Home Renovation Tips for the New Buyer

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You can still do it, a year later, after making some minimal changes in the house you currently live in. You may even elect to stay on once you see what a slap of paint and a renovated kitchen and bathroom can do. But painting isn’t just running the roller or paint brush over the wall. Clean the wall first. Remove all nails from picture frames and wipe the wall down with a damp cloth before starting to paint. Making small changes doesn’t mean the job has to be slap dash.

Tips on transforming your home

• Have you ever walked into someone’s house and it is dark because the shades are down and the curtains are drawn? Immediately you feel uncomfortable and want to get out. Light is important in a home. If your house is constantly dark except for one or two hours of the day, invest in a solar panel for the roof of the house which will throw light over a large area.

• The same for OPTs – other people’s toilets. There’s nothing worse than going into a strange bathroom and finding a knitted toilet seat and seat cover, and a woolen mat under your feet. Think of the bacteria trapped in that seat cover. The bathroom is one place that can make or break a deal. A quick-fix in the bathroom need not cost a lot; a fresh coat of paint, a ceramic or tiled floor, a beautiful hanging plant in the half-open window, some fancy-colored soap in a bowl.

• Have the windows open on the day someone comes to see your house, and use air freshener. There are many interesting fragrances, and some of them work well. If you don’t want to do that, bake a cake for the homey smell of baking. If the prospective buyer isn’t interested in your home, you at least have a cake to have a cup of tea with.

• Go for quality fixtures and fittings in the bathroom and kitchen and at the front door. Don’t buy a cheap shower head or a cheap tap or cheap safety bar. Inexpensive items like candles and flowers brighten up a room.

• If spring is upon you, clean out the junk in your garage and get rid of all the old bikes and rubble in the backyard.

Go out the front door and stand on the other side of the street to see what your house looks like fifty feet away. If this were someone else’s house you were looking at, you would immediately see where the wall needs painting, or the gate coming off its hinge, or even see for the first time all the junk at the side of the house. These are things new buyers look at. People can tell when a place has been quickly cleaned-up for an open house. Don’t give that impression.