These Features Will Help Your Home Sell Faster
If you’re planning on selling your home and moving some time in the near future, you should think about the features in your house, and whether or not buyers want what you’ve got. Yet a lot of home buyers might be hesitant to blow money on upgrades if they don’t plan on taking advantage of them for long.
Think about it, the cost you incur to make these upgrades might be a lot less compared to the loss you’ll take upon the sale of your home if you don’t include certain features that buyers in your area desire. It really can mean the difference between getting the price you want, and letting the listing go stale.
Here are a few popular features that will most likely help you sell your home faster.
Gourmet Kitchen
The kitchen is always a huge selling point for homes. Buyers love it when they walk into a home and see a kitchen masterfully outfitted with updated features and appliances. Kitchen makeovers are always at the top of the list when it comes to the biggest ROI.
What exactly sets a typical kitchen update apart from a gourmet kitchen?
Three features are a part of this equation:
1) Cutting-edge appliances
2) Gorgeous surfaces
3) Tons of storage
You can’t call a kitchen ‘gourmet’ if it’s not equipped with a top-of-the-line gas range and deep refrigerator. Don’t forget the convection double oven, warming oven, and microwave drawer – gourmet cooks appreciate having these features in their kitchens. At the very least, consider installing stainless steel appliances, which are always sharp-looking and make a statement.
When it comes to the surface that cooks like to work on, consider stainless steel or stone counters. If these aren’t in the budget, you can mimic the look with a laminate. People who watch all those home improvement or cooking shows expect kitchen to look like the ones on TV.
Potential buyers will definitely be going through all the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. Those with ample space will always score big points.
Energy Efficient Appliances, Windows and HVAC Systems
Buyers are savvy these days, and they are increasingly expecting homes to feature energy-efficient windows and appliances to help shave the cost off their monthly utility bills.
Energy Star windows come with an invisible glass coating, vacuum-sealed gaps with inert gaps, durable weather stripping, and high quality framing materials – all of which can help to cut down energy costs by as much as 15%.
‘Green’ HVAC systems can cut 20% off your annual utility bills, and can provide efficiency even in extreme hot or cold weather conditions. The cutting-edge technology used to adjust heating or cooling can manage the air temperature in the home for the ultimate in comfort, while using the least amount of energy possible.
Refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers are all energy-suckers, which is why making the switch to energy-efficient models makes sense. You can save a few hundred bucks at the end of the year by opting for appliances that use less energy to complete the same tasks as their non-energy-efficient counterparts. And the government might even pitch in with incentives if you choose to make the switch.
Knowing that your home is easy on the environment and affordable to operate is a huge feature that buyers look for.
Backyard Deck
After checking out all the rooms in the home, buyers love ending off their tour by walking out to an expansive and well maintained deck in the backyard. Millennials in particular have come to expect this feature, so give them what they want and build one if you haven’t already got one.
Even if you’ve got a teeny tiny yard, that doesn’t mean you can’t install one. A deck that fits a couple of chairs and a little table is just enough to provide an outdoor living space. Aside from pressure-treated pine (which is a common material used in building home decks), there are other materials you can consider using, including concrete or composite materials that require less maintenance than wood.
Throw in a few built-in pot lights and you’ll thoroughly impress buyers.
Open Concept
Plenty of homeowners with a separate formal dining room rarely use the space. Actually, scratch that. It is used, but more often for storing junk than for actual sit-down dinners.
These days, millennials prefer an open floor plan with minimal walls that cut off the space. Instead of a separate dining room, living room and kitchen, consider knocking down a few walls to open up the space and bring in more light.
Not only is an open floor plan brighter and more functional, it’s also more conducive to interaction among everyone in the home. Parents can keep tabs on their kids better, and guests can socialize amongst each other regardless if one is in the kitchen and the other is in the living room.
Storage Space in the Garage
Garages aren’t just for storing vehicles – they’re also hugely depended on by homeowners to store things. This is especially true for young couples with growing families. In addition to the basement, the garage tends to be depended on to store all those big items, like strollers, bikes, patio chairs, boxes of old toys, and other things that you’d rather not lug up the stairs from the basement.
Additional storage in the garage allows homeowners to ensure that the inside of their homes is not cluttered and much more organized. After all, the less stuff you have in the house, the less organizing and tidying up is necessary.
Adding this extra storage is easy, and you don’t need a massive garage to make it happen either. All you need is some cabinetry, a peg wallboard to hang your tools, and some lighting to make finding your items a cinch.
Not only should you eliminate features in your home that are considered outdated and unattractive (popcorn ceilings and peeling vinyl floor tiles, that means you!), you should seriously consider incorporating some of the above features to attract the masses of buyers. In addition to these features, there are plenty others that can do the trick to bring in the offers. Consult with your real estate agent for more tips and ideas to get your home sold quickly.
