If you’ve bought a new house, but haven’t yet sold your old one, it’s probably your priority that you sell as quickly as possible to avoid carrying two mortgages. Here’s a tidbit of really good news: having a vacant home is a GREAT time to undertake some basic home repairs and projects that can help you sell faster and make your old home look great. There are simply some things that it’s much easier to do without furniture and inhabitants cluttering up the house, and on top of that, they will help present a beautiful clean slate to prospective buyers instead of an empty shell. It’s all about perspective.
Neutralize the paint
Have any rooms painted loud colors? Now is the time to tone them down. Your teenage daughter may have loved the plummy fuschia of her old bedroom, but for visually conservative potential buyers, that’s a lot. Actually, any color that stands out or makes a statement in any way should be given a fresh coat of beige, gray, cream, or tan. Yes, those colorful walls looked great when you had all the other accoutrements of living filling them up. Now it just looks like a funhouse. Everyone loves the basics, on the other hand.
Patch any holes in the walls
It’s just courteous to leave the next owner of your old home without holes in the walls. On top of that, seeing holes in the walls is one of those immediate “ick” factors for potential buyers. Holes make your home look uncared-for and sloppy. Fill the holes in with spackling compound, which is found easily at any home improvement store, and then touch up the paint with what you hopefully have at home. If not, peel off a small strip from a corner and have it color-matched at the same store.
Clean carpets and/or hardwoods
Nasty flooring is going to turn the stomach of any potential buyer, but especially if it’s carpet. Carpet is, by its very nature, a sponge that attracts dirt, bad odors, and stains, and buyers no more want to walk on that than they want to use a toilet that hasn’t been cleaned in six months. Make your carpet squeaky-clean once everything’s out of the house by either renting a rug cleaner - they are widely available - or hiring a pro to come out and give it a thorough washing. As for wood floors, there is no sight that can make a buyer swoon like gleaming hardwood. Attain that fantasy by cleaning the floors to a high polish. Wood needs to be cleaned specially with either a commercial cleaner, which contains quick-drying isopropyl alcohol, or with a homemade solution of hot water and a capful of white vinegar.
