We have talked at length about a few of the factors that matter in the sale of your home. Some of you may be saying to yourself, “Jeremy, many of those factors are out of my control or at the very least are out of my control right now (i.e. Lot Size) - What about my home itself?” So let’s talk about a few of the things you can do to help you get a quick sale for the price that you want.
First, let me start by pointing out that Buyers today come from everywhere, and by everywhere I mean all over the world! As I have mentioned before (can you hear my drum banging away?), people from all around the globe come to Vancouver to buy Real Estate. My website gets traffic from China, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Australia, England….. and I could go on. To those of you in these countries, THANK YOU for reading! The point here is that buyers have many different needs and wants based on their nature, nurture and culture, and capturing all of these is difficult. So how do you prepare your home here in the Tri-cities of Greater Vancouver: Coquitlam? Port Moody? and Port Coquitlam?
Let me start by saying that almost everyone I know watches or has watched HGTV which includes shows like Home by Design, House Hunters, Property Virgins, etc…. In my opinion, our society’s expectations have been unalterably changed. Quite simply everyone expects their “Castle” to be fit for a “King” and/or “Queen.” Everything must have its place, the lines must be crisp and clean and I should oooh and awww when turning every corner. In today’s world the aesthetic feeling generated by the home reigns supreme and new homebuilders throughout Vancouver affirm HGTV’s hold on our expectations. But really, who wouldn’t want to live in a pristine state of the art new home with new appliances, furniture that fits each room perfectly and seamless paint jobs that match the art deco on the wall. I would and I’m sure you would too!
Here is the truth of my situation though and maybe it’s your situation as well – I don’t live in a palace on the ocean with warm breezes wafting through the corridors thanks to the world famous architect who designed my home. Most of us, or at the very least myself, live in a little place called “Your City”, Canada. We may have nice things and for the most part we have loved where we lived. It has worked for our needs, and in many cases our wants, it is comfortable, and it is clean. It is not a 1 billion dollar palace, but is has been our home.
I am sure you are expecting a list of do’s and don’ts at this point, and if you would like one, please e-mail me at jkyle@remax.net with “Staging List” in the title.
Instead I am going to talk about the Big 4 of home improvement for creating value. The best way to create value in addition to de-cluttering and reorganizing is to: Paint, Re-do Flooring, Re-do Bathrooms and finally Re-do Kitchens. Each of these areas will give you a certain Return on Investment (ROI) depending on the market conditions. By far the best things that you can do when preparing your home if you have time is to PAINT and RE-DO Flooring. These are the least costly improvements you can do to your home, take the least amount of time to do and will most often bring you the largest ROI per dollar invested. Painting and flooring are also the least risky when trying to court prospective buyers because both are relatively cheap to change again so they are not necessarily going to cause a buyer to walk away. It is important though to make sure that you are up to date with the “Trends” of the day making sure that you are choosing relatively neutral colors and decent quality products. It is important to note that I am talking about an immediate selling situation, not the situation where one may be wanting to sell in a few years time.
Bathrooms and Kitchens, on the other hand, are a much larger investment and can pay off under a couple of circumstances. First, do it early. If you remodel your kitchen and bathroom by designing it differently, adding new cabinets, countertops, appliances and hardware do it early enough that you get to enjoy it! If you go through this right before selling your home you are not as insulated from the risk of the market shifting, which could cost you money. This is why people who flip houses often lose money. Second, choose classic colors. I know that you really want that pink granite but believe me when I say not everybody loves it the way you do, seriously. Fact is, colors, finishes and hardware matter. People notice. Thirdly, make sure the finishing is done properly. Do not cut corners, but spend the extra time or money getting the crown molding in your kitchen caulked properly. Finally, make sure it all goes together. There is a lot you can do but if your plan calls for the colors, wood and appliances to clash like chic does with grunge then forget about even starting. If you’re not sure about this call a designer or at least call me because it is a huge investment and you do not want it to go to waste.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!
As always, if you would like more information about my services or any properties that you are interested in, feel free to call me @ 604.561.4371 or e-mail me @ jkyle@remax.net
All the Best!
Jeremy Kyle MBA
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