How to Get the Most Out of Selling Your House
There are a number of things you can do to improve the sales
price of your house. It's not that hard, and the little things
will often go a long way in determining the price - perception
counts, and if you can make your house seem of a higher quality,
you'll get a higher bid.
First and foremost, clean. This is done surprisingly rarely -
all you have to do to get a much higher price is to hire a maid
to go through the house thoroughly to make it look spotless (or
do it yourself if you're so inclined). This makes a surprising
difference in price - you wouldn't think so, but many people
unconsciously will consider your house to be a dump without
realizing that they could just get rid of all the dirt and junk
in a day or so. Second, you need to put new paint on everything.
It's fairly cheap, and it will make the house look new. A new
coat of paint only takes a day or two to apply, and it will work
wonders on creating the perception you want - that your house is
brand new and thus worth more. Do anything that is cheap
improvement-wise. Polish any metal surfaces, to make them shiny.
If you have junky furniture, move out anything that is the most
trashy before you show it to people. It might be functional and
you might not care, but people will be thinking about what the
house will look like when they live there, and all their
imaginations will have to go on is what you have in the house.