Today, we’re answering a question from Bob, who asked, “For those of us who may not be planning to list our home now, what are the things we should do inside and outside of the home in priority order? What repairs, improvements, etc., should be made in order to get the best return later?”

We covered how to begin this process in an earlier video by talking about cleaning off your surfaces. That was step one.

The next step is to look at the surfaces of your actual property, meaning the walls and the floors, and clean them up. Is the paint peeling? Is it colorful enough? Look at your carpeting for stains and rough patches that need to be cleaned.

You want the house to feel crisp and clean when a buyer walks in. If it’s dirty or something is chipped, it’s not going to look clean and fresh. Believe it or not, this puts a huge damper on the offers you get, and it might prevent you from getting any offers at all.

As an example of this effect in motion, I recently had the task of selling a house that was pristine, priced correctly, and staged correctly. The only problem was that its kitchen and one of its bathrooms were painted dark orange. I told the owner, in no uncertain terms, that a $2,000 repaint job would net her an extra $40,000. The owner agreed to repaint, but she didn’t get that extra $40,000—she got an extra $60,000.

Little things like that can make all the difference. Be on the lookout for my next video where we move onto phase three of the smartest things you can do to get your home market ready. If you’re thinking of buying or selling in the meantime, feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. I look forward to talking with you!