When it comes time to sell or refinance your home, getting a high home appraisal cost is crucial. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to ensure your home's value hits maximum dollar.
Although clutter is inevitable with a busy family, it can also lead the appraiser to question if the homeowner is capable of maintaining the entire home. Some quick decluttering tips:
While this seems like an obvious step, many homeowners are understandably busy with jobs and family concerns and overlook the fact that a clean home is a desirable home.
Investing $100 in grass seed to reseed, or at least patch bare spots, in your lawn can really pay off when it comes to appraising your home.
Few things in life are certain, but if you see a small crack in your home's sidewalk or driveway, it will only get worse if left unattended. Ready-to-use sealant for patching cracks in concrete is sold in tubes (about $5 for a 10-ounce tube) and applied with a simple caulking gun, while asphalt repair products are even less expensive.
Whether it's a roadside mailbox or one mounted by the door, the mailbox is one of the first things visitors to your home notice. Shop carefully and $100 could buy an attractive new mailbox and perhaps even a new post to mount it on. You could also just invest in some fresh paint for an easy and affordable spruce up. Plant a perennial, like ornamental grass or a climbing vine, near your rehabbed mailbox for added appeal.
Buying a quality power washer to pressure hose decks, patios and other outdoor surfaces is expensive. But for about $50, you can rent a power washer for a day from a home improvement store and scrub down everything that needs washing.
Clean your shutters with soapy water. If you need a ladder, position it where appropriate. Scrub all surfaces that need painting; dirt and dust will prevent your paint from adhering properly.
Place old newspapers under each shutter and around your doors.
Use the painters tape to cover the house around the shutter to protect against accidents.
Get your buckets ready and put your vinyl gloves on. Pour primer into the first bucket.
Paint at the top of the shutter and work your way down. Make sure to get in between the slats. Use light pressure to eliminate brush strokes.
Once your primer dries, repeat the steps for your paint in the second bucket.
Some colors require two coats to achieve a richer shade. Be sure to let each coat dry before you start on the next coat.
Solar landscape lights are a cheaper, greener, and easier alternative than having a complicated lighting system installed in your yard. Simply place the lights around your sidewalk, let them drink in the sunshine for power and enjoy your newly lit pathway at night.
Consider repainting the door in a contrasting color that really pops, polishing or replacing worn hardware and perhaps springing for a new set of house numbers.
As you decide what changes to make, keep an eye out for maintenance problems, such as torn window screens, dripping faucets, running toilets, missing trim and broken door handles. These should be fixed prior to the appraiser's arrival.
Interested in writing a guest article to appear on our blog? Contact us for details.