6 New Year’s Resolutions That Can Help You Buy Your First Investment Property

In today’s real estate market, when selling your home, you probably will have to make improvements and renovations to your property to stay competitive and receive the highest offer for your property.

Home improvements can include refurbishing, remodelling, repairing, or renovation projects in your home. All improvements are not created equal.

Some improvements add more value to your home than others. Here are the top three improvements to prep your property for a faster sale and higher sales price.

Kitchen Renovations & Upgrades Prior to Selling Your Home

If you want to increase the value of your home through improvements, the best room to start in is the kitchen. Appliances are very important to most home buyers.

In fact, it’s one of the first things that home buyers notice when home shopping.

As such, old appliances should be replaced; this is especially true if you have mismatched appliances in your kitchen.

If your budget allows, installing new countertops together with new appliances is ideal.

Additionally, when it comes to kitchen improvements, two of everything adds additional value to your home. Two ranges and two dishwashers are popular with those who enjoy entertaining or have large families. Built-in chopping block areas and trendy marble are also renovations to consider.

Painting your cabinets or even just changing the hardware (i.e., the knobs, handles, or pulls), are cheap renovation ideas to spruce up the kitchen.

Replace your Flooring Prior to Selling Your Home

Improvements made to the flooring will have the most dramatic effect on your living space. If your property still has carpet installed, you may want to consider swapping out the carpet for something else.

Specifically, there are so many inexpensive flooring options available such as, hardwood, stone, and laminate, all of which are more durable, easier to clean and last longer than carpet.

As such, there is no reason to have old and outdated flooring in your home.

Replace the Fixtures Prior to Selling Your Home

Upgrading and investing in quality fixtures throughout your property is an easy way to elevate and modernize your property without spending a lot of money.

Upgrading small things such as light switch covers, door handles, installing new locks are all easy yet effective upgrades. You can also install new ceiling fans and light fixtures throughout the entire house, as another way to modernize the residence.

Upgrading the faucets in the kitchen and the bathroom are easy yet important upgrades to make to your home, especially because these fixtures tend to wear easily.

Additional Pro tips for Selling Your Home: A new coat of paint in both the interior and the exterior, never hurts your home’s chances of selling faster. Use neutral colors to appeal to as many home buyers as possible.

Additionally, landscaping has a considerable effect on the visual impact of a home. A professionally landscaped yard with flowers, adds a nice touch to your property’s exterior appearance.

Storage is often a top priority for families. As such, sellers can look for cheap ways to increase storage throughout their property. For example, sellers can install shelving, install walls storage, and add organizational units in the closets.

Lastly, it should go without saying, but a clean house without clutter sells a lot faster than a dirty and cluttered home.

MOVING!

The very thought of it can send chills down our spine and can cause us to break out into a cold sweat. Experts say that any kind of “change” creates “stress”. Moving, (and especially if we are relocating to a new city or state), represents a huge change and naturally brings a great amount of stress along with it.

This can be a double whammy, because stress can lead to a lack of energy and motivation. Many of us tend to procrastinate during stressful periods of our lives. This is one time, though, when we must rise above that.

When preparing for a move we need to put the pedal to the metal and get a lot of things done.

This checklist contains many suggestions that may seem like “no-brainers”. However, the very act of printing out these simple suggestions and reminders can become a significant security blanket as the dreaded time approaches. Moving and relocating calls for being proactive, grabbing the bull by the horns and actually completing certain chores well in advance of their deadlines.

Hopefully this little article will help you to accomplish that.

1. Get rid of what you don’t need.

Many of us are “pack rats”. One thing that we can accomplish immediately is going through all of our “stuff” and getting rid of what we don’t need anymore. Moving unwanted clothing and bric-a-bracs from one place of residence to another is a great waste of time and effort. It is surprising how much more in control we feel once we start narrowing down our “inventory” to what we actually need to keep. Getting rid of the unwanted items can be done by having a garage sale long before moving time and then donating the leftovers to the Salvation Army or other charitable groups.

2. Get all important papers and documents together and secure them.

Since moving is hectic, to say the least, we need to be aware of the exact location of all of our important items. Things that we absolutely must not lose or misplace should certainly be hand carried, not put in a box for the movers:

Address Books, Birth Certificates, Bank Statements, Checks, Credit Cards and Statements, Home Movies, Irreplaceable Memorabilia, Insurance Policies, Marriage Records, Medical and Dental Records, Military Records, Passports, Photos and Photo Albums, Resumes, School Records, Stock Certificates, Tax Returns, Telephone Numbers, Valuables, Vehicle Documents, Wills.

