Looking to freshen up your home before selling this winter? HomeLight has just released their seasonal infographic showcasing the hottest tips and tricks for tackling a winter home sale. From listing tips to relevant maintenance tasks, home sellers will be covered this season. Doing some winter renovations would also help increase the value of your home.
HomeLight compiled the thoughts, suggestions and recommendations from 500 top real estate agents from around the country on best practices on selling your home in the winter.
Insights you'll find particularly interesting and useful include:
Amp Up the Coziness Factor
Wintertime is the best season of the year to spend days indoor and cozy. This is why realtors will always recommend creating a cozy atmosphere in your home when getting ready for a showing. There are a lot of simple ways of making your home look cozy for the potential buyers. If your home has a fireplace, get it going for maximum coziness. Draping warm blankets over the sofa creates an inviting setting to snuggle up and stay warm. Use warm colours to decorate the rooms, such as dark green throw pillows or burgundy frames on walls. Add layers of warm lighting to boost the coziness factor of your living space.Let in Natural Light
Speaking of lighting, it’s not always necessary to use artificial lighting. Brightening up the house with ceiling lights, and floor lamps is great for when the sun goes down early in the winter season but remember to pull back the drapes and allow natural light to liven up the space too. The prospective buyers will appreciate how well your home receives natural light and be more open to purchase your home from the moment they walk in the front door.Our Dumpster Consultants are waiting to help you find an affordable solution to your waste disposal needs; we can't wait to help you with your home project!
Keep Driveways and Sidewalks Clear of Snow and Ice
It should go without saying that you always want to ensure people visiting your home are safe and out of harms way. It’s especially important that the home buyers see how well kept the driveway and sidewalks are so that they feel more comfortable purchasing the home. If potential buyers see a driveway full of ice and snow they may feel less enticed as their first thoughts and feelings towards the house will be to get out their and shovel the snow themselves.You always want to make sure that your home is properly insulated. This is especially true for windows and doors. If you have doors and windows that are prone to allowing leaks through, it’s vital to seal those up before a showing. The last thing you want is for visitors looking for a new home to see how much of the snow seeps through the windows and doors.
Sealing the doors also keeps the cold weather out and keeps the home warmer during the winter months. A warm home in the middle of winter will surely help you sell your home. Use weatherstrips for an inexpensive seal on your home.
Some homes have chimneys and/or furnaces. Regular checks on these throughout the year keeps them in good conditions and prevents surprise maintenance expenses. When checking the furnace, always ensure the power is turned off first. The furnace will have a filter that needs to be replaced, typically every 3 months.
Take this opportunity to clean the air vents around the house to allow clean air to flow through. If your home has a chimney, maintain the upkeep by checking on it at least once a year. If there is debris build up inside your chimney, consider calling a chimney sweep to clean the area up. This will prevent fires and keep your home looking and feeling nice during showings.
A common reason pipes burst in the wintertime is due to lack of insulation. There are plenty of ways to prevent water pipes from freezing, as noted by the American Red Cross, but insulating the plumbing in your home is the best way to avoid cracks and bursts. A damaged pipe can quickly lead to a flooded basement which will be a nightmare to clean up. If you’re planning on being on vacation in the wintertime, consider turning the water off at the main valve to avoid any flood surprises when you get back.
So despite the winter blues kicking in, don't stay shy of selling this winter season - you might recoup more than you'd think! With these winter home selling tips, you’ll find it less daunting and still have time to enjoy the holiday season!
