If you’re trying to prepare your home to sell, then you probably already know that maximizing your home’s value is really the best way for you to get the most out of your home, monetarily speaking. While there’s not always a whole lot you can do about the the highway they laid down behind your neighborhood a few years ago or the power lines that seem to have accumulated since you first moved in, there are still things that you can do to preserve your home’s value, if not increase it.
1. Swimming Pools & Elaborate Landscaping
There are several factors that determine whether or not having a swimming pool will actually be a good or bad investment in terms of the value of your home. If you’re in a locale that supports having a swimming pool with sweltering, long summers — like we are! — then a pool in and of itself isn’t a bad idea. However, if your pool isn’t well maintained or if it bogarts all the space in your backyard, it might end up hurting more than helping. Keep in mind too that, for any potential buyers will small children or dogs, a pool might be a big negative for safety reasons. Does your pool have a safety fence or cover? If you’re going to have a pool, it’s important that it’s safe and clean. Buyers might also be turned off by the idea of having to care for a pool, as the maintenance is normally quite costly and labor intensive.
There’s a similar mentality for landscaping when it comes to maintenance. A highly customized and unique yard, laden with hard-to-care-for plants or requiring constant trimming to manage its aesthetics might actually act a deterrent for buyers, as opposed to an attraction. When tending to your yard, keep in mind that most buyers will probably care more about whether or not your yard has a healthy lawn (which is a prized asset here on the coast) than anything else, as well as the health of trees close to the house that could cause damage if they drop a heavy branch.
2. Poor Maintenance
Think of regular maintenance on your home as a requirement, because it essentially is if you want to protect the value of your home over time. When it comes time for your potential buyer to have their home inspection done on your home, all the little things that you’ve put off will add up, if they didn’t snowball into a couple of big problems, which will wind up costing you a lot more when you’re scrambling to close the sale on your house than they would have if you had just taken care of them when you actually had the time to research contractors and find the best rates. Poor maintenance can be a major contributor to decreased value of your home. Keep up with your home’s maintenance from the get-go with these helpful tips!
3. Overly Customized Kitchen/Bathroom Remodels
Upgraded kitchens and bathrooms can be a healthy boost to your home’s value, but not if they’re over the top or extremely personalized to your very specific taste. As we covered before with the swimming pools and landscaping, not all upgrades are instantly beneficial to your home’s value. You want to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible, and ornate faucets, “statement” sinks and professional-grade kitchen appliances might prove an obstacle to that. On the other hand, new appliances in the kitchen won’t improve your home’s value as much if the kitchen still has original linoleum floors, for instance, and your home doesn’t have a consistent feel to it.
4. Lackluster Curb Appeal
Just like having overly elaborate landscaping might act as a hindrance to buyers, so will a yard that looks barren and neglected. Admittedly, it can be fairly difficult to cultivate a lush, green lawn with the sandy soil and immense pine needles that we have to contend with, however, it’s not entirely impossible, and there are other ways to compensate for it. If you’re trying to raise your own luscious lawn, you’ll have to do a little research based on your soil type and the amount of sun/shade your lawn receives. Typically, in these parts, residents rely on several different strains of grass, typically bermuda, fescue or even ryegrass, among others.
If your yard is past the point of being salvageable, or, if you’re looking for a quick fix, potted plants are the way to go. You can also do your best to make sure that the actual exterior of your home is looking spiffy by renting or hiring pressure washing services to make sure that siding/shingles, fences, driveways and decks are clean and looking like new!
5. Bright Paint
Whether it’s on the interior or the exterior of your home, very bright and bold paint can be a turnoff for potential buyers. No matter how much you love your adventurous color palette, it can distract buyers from being able to actually picture themselves in your home, or the idea of having to repaint an entire house inside and out can deter buyers who are looking for a move-in ready home. Not sure where to start? Check out this neutral paints guide for ideas!
You can’t control everything when it comes to preserving or improving the value of your home, but there is still plenty that you can do! Need some help preparing your home to sell or looking for an agent? Give us a call at 1-800-533-1840 or email us at info@intracoastalrealty.com.