The average American homeowner will spend $18,342 to sell their house, according to a new study by real estate research firm Zillow and Thumbtack. This cost includes fees you might incur due to closing costs and the oh-so burdensome preparation costs. When it comes time to sell your home, there are a few things you can do to bring these prices down. If you have kept up with regular maintenance, for example, you won’t be facing costly repairs that will lead to an expensive selling experience and you will likely be able to sell your home faster.
The Lowdown on Home Preparation Costs
Before a home is even listed on the market, many homeowners spend months and thousands of dollars preparing their space for showing. From decluttering and staging to pre-inspections, the need to prep a home in order to make a quick, easy and lucrative sell can be a costly endeavor. While it might seem like an expensive part of selling a home, it is actually necessary as it has been found that investing in things such as painting and staging can help a home sell quicker, up to 73%, and also increase its value. However, these costs can be spread out during home ownership by ensuring you are keeping up with proper maintenance of various important areas of your house.
The Importance of a Home’s Exterior
Maintaining the exterior of your home will be one of the most important aspects to attend to in order to sell it fast. As potential buyers will often make a judgment on your home when they first pull up to see it, the exterior should be well-maintained and in great condition, and experts note that making small upgrades over time serves a seller immensely. In fact, 92% of buyers noted that exterior lighting and other features were most important to them when purchasing a home. In order to sell your home fast, you will want to dedicate a budget for preparation costs and decide what most needs to be touched up and what will have the greatest impact on your potential buyers.
Where to Spend Your Time & Energy
If you are going to focus on the exterior of your home, you will want to hone in on a few special spaces. Illuminating a well-manicured lawn and a remodeled or well-maintained roof with exterior lighting can help grab potential buyers’ attention before they even set foot inside the house. Installing new roofing on your property can increase it’s value by up to $12,000 as well as add a creative architectural upgrade that will be aesthetically pleasing and attractive to buyers. If you don’t need a new roof, however, it is certainly recommended to inspect it regardless to ensure the structure and quality are not compromised. Hiring a professional roofer is a great investment in this aspect, as is hiring a stager. Other outdoor spaces, such as a patio and garage space were noted as being important to buyers as well, so focusing on the exterior is overall a great idea when preparing your home to sell or even staging it.
Presenting a Well-Maintained Home
There’s no doubt that the presentation of a home impacts the value and speed with which it is sold. By staying on top of routine maintenance to both the interior and exterior features of your home throughout the years, you can save money in the long run. Making small changes and upgrades here and there is a great way to ensure that when it comes time to sell, you have a well-maintained home to present that won’t be too costly to put on the market.
