Sell Your House Quickly

In a hurry to sell your San Antonio property? Most families know that conducting a few renovations is optimal for selling a home quickly and for above market expectations. But knowing which changes to make is where many of us feel at a loss.

To save you time and money, we’ve put together a checklist of the house renovations that you should prioritize. These are the most consistent and easiest to implement tasks that can significantly drive up the allure of most properties.

Your real estate agent will be responsible for marketing your home, but you can also take a few steps to make your home one of the most desirable in the San Antonio real estate market. That means once you’ve chosen , it’s time to put your money and energy toward capturing the attention of families looking to buy.

Here is a 10-point checklist that you can use to make your San Antonio home a quick sale:

Exterior redesign checklist:
You only have one chance at a first impression. Beef up that curbside appeal to catch the attention of every homebuyer. By doing so, you could add thousands of dollars on to your home’s value. Here’s how you’ll do that:

1) Trim, plant, and water the plants
Show prospective homebuyers the vibrancy of your home by adding some natural, green elements to the outside of your house. Plant flowers. Trim bushes. Water everything to maintain that lush image of a perfect home garden.

2) How’s your driveway?
A dirt-crusted driveway does not reflect the warm welcome you want home-shoppers to experience as they pull up to your house. Rent a pressure cleaner or hire the experts! An expert with a surface cleaner can transform the look of your driveway and sidewalk in a matter of one or two hours. It might sound insignificant, but a beautiful driveway and pathway can add a significant amount to the value of your home.

3) Clean and show off your windows
A good, vinegar-based window cleaner will suffice, but again, we recommend the experts. The right window cleaning team can make your windows look brand new.

When you trim your bushes, make sure you show off those windows. It looks better from the road and increases the lighting of the interior of your home (more on that later).

4) Freshen up the walls
Follow through with this tip before window cleaning. Your home may not need new exterior paint, but at the very least you should clear away cobwebs, wasp nests, or dirt from the walls of your house. Use a broom, a hose, or – if your home surface is stucco, not wood – use a low pressure on the pressure washer to clean the exterior of your house.

If your home could use a fresh coat of exterior paint, choose a neutral color and hire a professional. Having to paint around bushes and avoid splashing paint on windows and gutters are reason enough to save yourself the sun-immersed hours it will take to repaint the outside of your house.

Interior redesign checklist:
Now that you’ve impressed home shoppers with your home’s fresh exterior, drive the sale home with a spectacular interior. Here’s how to present families in the San Antonio real estate market with the house they want to buy.

5) Enhance the lighting
After improving curbside appeal, illuminate the interior of your home. Families love stepping into a house with strong lighting. Take down curtains, trim bushes that block the sun from coming through your windows, clean your windows, add lamps, and replace bad or low-emitting bulbs. Brighten your home so it can brighten your day when it sells!

6) Bring out the paint
Exterior paint may be optional, but interior paint is a must. Painting is a relatively simple task that completely transforms the inside of your home. Pick a neutral color. Make sure to tape off frames, carpet, and ceilings – we’re never quite as good with a brush as we hope to be.

7) Eliminate the small problems that distract from the overall quality of your house
This means pulling out the spackle to plug any holes in the walls. It means using WD-40 on doors and windows that don’t budge – or that make obscene noises when they do. It means replacing trim, faucets, air vents, and fans.

8) Give the appearance of ample space
No one will complain about too much storage space, but families will avoid purchasing a home entirely if they think there isn’t enough room for all their appliances, toys, clothes, and other knick-knacks.

Make sure every closet is half-empty, organized, and shows at least a portion of the floor. If a prospective homebuyer finds a nearly-overflowing closet, it’ll communicate to them that their own stuff won’t fit in the home. Rent additional storage if you must, but get your stuff out of the house before shoppers come by.

Also, place mirrors around your home. This not only helps small rooms appear larger but also makes dark rooms appear brighter.

9) Give certain rooms special financial attention
If you are going to spend extra money to enhance the allure of certain aspects of your house, focus your money on the kitchen. Consider replacing the flooring, appliances, countertops, cabinets, and/or hardware. Potential buyers love the idea and look of a newly-refurbished kitchen.

While every room should be given attention, not every room is worth writing big checks to transform. Bathrooms, for example, historically have a lower return on investment than the kitchen, which tends to increase the selling cost of a home.

Clean and restore your bathrooms on your own with a small budget, but don’t put the large dollars into giving your bathrooms a full renovation. Prioritize that cash so that it comes back to you when your home sells.

10) Add a pleasant scent
A few scented candles can provide a pleasant fragrance to prospective home-buyers. For whatever reason, it seems that many people remember smells more distinctly than they remember experiences taken in through their other senses.

If you want to go the extra mile, make a batch of cookies or a pot of coffee before the real estate agent arrives with his or her clients. Leave a note that makes it clear that the treats are for them. Not only will this leave a generous impression of you as a homeowner, but it will also spread a delicious smell throughout the home that prospective shoppers won’t soon forget.