7 Springtime Home Spruce ups to Boost Buyer Interest

One of the first things many homebuyers lookfor are the unmistakable signs of somethingcalled ‘pride of ownership.’ As a whole, it’s arelatively intangible concept: there are justhomes that have it - reeking of their owners’love and meticulous care for the property -- andhomes that, well, don’t.

1.Banish chips, scuffs and the like with a fresh coat of paint. I believe that eliminating nicks, scuffs and scratches on any painted or finished surface is one of the cheapest, easiest and most impactful spruces a seller-to-be can do. That’s because these little tiny blemishes create a shabby appearance on a home that might otherwise be in great shape, but can be entirely banished with a good washing and some fresh paint.

2.Brighten, polish and replace all trims. Oneday, I’ll do a scientific study, and I predict theresults will reveal that if you put two identicalhomes side-by-side and give one a set of tricked-out trims - exterior shutters, front door, eaves -even your house numbers, door knockers,kickplates and other exterior hardware - peoplewill rate the house with the beautiful trims wayhigher on the ‘pride of ownership’ scale thanyou’d expect.

3.Furry, drippy, noisy or broken HVAC systems. Maintaining your heating and air conditioning systems is not that expensive, but buyers think it is. In fact, your furnace and AC are precisely the sort of major household machinery that intimidate first-time home buyers. So, if they show up to the open house or a private showing of your home in June and the AC is making a funny knocking sound or just flat out doesn’t work well enough to keep the house cool, buyers might perceive that as a more serious red flag than it truly is.

4.Mend and tend to your fences, gates and screens. These items may not jump out at us in our own home - in fact, these are things I often see sellers skimp on or run out of time and money to tend to. And it’s easy to rationalize your way out of dealing with them, as they seem like relatively inexpensive fixes for buyers to make themselves. But screens with holes in them and gates that don’t budge or hang off their hinges are precisely the sorts of things I’ve seen make buyers walk back through a home looking for other flaws; and anything to do with fences makes them envision neighbor disputes over bills. You have the power to avoid sparking these concerns in the minds of house hunters by mending these items this Spring.

5.Doors, cupboards and drawers. One creaky door or squeaky cupboard does not kill a deal. But keep in mind that in some homes, other than the lights, these are the only functioning systems of your home that house hunting visitors will almost certainly use during the course of a viewing. Making sure your entry, interior closet and cupboard doors are in good cosmetic shape and that they work well and don’t stick is an easy, inexpensive way to position your home as a (literally) well-oiled machine.

6.Have everything cleaned and washed. Even themost immaculate of housekeepers can realize amassive refresh to the look, feel, smell and theoverall air quality of their homes by havingprofessional cleaners come take a tour through theplace. Springtime is a great time to ask your Realtorfor referrals to the best local vendors to power washyour house, windows and driveway, as well as tohave your carpets, rugs and window coveringscleaned. For those who are on a tight budget, manyvendors offer Spring cleaning promotions for theseservices right about now (and if your budget is eventighter, there are products you can buy andmachines you can rent to do these things yourself –just make sure you account for the value of your

time).

7.Shred it up. Some might say this is more like Spring cleaning than home maintenance, but I’ve noticed that the clutter of boxes and boxes of paperwork, old file cabinets and the like have a tendency to contribute to the sense that a listed property might be unkempt, the aura of stagnation. If you have no cash to do anything else on this list, one thing you can do for free is to go through all your files and boxes, get rid of old papers and shred anything with sensitive information.

Buyers: What items that fall under simple home maintenance catch your eye when sellers have –or haven’t – addressed them?

Sellers: What else is on your spring home to-do list?

Randy BettInvestment Realtor/Author/Investor

Real Estate Professionals Inc.Better Group Real Estate 202-5403 Crowchild Trail NWCalgary, AB T3B 4Z1

Phone:403-774-7464 Ext:1Fax:403-208-0082Toll Free fax:888-711-6801

Randy Bettwww.BetterGroupRealEstate.ca