3. Prepare well in advance for living at your new location.

There are many things that we can do at our new location well in advance of our move that will help smooth out the bumps and grinds of our relocation process when the actual event occurs: Open up new bank accounts. Open up a new Safe Deposit Box. Contact the new area utility companies and arrange for your new services. These can include Cable TV, gas, electric, oil, telephone, water and Internet access. Arrange for new medical providers. If you are moving to a new state, contact the DMV and get forms necessary to re-register your vehicles. Contact your insurance companies and find out if your car insurance, homeowner’s insurance, etc. can be transferred. If not, find an Insurance Broker in your new area and discuss your needs and requirements for new policies. Go to the post office and get a moving kit. Prepare change of address forms for all of your correspondents; credit card companies, other credit accounts, banks, insurance companies, current utility companies for final statements, magazines and other subscriptions, family, friends, and any other persons or businesses that you correspond with on a regular basis.

4. As the time approaches, have the important numbers handy.

As moving day approaches and when the moving process actually begins, you don’t want to be hunting for phone numbers in wallets, purses, or address books. Have a nice new notebook or electronic notebook ready with all important phone numbers written clearly and legibly for both your old and new contacts: Banks, Doctors, Emergency contacts, Family members, Friends, Landlords or Real Estate Brokers, Movers, Pharmacies Schools, Storage Facilities, Utilities.

With proper planning and preparation the moving process, though never fun, can at least be sane.

Now that you have decided to sell your home, how will you turn your home into the most valuable asset it can be? No matter if you are selling your home yourself, or using an agent like myself, knowing about these low cost tips will help you increase the overall monetary return when you sell your house.

While a particular buyer may not like your home for many different reasons, a buyer's agent is much more likely to bring other buyers back to a home that shows well. In the small community of real estate agents, word does get out pretty quickly when a home on the market is showcase ready.

From the moment a prospective buyer pulls up outside your property they are forming important opinions that make or break a sale.They’re taking in factors like the condition of the property, potential maintenance issues and general street appeal, and this critical evaluation only continues when they enter a home.

Importantly, research indicates these first impressions take only 26 seconds to make, meaning a property owner has a very limited window of opportunity when it comes to getting it right.

First Impressions - What I'm about to tell you may seem minor and easily overlooked, but this advice goes hand-in-hand with the very well known concept of Curb Appeal. Whereas curb appeal is the very first gut feeling a potential buyer has about your house, the buyer's first impression lasts as they walk up to the front door to the point when the door first opens. With this in mind, the front door should be especially sharp, since it is the entryway into the house. Polish the door fixture so it gleams. If the door needs refinishing or repainting, make sure to get that done.

If you have a cute, little plaque or shingle with your family name on it, remove it. Even if it is just on the mailbox. You can always put it up again once you move. It is important to make your house anonymous as if the house already belongs to the next owner. Buy a new, plush door mat, too. This is something else you can take with you once you move.

Make sure the lock works easily and the key fits properly. When a homebuyer comes to visit your home, the agent uses the key from the lock box to unlock the door. If there is trouble working the lock while everyone else stands around waiting, this sends a negative first impression to prospective home buyers. If the lock is sticky, sometimes a shot of graphite in the keyhole is all that is needed.

Then, there is the entry way. Are there shoes or other clutter in the foyer, does the first impression of the inside of your home impress a buyer of things to come set them up for a polite, but quick tour of your home?

In any housing market, but especially in a buyer's market, your house is in competition with all the other houses on sale in your neighbourhood. How your home competes is key to turning a prospective buyer in to a buyer with an offer.

A first impression will not last, if the rest of your home is not presentable. Many home sellers wonder what trade-offs to make, how much budget to allocate to get their home ready to list and sell. The starting place is to think like a buyer, put yourself in your buyers shoes, walk across the street from your house and walk up to the front door, make notes of all the things that you'd want to see fixed if you were going to buy your own house.

A first impression is a lasting one, and it doesn’t take significant time or financial outlay to ensure your property’s first impression is favourable. Critically, when you get that all-important first impression right, you’re more likely to secure a second inspection, which in turn drastically increases the chances of swiftly selling your home.