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Maximizing Your Home’s Value as a Senior: Home Selling Tips

If you’re a senior looking to sell your home soon, you may be wondering how to maximize your home’s value so you can attract quality offers and sell faster. Fortunately, when you take the right steps, increasing your property’s value is easy. Discover how you can enhance your residence so you can sell your home quickly at a better price.  

Boost Curb Appeal

One of the best tips for selling your home is to boost its curb appeal. Investopedia defines curb appeal as “general attractiveness of a house or other piece of property from the sidewalk to a prospective buyer.” Though your house is probably very attractive already, look at your home from a prospective buyer’s point of view. New flooring or a fresh coat of paint can make a space appear more modern and appealing. Other easy upgrades like new lighting, fixtures and door or cabinet hardware can also make a low-cost impact. 

Your home should stand out to prospective buyers whether they are browsing online property listings or entering your residence for an open house. 

Complete Select Upgrades and Repairs

In addition to curb appeal, you want to consider making upgrades and repairs in your home. But you’ll need to be strategic with these upgrades. Although it may be tempting to completely remodel your kitchen, it may not be cost-effective to do so when you will be selling soon. Be wise with your style choices as well. Stick to classic or neutral colors. Let the potential buyer use their imagination on how they want to upgrade in the future. 

The following are minor upgrades and repairs to invest in to make your home ready for a sale.  

Install New Hardware

Installing new hardware is an economical way to enhance your property. This could include adding new cabinet knobs, bin pulls and mounting mirrors. Making these small changes can add a big impact to your home’s value.  

Refresh Paint and Flooring

A fresh coat of paint can bring new life to any room in your home. Remember to choose a neutral color. Unusual colors can be a turnoff for some prospective home buyers. White or off-white are popular hues that can help a small room look bigger. White also creates a beautiful contrast with hardwood floors. 

Hardwood floors are a major attraction for potential buyers and are often the deciding factor for putting in an offer. If you have hardwood floors you want to ensure they are in good condition. If they need refinishing or repair you should consider making the investment. Hardwood floor upgrades have the best return on investment. The National Association of REALTORS® Research Group’s 2022 Remodeling Impact Report disclosed the “highest percentage cost recovered…from refinishing hardwood floors… [was] 147 percent, [and] new wood flooring [was] at 118 percent.” 

Keep Up Regular Maintenance 

Regular maintenance is important in keeping your home in good condition whether or not you are planning on selling in the future. With regular maintenance potential issues in a home can be caught before they become more expensive to fix. Before you put your house on the market, you may want to consider getting a home inspection. This will help you understand the current condition of your property and plan for any repairs if necessary. 

Start Decluttering Early

As you work on enhancing your home’s look for property viewings, don’t forget to set aside time to declutter your home. When you’ve lived in a home for decades it can be easy to accumulate items. Make decluttering easy by sorting your belongings into three categories: Keep, donate or sell. While you work on decluttering, think about your future plans. If you are downsizing to a smaller home or moving to a senior living community you may not need as many items in your new residence. 

Stage Your Home

Last and maybe the most effective step you can take to increase your home’s value is by using a professional staging service. Staging transforms your already beautiful home into an inviting space that looks ready to move in. This helps create an emotional connection between the buyer and your home. This connection can motivate a buyer to put in a deal faster. To create an engaging environment the staging company may remove furniture, add statement pieces and change lighting fixtures. Give your home the proper “stage” to be sold faster.

Experience Sophisticated Living at Claridge Court

Once you’ve successfully sold your home, it’s time for you to move to a new residence where you can begin your next adventure.  At Claridge Court you’ll enjoy a care-free retirement experience unlike any other. And the best part is you wouldn’t have to think about cleaning, cooking or maintenance again. Instead, you get to enjoy delicious, healthy meals prepared by award-winning chefs, host parties in your elegant apartmentt and stroll through our beautiful gardens. Contact us to see what elevated retirement can be like at Claridge Court.

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