Suppose you finally came to an important decision – this fall/winter is going to be the right time for selling your local neighborhood home. Â If you had been biding your time, watching other Maryland homes being listed and closed throughout the summer of 2015, you may also have been getting a head start on some major maintenance or remodeling projects that you knew would need be to be completed before you officially put your own place up for sale.
Hopefully, you may even have cleared away some extraneous furniture or décor items that had accumulated through the years, and made sure the landscaping was in good trim.  If you had done those things—de-cluttered, spruced up, cleared the decks, etc.—you would have been just about ready to contact an agent to get the show on the road…
But what if even all the prep work nonetheless left you with the feeling that the old place still wasn’t quite ready.  What if something still seemed to be missing: something you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but something that you just knew was needed to separate your home from the others listed on the current market.
Selling a house to yield its maximum value can be more art than science.  One of the skills that’s quite important is being able to envision what prospective buyers see.  Especially with older properties, selling a house that to you seems filled with comforting familiarity might seem worn out (or just plain used) to others.  Although many prospects do prefer older neighborhoods over newer ones, most folks also have a contradictory impulse: they truly appreciate the allure of the new over the old as well.  They may hanker for the mature landscaping and established community structures of older neighborhoods, yet simultaneously would prefer a place that seems freshly renewed, and even modern in some cases.
Fortunately, taking a few steps to make an older property ‘new again’ needn’t be hugely expensive:
- Cabinets – It’s relatively easy to put a fresh face on worn cabinet doors and drawers to rejuvenate a tired-looking kitchen.  You can find a wide range of reasonably priced panels that fit many cabinets.  Sometimes the same effect can be achieved by re-staining—or simply changing the cabinetry hardware (go for stainless or brushed nickel to achieve the look the majority of today’s Maryland buyers prefer).
- Appliances – Full kitchen remodels can be more expensive than is really practical, but sometimes much of the same effect can be achieved by simply replacing an old range, oven, dishwasher or refrigerator.  Re-facing appliances that are perfectly serviceable (especially stainless surfaces that can’t be rescued) is another budget-wise option.
- Plumbing Fixtures – Tired-looking sinks and fixtures can all but ‘sink’ the prospects of selling your Maryland house.  Sometimes the addition of stylish faucets and some fresh caulking can transform a kitchen, and change to entire look of a bathroom for a fraction of what a complete re-do would cost.
- Lighting Fixtures – Much like plumbing fixtures, updating various lighting fixtures throughout your home can be very cost-efficient and singlehandedly can change the whole feel of a room.  Whether you are changing the lighting in a bethroom, kitchen, living room, or anywhere else… Try to maintain a consistant theme or style, such as don’t mix silver plated fixtures with gold plated fixtures (it’s not the 80’s anymore)
So, as you close in on the time for selling your Maryland home, sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can help you see what still needs to be done—or, importantly, what doesn’t! When you are ready for an experienced opinion on what steps make sense and what ones don’t, turn to ExecuHome Realty. Born and raised in Maryland, ExecuHome provides the most localized and technology driven marketing approach to sell your home quickly and for the most money possible. We have helped over 20,000 Maryland homeowners purchase and/or sell their homes and we can’t wait to help you too. CALL US TODAY AT 443-632-3800
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ExecuHome Realty’s blogs are authored by Nick Schiaffino, Principal Broker/President, ExecuHome Realty
