How Great Kitchens & Bathrooms Help When Selling Your Home

Once a prospective buyer enters your home, selling your home is likely to focus on the features found in your kitchen and bathrooms. Great kitchens start with a great design so it's important to highlight the best features of your kitchen. Showcase windows with new curtains, stage kitchen islands to illustrate its many uses and emphasize an abundance of storage capacity by hiding many of your belongings.

Preparing your home for sale is challenging. If you need to sell your home quickly and want to get top dollar, you should hire a home stager to help you remove clutter and personal things. They can also identify each room's key selling features and help you rearrange furniture to create a feeling of spaciousness.

Kitchen Features for Selling Your Home

It is unlikely you can change the basic layout of your kitchen. You can however, show off its best features by dressing them up to enhance the overall feeling of the room. You might be surprised by a few of them.

They're based on running my handyman business for eight years. We helped a lot of homeowners who were selling their homes. One woman said “Now that the kitchen looks so nice, maybe I should stay here” after we installed a granite countertop. She loved it so much, we installed a new granite countertop in her new house.

• Replace counter tops to update the kitchen. A less expensive alternative is adding a beautiful back splash that wows buyers.
• Change hardware to update cabinets that are in good condition. You can also replace cabinet and drawer fronts if the current style is dated but in good shape.
• Replace light fixtures and/or windows to add light or change the window coverings to let more light in.
• Frequently realtors recommend new appliances. Stainless changes the look and feel quickly and you can find reasonably priced packages with a refrigerator, stove, dishwasher and microwave.
• Flooring is another feature that creates the mood of the kitchen. If your current flooring is worn and dated, replace the flooring to improve the look of kitchen.
• A fresh coat of paint (don't forget the ceiling) is popular. Home stagers offer color consultations to help you identify the best colors for your kitchen based on current trends.
• Routine maintenance items should be taken care of. Repair leaky faucets and drawers/doors that are difficult to open and close. Replace grout that is crumbling and re-caulk the back-splash if it does not sparkle.
• Create a feeling of  spaciousness by removing clutter from surfaces, drawers, cabinets and the pantry. You want buyers to feel like there's boundless storage.
• Make sure the room looks and smells clean. Wash appliances and cabinets, counter-tops, sinks and faucets. Don't forget the garbage areas and remove all evidence of pets.

Selling Your Home with Great Bathrooms

After kitchens, bathrooms are the most important rooms for selling your home. They need many of the same touches as your kitchen, only on a smaller scale.

• Assess your fixtures and update those most dated. Faucets should be clean and shiny, along with all other metals from light fixtures to the sink and bathtub/shower.
• Add lighting with a new fixture, or possibly a new medicine cabinet with built in lighting.
• A fresh coat of paint and coordinated towels, hung on updated towel rods/hooks are inexpensive ways to give the room a new look.
• Routine maintenance items should be taken care of. Repair/replace caulking around the sinks and tub/shower,  repair/replace grout as needed and repair/replace leaky fixtures.
• Clean everything so it sparkles, It's a small room with lots of features that you don't ordinarily clean. You want buyers to be impressed with a “move-in ready” look and feel.

Selling Your Home Starts with Creating a Mood

Once you've dealt with the bigger projects and you're ready to list your home, you'll want to create the right mood for buying. Your Realtor® can help you prioritize these ideas when selling your home to maximize success in your neighborhood and town/city.

• Light rooms up by opening drapes and blinds during the day and turn on all lights for evening showings.
• Clear the hallways, stairs and closets of all clutter. Every buyer wants lots of storage.
• Arrange furniture to create a spacious look and clean/organize closets, storage, etc to create visual space.
• Make sure your home is warm or cool according to the season.
• Ensure carpets and floors are always clean.
• Make sure the house smells nice with potpourri or fresh flowers around the house.

Good luck selling your home!

PS We've got other tips to help you sell your house faster … and for a higher price!

• Homeowner Strategies for Selling Houses
• Picking the Right House Price When Selling
• Curbside Appeal Key to Selling Your Home
• Home Staging for Selling? Renting?
• Home Repair and Improvement Tips for Selling Your House