Selling

1) Add power outlets with USB ports in rooms of which lack them, especially in the kitchen, bathrooms, and bed rooms where they’re most necessary. Younger, more tech-savvy couples and individuals love these individuals.

2) Eliminate acoustic popcorn-style ceilings. They simply look dated and unattractive.

3) Remove exposed posts and half walls. Today’s consumers want more space, and partial walls and posts gobble up room. The one walls that should remain are people who offer privacy or hide electrical wires or plumbing contractor stacks.

4) Update wiring for the net and flat-screen TVs. You don’t need to run CAT-5 through rooms, which can be costly and require opening and closing and repainting rooms. Instead, find a place to put a wireless router.

5) Clean carpets and wood floors since they’re the first part of an area that buyers check out there; you don’t need to replace them unless they’re within terrible shape. A good carpet heavy steam cleaning or wood floor waxing may be relatively inexpensive, sometimes under $200.

6) Expand a tiny kitchen to make it are more effective and look larger. A pair of quick fixes: Change the backsplash with the help of mirrors, stainless steel, or perhaps paint, which will create light and views; and add an island, which requires only a small space between counters and the island to pass through comfortably.

7) Clear out and clean a garage, a big selling feature. Power wash the floor or paint it if it’s in bad shape, remove dated cabinets, and remove all junk that’s been stored there, so prospects can see how much space they would have for their stuff.

8) Change out corroded or dented door knobs and levers. The replacements don’t have to be expensive but they should look new and clean.

9) Pay attention to landscaping, which can add 7 to 15 percent to a home’s value. Focus on mowing grass, removing crab grass, and eliminating dead plants and tree branches. It’s better to have dirt and the potential to paint a picture for the buyers’ mind than a backyard full of dead. But if you have extra funds, add lots of seasonal color through blooming annuals and perennial plants and remove problems like too much noise from traffic or neighbors by installing an inexpensive fountain with trickling water.

10) Paint exterior windows, doors, gutters, downspouts, and trim, then go inside and paint the home’s trim, doorways, and walls that are in need of freshening. Don’t worry about the colors but consider those that veer toward quiet and comfort such as Benjamin Moore’s Yosemite Sand, Edgecomb Gray, or Carrington Beige. Gray is a hot interior color now. Painting rooms other, lighter colors such as white, yellow, and beige help to bounce and reflect sunlight and use more natural and less artificial light. But in cooler month dark colors such as deep brown and blue absorb sunlight, thereby reducing heating costs. And don’t forget ceilings, which can be a fifth wall.