5 Easy Home Upgrades to Help Sell Your Home Quickly

Selling a home is daunting. There’s paperwork, research, moving out your stuff, staging, juggling different offers… The list feels endless. But, there are ways to speed up and streamline the preparation process. 

When prepping your home to sell, you may need to do more than cooking vanilla extract in a pot and displaying some flowers. Making upgrades to your home can feel pointless, but certain upgrades actually help your home sell quickly. 

If you’re frustrated with a house that hasn’t sold for months, or you are about to enter the selling process, there are 5 easy home upgrades you should make. 

1. Give Everything a Fresh Coat of Paint 

A fresh coat of paint gives the house new life, making it appeal to more buyers. It also covers up old painting defects, chips, and scratches. And this isn’t limited to your walls. If your ceilings look old and yellow, consider painting them with a fresh white color.  

When you’re painting, remember that you want to present a blank canvas to potential buyers. They need to walk into your home and imagine their lives in it–not see how your life did. Use classic neutral paint colors to ensure the house doesn’t clash with the potential buyer’s vision. This isn’t limited to white–you can choose among hundreds of shades of gray and beige. 

When choosing paint colors, consider the lighting each room gets throughout the day. For bright and sunny rooms, any paint color will look good in the space. For rooms that get less natural light during the day, consider using warmer-toned paint to keep the space from feeling cold and uninviting. 

2. Install Closet Systems 

Many homeowners turn down near-perfect house options because of a lack of storage. Upgrade your home with new closet systems to ensure buyers have enough space to store and organize their things. 

The first room that always needs more storage is the bathroom. Replace free-standing sinks with vanity sinks. If you have an open wall in a bathroom and can afford to use up some space, install wall-to-wall cabinetry for linen, towel, and cleaning supplies. 

Next, make sure that the bedrooms have adequate storage space. If the bedroom has a walk-in closet, consider upgrading the shelving to be more effective. If the bedroom has built-in closets, see if you can extend the closet to include more shelves or hanging space. 

If any other rooms frustrated you due to a lack of storage–install closet systems there. This could be your kitchen, living room, or home office.

3. Clean Up Your Landscaping 

When your yard looks neglected, most potential buyers will look at it and think, “Expensive. Tons of work. Not worth it.” 

If it’s in your budget and you have the time, consider bringing in a local landscaper and giving your entire yard a facelift. You don’t need to do anything fancy–just lay down some lawn and fill a flowerbed or two with some low-maintenance plants native to your area. Upgrade your hardscaping by using medium-sized stones to outline flower beds, and small stones to cover the mulch your flowers are planted in. This gives your yard a polished, well-maintained look. 

If you’re upgrading on a tight budget, grab a garden rake and a set of gardening sheers. Cleaning up your garden makes it look more manageable for potential buyers, and helps them to see the potential in the yard. Start by trimming off any dead branches or flowers. Rake up old leaves, twigs, or rotting fruit that’s on your lawn. Mow your lawn evenly and give it a good watering. If you have any footpaths in your yard, brush off excess dirt and then scrub them with a brush and a mixture of warm water and gentle dish soap. Rinse the area well once you’re done. 

4. Liven up Your Flooring 

Old, dirty carpeting appeals to very few buyers. If you have hardwood floors in good shape hidden beneath carpeting, rip up the old carpets and expose the natural wood. If the hardwood needs some attention, you can pay to fix them up or cover them again with new carpets.  

If all the rooms in the house have different flooring, consider investing in the same new flooring for every room. This creates a seamless look throughout the home. Wood and even faux-wood flooring is your best bet, but new carpeting is still a great selling point. For bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms, you can also opt for floor tiles. 

If replacing the flooring isn’t in your budget, hire a carpet cleaning service and restore carpets and rugs as much as possible. Then, have any wooden, tiled, or laminate flooring professionally cleaned. With some freshly cleaned rugs laid on top of them, they can feel good as new. 

5. Upgrade Your Window Treatments 

Old-fashioned draperies, torn curtains, stained window shades, and bent or damaged blinds make a house look neglected. Replacing your window treatments is a simple way to give your entire home a facelift. 

If you have the time and budget, consider removing your curtain runners and installing new ones closer to the ceiling. Installing curtain rails high above the window helps make the window feel larger and the ceiling feel higher. Be sure the rails extend past the sides of the window. This makes it possible to completely push the curtains aside when opening them, instead of them covering parts of the window and making the room feel darker. Opt for neutral and light-colored curtains to make the house feel cohesive and seamless. 

For living rooms and bedrooms, you want to also install black-out curtains or black-out roller blinds. These prevent glare on the TV and ensure that bedrooms are completely dark at night. 

Sell Your Home Quickly With These Easy Home Upgrades

Selling your home doesn’t have to take months. With these easy home upgrades, you can give your house a complete facelift and have it ready for sale in no time. 

Here at Memphis, we buy houses for cash so that you aren’t stuck in the selling process for months. Fast, reliable, and trustworthy, we’re here to make your life easier. If you want to sell your house quickly, contact us today.