5 Must Do Repairs When Selling Your Home

Selling your home these days is a lot harder than it used to be. There are a lot of reasons for this, but mainly it is because new homebuyers are coming out of the woodwork. They have the tools and the insider knowledge, they have the Internet to do research and, after the last economic collapse, they are more weary and cautious. No one wants to make a bad investment and no home seller want to lose out on finding a buyer, because everyone knows that if you don’t sell a home fast it will sit on the market for possibly years. Luckily there are a number of home improvement measures you can take before you even list your home on the market in order to attract buyers. Here are 5 must do repairs when selling your home.

1. Paint the exterior of your home. Homes are like people, if it doesn’t make a good first impression, people will think negatively of the entire property – even if the interior is immaculate. Not only should you repaint the exterior of your home, but you should also fix the details too, like broken blinds and shutters and, of course, broken windows.
2. Patch all holes and dents in your walls. If you have an older home, one of the best ways to turn away buyers is to show how old your home actually is with all the signs of aging in the walls. Fixing holes – either from hanging picture frames or moving furniture – is easy. All your need is some spackle and a putty knife. Place some spackle on a putty knife and then smooth it out over the hole and you have effectively repaired your wall. You can do a final sanding with some light sandpaper and then give the wall another coat of paint.
3. Replace the carpet if the previous tenant was a smoker or had pets. Pet smells, especially urine, and smoke are impossible to get rid of. You can do a deep cleaning of the carpet, but the smell will always slightly linger. If there is hardwood under the carpet, however, you can save a lot of money by not replacing it. In fact, hardwood can be a great selling point when it comes to selling a property.
4. Make sure to fix the roof. Whether you have a terracotta roof, shingles or tiles, it is important to make sure there are no big missing spaces. If you are selling a home in Texas and you state on an Austin flat fee MLS listing service that the house might need a new roof, you probably won’t get that many curious buyers. A beautiful roof is always a great way to impress homebuyers.
5. Redo the kitchen. Today, when a buyer is looking for a home they don’t want an old-fashioned kitchen with old-fashioned appliances. It is recommended that you not only get all brand new stainless steel appliances, but also give the cabinets a fresh coat of paint or stain, and replace the countertops with granite or marble.