Inexpensive ways to improve your chances for a quick sale at a top price.

Fresh paint can be your best friend when getting your home ready for sale!  Painting can actually be one of your best investments when deciding what to do to spruce up your home before selling.   It is not as expensive as other improvements, and often a home seller can do it themselves.  It is important to do a professional looking job if you choose to do the work yourself.  Doing a poor paint job can actually harm you, so take the time to tape and do it right!  Don’t choose colors based on your own preferences.  It is best to choose neutral colors and actually off white or one of the updated taupes or tans is ideal!  Ask your realtor to stop by and give their opinion if you are having touble deciding.  I would always prefer to help my clients up front than have to tell them later that they need to change the color that they just applied to their walls. 

Check your ceilings and walls for any old water stains and make sure you take care of these with a sealant so they don’t bleed through the new paint.  I often have people tell me the leak as been fixed, but they have never repaired the paint.  It is important to not only fix the leak, but make sure that the area looks repaired correctly and freshly painted. 

As the next step, take a good look at your carpeting.  Many times a good cleaning will suffice.  I often have people tell me they will clean the carpets for the new buyers after they move out.  But, the best time to clean is before putting the home on the market.  If your carpet is so worn that it won’t clean, another good investment that will give good return on you dollar is a neutral, new medium grade carpet. Competing with new construction is always difficult for exhisting homes, but homes in the Dunlap and Peoria markets that have fresh paint, clean updated carpets and are decluttered will always compete well!

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