Putting your home on the market this spring? Here are 5 things to consider that could hurt the sale of your home. Aside from removing your photographs like any good realtor will tell you, here are 5 other tips to consider when trying to sell your home.
1. Don’t have converted bedrooms This means rooms that are used for other things like closed or home gym.People need to be able to imagine themselves living in your home. Although using a secondary bedroom as a closet sounds heavenly to me, it may not to a potential buyer who has a couple of kids.
2. Don’t overdo your landscaping. It seems counterintuitive, no? Pretty landscaping would only want to make people move in your home more, right? Not necessarily. If potential buyers see an overdeveloped yard (think a fountain, koi pond, lots of plantings), it screams high maintenance and many may be scared off by something like that. Try to lessen all the landscaping if your yard is overdeveloped.
3. Don’t keep the hot tub – most think of sinking into someone else’s hot tub is pretty skeevy. And I don’t blame them. Mostly hot tubs are one of those things that seem like a dream but in reality hardly ever get used. Be prepared to get rid of it before putting your home up for sale.
4. Don’t have murals on children’s bedrooms. Sure, we all want to make our kids bedrooms fun and a place they love being that reflects their personality and things they love. Maybe they love nature and trees so you paint a tree and forest on the wall. Or maybe they love boats and you’ve got a nautical theme going on. While, it might be just what a potential buyer is looking for, and a match for their little, it could also be the exact opposite. And, a realtor wanting to play it safe may ask you to paint over any murals.
5. Don’t create textured walls. Unless you have to. When we purchased the home we are in now, it was severely dated, complete without of style wallpaper. Problem is, when we tore it off, it took some of the smooth drywall finish with it. If we wanted smooth walls to paint over, we’d have had to re-sand the walls. Instead, we choose to do a faux finish. Updating it with some fantastic peacock tile on the floor and backsplash, a vessel sink and granite counters, the faux finish fits in quite nicely. So, it may work for you.
I don’t think there is a definitive yes or no to many of the customizations homeowners make. If you’ve always dreamed about your child’s room being a certain design and have multiple Pinterest boards dedicated to this or your landscape design, then go for it. In my other home my faux finish red, yes RED, walls are one of the things my renters love the most!
