Should You Fix Your Home or Sell it As Is?

You’ve decided to sell your house. Congratulations! 

The next step is your appraisal. It’s time to figure out how much your house is worth. Your home, land, neighborhood, and more will be evaluated and considered when your position your home on the real estate market. Professionals like those at LAWSON & CO can help determine the best selling price for your home.

Do you have an outdated kitchen or old carpet in the living room? Now might be a good time to decide if you are going to fix your home or sell it as is. The good news is that there are a lot of DIY things you can do that are cheap and easy. These five things will immediately increase the value of your house.

Fix Your Home: 5 DIY Ideas

Here are some tips to update and fix your home with minimum cost and effort. Remember, house hunters aren’t seeking four walls and a ceiling. They are buying a lifestyle. Make your home look cozy and fresh with these tricks.

1. Look at the outside.

Look at your house from outside. First impressions are everything, so your house needs to look impressive from the street. Curb appeal is the number one way to get buyers into the home to take a look.

Think about hiring a professional landscaper if you can afford to. If you want to go the more frugal route, make sure you have a lush manicured lawn, fresh flowers, and a welcoming vibe from the sidewalk to the front door. Also, make sure your garage door works flawlessly before inviting anyone to inspect the home.

2. Clean everything.

Clean, clean, clean. Your house may be a minimalist’s dream, but if there is a layer of dust, potential buyers will notice. Get into all the tiny nooks and crannies, and even the top of the cupboards. No place is too small to clean when you want to fix your home.

3. How does it smell?

If you’ve cleaned everything thoroughly, it should smell fresh. There shouldn’t be any overpowering odors. No one will want to hang out and view the house with a strong smell in the air.

If you are trying to mask something that could be offensive, light a mildly scented candle or bake some cookies.

5. Set the stage.

Put away your collection of gnomes, or better yet, let us sell your collectibles for youat auction. Remove photos on the wall and hide photo albums. Take personalized things off the fridge. Put away shoes by the front door and hang up coats in closets. Buyers want to see themselves in the house. They don’t want to see your personal belongings.

• Do minor remodeling.
• Swap out fixtures in bathrooms and kitchens for a more updated, modern look. Everything should match nicely.
• Make rooms friendly and bright, either by pulling back curtains, or adding new light fixtures and lamps for ambiance. Indirect light creates a relaxing and inviting environment.
• Paint the interior. Use a unifying color to connect the spaces.
• If you have dark furniture, consider staging the home with lighter pieces to make a more pleasant atmosphere. Also, consider painting dark doorways a lighter color.
• Buy new linens such as bedspreads and towels. Add accent pillows for a pop of color.

As auctioneers and real estate professionals, we understand what it takes to fix a home and to sell it. These tips will increase the value of your home and get it sold quickly. 

Need help getting rid of some things while you’re cleaning up and preparing to sell your house? LAWSON & CO can help. Call us today at 317-745-6404 or visit our website. We can’t wait to see what you’ve done with the place!