6 Quick Home Improvements
to Help Sell Your Home
By Suzie Wilson
When you’re selling your house, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by everything you need to do before putting it on the market. This can be made easier by breaking down your projects into doable sections that you can work on regularly. Before you jump into any home improvement projects, take some time to calculate your upfront costs, as well as how much it will cost you to move into a new place. This guide will help you choose how to best improve your house and sell it to the best buyer.
Selling Your Home
6 Quick Home Improvements
Break your projects into doable sections and work on them regularly.
Groom the Garden
Clean up dead plants and leaves, or add some flowers for curb appeal.
Spruce Up the Bathroom
A new toilet and vanity, a professional clean, or simple regrouting between tiles.
Clean the Vinyl
Brighten faded siding to noticeably improve the exterior. Inexpensive and doable.
Remove Carpet Stains
Call in a professional; experts recommend steam cleaning over shampooing.
Energize Your Home
An efficient showerhead or water heater appeals to energy‑conscious buyers.
Stage Your Home
Remove personal items and rearrange to set the mood and make a first impression.
Farm · Commercial · Home appraisals | Missouri · Illinois · Iowa
1. Groom the Garden
If your home has a garden, take some time to groom and beautify it. If the weather isn’t so accommodating, try to clean up dead plants and leftover leaves. Make it look clean and workable for future residents.
Even if you don’t have a garden, you can still add to the curb appeal by planting or adding some flowers. It doesn’t take much money to make a small garden area in the backyard, either. You can add a valuable feature to your home that will increase curb appeal and add a functional benefit.
2. Spruce Up the Bathroom
Because bathrooms are so small, they’re one of the least expensive areas to get some renovations going. You could buy a new toilet and vanity and have a plumber install it for somewhere around $1,000. You can also hire a professional cleaner who can clean the really tough areas in the house as well (these services average $160 per cleaning).
If you’re looking for something that’s a little cheaper but can breathe new life into your bathroom, regrouting between the tiles can be a simple and cheap way to add value to your home.
3. Clean the Vinyl
After a couple of years, vinyl siding can start to take on a dingy faded color from what it originally looked like. Cleaning it up will only take a little time and some effort to noticeably improve the exterior of your house. This is an inexpensive and doable option.
4. Remove Stains From Carpeting
Unsightly stains on your carpet will be a huge turnoff for buyers. To get your carpets looking their best, call in a professional carpet cleaner. This service typically costs $25 to $75 per room. Keep in mind that experts recommend steam cleaning instead of shampooing because shampoo cleaning can damage your carpet.
5. Energize Your Home
Reducing the energy requirements of your home is one way to attract new buyers. An article on the Balance recommends you change your showerhead for a more efficient one, changing flooring, or paint the exterior of your home.
Since water heating accounts for almost 16 percent of the average energy use in a home, getting a more efficient water heater is one way to appeal to more energy-conscious buyers and save money on your monthly bill.
6. Stage Your Home
Removing some of your personal items and rearranging parts of your house to stage it can help increase the selling price. Plus, it saves you work from decluttering when it’s time to move. Because first impressions are crucial to selling your home, staging your house can set the mood and make your home more appealing for buyers.
Selling Your Home
What These Projects Cost
Calculate your upfront costs before you jump into any project.
$25–$75
per room
Professional
carpet cleaning
$160
average
Professional
house cleaning
~$1,000
installed
New toilet and
vanity, plumber‑fitted
Low-cost wins
Garden
doesn’t take much money
Vinyl siding
inexpensive to clean
Regrouting
simple and cheap
Farm · Commercial · Home appraisals | Missouri · Illinois · Iowa
Get Ready to Sell, Bit by Bit
As you start the efforts for cleaning up your home and putting it on the market, try to do each project bit by bit. Look at which parts of the house need the most help and start there. With a few home improvements, you’ll be ready to sell your home in no time.
