large trees. This is also a good time to paint and caulk the outside of your home. I also find that hiring contractors is much easier in the winter than in the spring (also cheaper too!).

De-clutter:

While taking down those holiday decorations how about also taking down some of those personal photos and dusty neck-knacks? De-cluttering and de-personalizing will help homebuyers image themselves in your home rather than guessing who currently lives in the house.

Touch up:

As you are de-cluttering and de-personalizing think about also patching up those little scuff mark marks and holes in the walls. It always amazes me what people (including myself) will simply overlook. On a recent visit from my father in-law he reminded me that a bathroom fixture had been broken for over a year( which he told me about the last time he visited). The fixture just never made it to the top of my to do list. It only took 10 minutes of shaming and five minutes of adjusting the fixture with a screw driver to resolve the broken fixture.

Paperwork:

Regardless of whether you are going to attempt a short sale or doing a traditional sale you should start getting your paperwork in order. This could mean contacting your homeowners or condo association and ordering your re-sale documents (most associations now perform an inspection before issuing re-sale documents), getting payoff information from your lender, or calling your lender and asking for a short sale package.

Interviewing Realtors:

You should interview at least three Realtors before you hire one no matter how much you like that first agent. There are thousands of Realtors registered in the Washington DC Metro area (last year I counted over 35,000 just in the Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun County area). Take your time and ask lots of questions. Here is my take on Hiring a Super Realtor from a recent blog.

Start visiting:

I am a huge fan of showing homeowners who are about to list their homes other homes currently for sale. Doing this will give you a sneak peak at what is selling and what is not. This is also a great time to get ideas on how to stage your home as well. You can do these visits with a Realtor or you can just catch an Open House in your neighborhood. Don’t worry we Realtors know that you are coming;0)! New home builders model homes can also a good spot to get some home decorating ideas.

If you are even remotely thinking of selling your home this spring these tips can help you get started. Want more information on our local Real Estate market or would like a complementary Comparative Market Analysis on your home? Drop me a quick email I’ll be happy to help! As always I do not spam and will not give out your information to ANYONE!

Chuck

Serving all of your Ashburn, Chantilly,Fairfax,Herndon, Reston, Leesburg, Mclean and Loudoun County area Real Estate needs