This article provides 7 tips for homeowners to spruce up their homes in the spring to boost buyer interest. The tips include: 1) Repainting to cover chips and scuffs; 2) Brightening trims and hardware; 3) Maintaining HVAC systems; 4) Repairing fences, gates and screens; 5) Fixing squeaky doors and drawers; 6) Professional cleaning of the home; and 7) Shredding old paperwork to reduce clutter. The article encourages sellers to address simple maintenance issues to create curb appeal and signal pride of ownership to potential buyers.

1. 7 Springtime Home Spruce ups
to Boost Buyer Interest

2. One of the first things many homebuyers look
for are the unmistakable signs of something
called ‘pride of ownership.’ As a whole, it’s a
relatively intangible concept: there are just
homes that have it - reeking of their owners’
love and meticulous care for the property -- and
homes that, well, don’t.

3. 1.Banish chips, scuffs and the like with a fresh coat
of paint. I believe that eliminating nicks, scuffs and
scratches on any painted or finished surface is one of
the cheapest, easiest and most impactful spruces a
seller-to-be can do. That’s because these little tiny
blemishes create a shabby appearance on a home
that might otherwise be in great shape, but can be
entirely banished with a good washing and some
fresh paint.

4. 2.Brighten, polish and replace all trims. One
day, I’ll do a scientific study, and I predict the
results will reveal that if you put two identical
homes side-by-side and give one a set of tricked-
out trims - exterior shutters, front door, eaves -
even your house numbers, door knockers,
kickplates and other exterior hardware - people
will rate the house with the beautiful trims way
higher on the ‘pride of ownership’ scale than
you’d expect.

5. 3.Furry, drippy, noisy or broken HVAC systems.
Maintaining your heating and air conditioning systems
is not that expensive, but buyers think it is. In fact,
your furnace and AC are precisely the sort of major
household machinery that intimidate first-time home
buyers. So, if they show up to the open house or a
private showing of your home in
June and the AC is making a funny
knocking sound or just flat out
doesn’t work well enough to keep
the house cool, buyers might perceive
that as a more serious red flag than it
truly is.

6. 4.Mend and tend to your fences, gates and screens. These
items may not jump out at us in our own home - in fact,
these are things I often see sellers skimp on or run out of
time and money to tend to. And it’s easy to rationalize your
way out of dealing with them, as they seem like relatively
inexpensive fixes for buyers to make themselves. But
screens with holes in them and gates that don’t budge or
hang off their hinges are precisely the sorts of things I’ve
seen make buyers walk back through a home looking for
other flaws; and anything to do with fences makes them
envision neighbor disputes over bills. You have the power
to avoid sparking these concerns in the minds of house
hunters by mending these items this Spring.

7. 5.Doors, cupboards and drawers. One creaky door
or squeaky cupboard does not kill a deal. But keep
in mind that in some homes,
other than the lights, these
are the only functioning
systems of your home that
house hunting visitors will
almost certainly use during
the course of a viewing. Making
sure your entry, interior closet
and cupboard doors are in good
cosmetic shape and that they work well and don’t
stick is an easy, inexpensive way to position your
home as a (literally) well-oiled machine.

8. 6.Have everything cleaned and washed. Even the
most immaculate of housekeepers can realize a
massive refresh to the look, feel, smell and the
overall air quality of their homes by having
professional cleaners come take a tour through the
place. Springtime is a great time to ask your Realtor
for referrals to the best local vendors to power wash
your house, windows and driveway, as well as to
have your carpets, rugs and window coverings
cleaned. For those who are on a tight budget, many
vendors offer Spring cleaning promotions for these
services right about now (and if your budget is even
tighter, there are products you can buy and
machines you can rent to do these things yourself –
just make sure you account for the value of your
time).

9. 7.Shred it up. Some might say this is more like Spring
cleaning than home maintenance, but I’ve noticed that
the clutter of boxes and boxes of paperwork, old file
cabinets and the like have a tendency to contribute to
the sense that a listed property might be unkempt, the
aura of stagnation. If you have no cash to do anything
else on this list, one thing you can do for free is to go
through all your files and boxes, get rid of old papers
and shred anything with sensitive information.

10. Buyers: What items that fall under simple home
maintenance catch your eye when sellers have –
or haven’t – addressed them?
Sellers: What else is on your spring home to-do
list?

11. Randy Bett
Investment Realtor/Author/Investor
Real Estate Professionals Inc.
Better Group Real Estate
202-5403 Crowchild Trail NW
Calgary, AB T3B 4Z1
Phone:403-774-7464 Ext:1
Fax:403-208-0082
Toll Free fax:888-711-6801

12. Randy Bett
www.BetterGroupRealEstate.ca