5 Cheap Repairs For Selling Your Home

Planning on selling your home? You’re not the only one. Experts anticipate that the next few months will be some of the hottest selling months ever for Cincinnati’s real estate market. With so many buyers ready to purchase your home, you want it to look it’s best. Major renovations can make a difference in your home’s selling price, but you don’t always get your full investment back. Instead, it’s often small repairs and touch ups that can make the biggest difference to your bottom line. What are some cheap updates that will bring a good return when selling your home? We’ll share a few ideas here on what to tackle without breaking the bank.

Need help getting your home ready to sell?
Call ProMaster Home Repair!
513-322-2914

Start With the Outside

First impressions can make the difference between “let’s make an offer” and “let’s see the next one.” And while you’re probably not interested in spending thousands of dollars to paint your entire exterior or replace your roof, there are some things you can do to make a better first impression.

Paint Your Entry Door

A fresh coat of paint on your entry door can make your home look well preserved, and give curb appeal. What’s more, there are certain colors that can even increase the selling price. Black and charcoal gray are two of the hottest front door colors for selling your home. Both hide dirt and give a classic look. Bright red and blue grays are also tried and true favorites.

Regardless of the color, putting a fresh coat of paint on your entry door doesn’t take much time or money, and can add to that initial “wow” factor you want your home to have.

Install a New Mailbox

Most people’s mailboxes have been in front of their homes since the time it was constructed… or at least they look that way. When a homeowner is trying to find your house for their first visit, they’re going to look to your mailbox to find the address. Make sure that first glance makes a good first impression!

Installing a new mailbox post can be tricky. Expanding foam, however, has made setting a post much easier than back when mixing concrete was the only option. Try to match your new post and mailbox to the look of your neighborhood and your home. Plus, steer clear of plastic or rubber mailboxes. Metal mailboxes give a more high-end look.

Replace your Exterior Lighting Fixtures

If your home was built in the late 1980s, your lighting fixtures are probably from the late 1980s. Simply replacing your exterior lighting can create a fresh look that updates your exterior. There are other reasons, however, to replace your exterior lighting when selling your home. First, they have probably rusted or otherwise worn over time. You may not have noticed it, but they have. Additionally, many people have exterior fixtures that don’t function any longer, and they just sit there with an old bulb installed for years.

New exterior fixtures can be purchased for less than $25, and installing them isn’t a difficult task as long as you take the appropriate precautions. The time spent making this quick update will increase the curb appeal of your home and bring a higher selling price.

What About Indoors?

Your home’s sell-ability (is that a word?) doesn’t end at the front door. The interior of your home needs to look its best, as well. If you’re selling your home, you’ll need some cost effective touch-ups to increase your selling price and close the deal.

Painting

I know you hate painting. Everyone does. A fresh coat of paint, however, can make the inside of your home look like a million bucks. With paint available for less than $30 per gallon, that’s a good trade off. The good news? You don’t have to paint every room in your home to make a good impression. Focus on common areas like foyers or kitchens. Powder rooms are also a good candidate for a paint job, as they get a lot of traffic and can shower their age pretty quickly.

If you have the time and money to paint your whole interior, no problem. If you want to be strategic, however, pick the rooms that draw the most attention. Selling your home will be made a lot easier with a fresh coat of paint (in a neutral color). It might even increase your selling price.

Replace Your Door Handles

This may sound silly, but a new door handle helps your door look newer. A newer-looking door makes a home look newer. A newer-looking home sells for more money. Make sense?

Maybe your interior door hardware is showing signs of wear. Changing those is a no brainer. It can also be true, however, that the style of your door hardware is outdated and needs an aesthetic update. For instance, a newer home may feature brushed nickel hardware, but many older homes feature brass doorknobs and handles. This is a situation that might call for changing the door handles.

One quick side note: If you have an historic home, DON’T change the hardware unless they are so broken that they are beyond use and repair. A tattered doorknob from the 1920s can actually add character to your home, and the right buyer will love that those elements have been preserved.

You can buy contractor packs of door hardware relatively inexpensively. What’s more, changing the hardware is usually only an issue of loosening and tightening a few screws. If you’re selling your home, this update can make a big difference.

Need a Hand? Call ProMaster!

If you are selling you home and don’t have the time or patience to tackle even the smallest tasks, no problem. Just contact ProMaster! Our team of craftsmen would love to help you with any of your home repair needs. Simply call 513-322-2914, schedule online, or use the “Reach Out” form at the bottom of this page.