December 1, 2021 | Selling
Winter To Do List: 6 Home Improvement Projects For A Spring Sale!
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Planning on selling your house next spring? Winter is a great time to start prepping for a spring sale. Your home is also your investment, and when it comes time to selling, you absolutely want to get the most out of what you’ve put in. In today’s hot real estate market, homes are frequently selling well above asking, but there are some that don’t. The key difference is listing a home that is prepped and ready for the market on time for the peak season. Taking care of these minor items and doing small updates will show that you care about your home and new buyers will feel good about that as well. It’s all about the details!
In order to ensure your home is on track for the spring market, here are 6 things you should get prepped this winter:
1) Declutter
This is placed in the number one spot as this is easily the most time consuming, and difficult task to accomplish. When we say declutter, we mean getting rid of old furniture, old decor items, old bedding, old clothes, pretty much anything you don’t intend to take with you to your next home. One of the best ways to maximize your home sale is having professional staging. If your home is already de-cluttered when it’s time to start staging, then you are already way ahead. No one wants to be scrambling last minute to find storage for knickknacks or even trying to sell old furniture online. The key to a good staging is essentially to have a blank canvas. No family photos, no personalized decor and no clutter. It’s not personal, its that potential buyers need to be able to envision their new lives in your home from the moment they step inside. This is why it is so important to de-clutter early, and de-clutter well.
2) Get a home inspection
Discovering unexpected surprises 1 week before your house is set to go on the market isn’t ideal. If there are problems you can solve, solve them. We have seen this so many times, we cannot stress this enough. Hire a home inspector and get a home inspection done as early as possible, giving you time to fix any potential problems. A bad home inspection can knock tens of thousands of dollars off of the asking price as well as give potential buyers a lot of leverage during negotiations. It’s best to go into the market knowing exactly what you have to work with. The earlier you have a home inspection, the more lead time you have to correct any potential issues. Often we see sellers surprised with items discovered in the home inspection. Many Toronto homes are over one hundred years old, it’s not a bad idea to just check under the hood sooner than later. Even something as small as a bit of water damage in one corner, can make or break a sale. Trust us, we’ve seen it happen and it’s not ideal.
3) Spruce up your kitchen
One of the easiest ways to add value to your home is by sprucing up the kitchen. A good coat of paint and quick hardware update can go a long way. Save your money for your next home, by investing some time and energy into a kitchen update. Paint the cabinets, add new door handles and if necessary, maybe even update your appliances. They say the two most impactful rooms are the kitchen and the bathrooms. Keep these updated, clean, modern and functional and the rest is easy. This is a great project to get done over the winter.
★ For more on the process of selling your home read:
4) Update your light fixtures
Still have that track lighting from 1997? It’s time for an upgrade. Pot lights are always in style, however they are a bit more of an investment. If this is within your budget, we say go for it. Pot lights are a selling feature no matter what year it is. However, if this is outside of what you are prepared to do, a simple fix to update a room is with a modern, interesting light fixture. This is a big trend in home design over the last few years, a quick scroll through Pinterest will show you and inspire you, no doubt. Listing a house for sale with all new light fixtures is always a selling point.
5) Refinish floors
This is a project that will pay off in spades. Many of Toronto’s old homes still have their original, or close to, hardwood flooring. You’d be surprised what a quick refinish can do. It really is quite transformative. Depending on the size of your home, this is something you can complete yourself, or hire someone to do for you. This is cheaper than installing new flooring, which likely isn’t necessary, nor an expense you need to take on to list your home for sale. A quick sanding, staining and voila, what’s old is new again.
6) Paint
Nothing updates a space more than a fresh coat of paint. This is perhaps the easiest of all of our tips and the most bang for your buck. A good rule of thumb is to choose neutral colours, and steer clear of any bright or very dark colours that might not be to everyone’s liking. A neutral palette will work with any furniture and decor you may have as well as any staging that will be done when it comes time to list.
★ For more seller’s resources read:
If you aren’t sure where to begin, start looking for a realtor. A knowledgeable realtor can guide you on what updates are necessary, nice to have and not really worth doing.
We always say it is never too early to hire a realtor, many of our clients reach out to us well in advance and we are always happy to consult on home improvements to be done ahead of listing day.
These six things might sound daunting, but when done over a period of time, during the winter, it’s not so bad and you will be well ahead of the game when you’re ready to list.
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