Don't Make These Mistakes That Decrease the Value of Your Home Sale

If you are planning to sell your home in the near future, you don't want to make any mistakes that will cause you to decrease the value of your home.  Once your home is on the market, what a buyer sees as a mistake may not be what you consider a mistake.

Here are a few mistakes home sellers will want to avoid to ensure you won't de-value your home.

Not Maintaining Appliances - You can sell a home "as is", which means the property in the condition to which the buyers initially see it.  Having lots of issues and repairs needed will definitely decrease the home's value.  Cleaning up appliances that are part of the sale is important.  If they are in bad condition, it's worth replacing them.

Going Wild with Color - Generally speaking, home buyers like paint colors that are neutral.  This conveys as a blank canvas for them which, upon moving in, they can paint the way they want.  Extra bold, bright, or non-traditional colors can scare them off.  Therefore, do not paint with neon green walls nor purple shag carpet.  If you have some bright colors going on, change to neutral.

Following Trends - We all get caught up in the latest design trends, but do we really know how long they will last?  If the trend is difficult to change, it could decrease the value of your home when you put it up for sale.  Home buyers will be thinking about how much money they have to spend to fix the trendy mistake.  Do make your home your style, but if you have plans to sell in the future, think about how renovations may impact the sale of your home.

Not Keeping It Cool (or Warm) - If you want buyers to come in and rush out of your home, either overheat or freeze them.  On hot days, make sure the home is aired out so that stale air can escape.  Hot, muggy, stifling homes are not fun to tour.  Turn the A/C on to a comfortable temperature to make sure your potential buyers are comfortable and take their time to really see your home.  This, in turn, should also apply to cold weather.  Keep the furnace at a comfortable temperature so they will linger and feel comfy.  (Realtor Hint:  69 degrees is the best temperature, for both A/C and furnace).

Not Sweating the Small Stuff - You do have to care enough to tend to smaller issues such as fixing a faulty light switch or replacing burned-out light bulbs.  Home buyers go through the home turning on lights, flicking switches, opening closets, cabinets, and drawers.  Keep small things like these in good working order...it's easy and it can help ensure an overall better opinion of your home.

Avoiding some of these mistakes can help prevent home buyers from thinking your home should be worth less than you do.