Real Estate Search Blog | Property Listings MA

Thinking of selling your home in the near or distant future? There are several things you can do to make your home more appealing to potential buyers that don’t require a lot of effort or expense. These tips were pulled from a video on HGTV’s Frontdoor.com.

Tip 1: Hire it out

Hire a designer or realtor for about an hour to check out your home. Though you’ve always liked that art deco backsplash in the kitchen, a potential homebuyer might not. See what works and what doesn’t when it comes to the taste of the general public. If you’re not comfortable doing the work yourself, see these helpful tips for hiring a contractor or remodeler.

Tip 2: Get an Inspection

I’ve spoken with several real estate agents in Massachusetts, and most of them recommend having your home inspected before you do anything else. The inspector can point out major and minor problems that you can fix, before potential homebuyers see them.

Tip 3: Get a Fresh Look

Paint each room in a different earth tone. Doing so will give each room its own distinct feel — a house full of white rooms isn’t very appealing and doesn’t inspire buyers to imagine how they will decorate each room. Make sure to draw attention to accents like crown moldings. Below is a picture of the hallway of one of the homes for sale in Newton MA. The earthy, sandy color that the owners chose for the walls draws sharp contrast to the banister, the moldings, the small window, and the gleaming hardwood floors. Sometimes plain white paint just doesn’t do a home justice.

Tip 4: Decorate

Pick up a few home design magazines and see what you can do to improve the aesthetics of your home. Don’t go overboard with trends and embellishing — after all, when you move out the decor goes with you. Stick with basic decorating details. If your larger furniture has a busy or bright pattern, throw a few neutral slipcovers over them and add a couple of brightly colored pillows. Upgrade bland window blinds to neutral-colored drapes. If you can’t afford to overhaul your bathroom, paint it a neutral color and choose one bright accent color for the hand towels, shower curtain, and rug.

Tip 5: Get an Energy Audit

Visit your energy provider’s website to evaluate your home’s energy efficiency. You can find tips to quickly and inexpensively decrease your home’s electricity costs, like replacing regular lightbulbs with energy-saving ones. If you’re not planning to sell your home for some time, consider replacing windows with better-insulated ones. Take advantage of this federal tax credit which allows for 30% off your home energy-improving expenses (in effect until December 31, 2010.)

These basic tips should put you on the right path to selling a home.

Once you’ve decided that a Newton relocation is the way you’d like to to go, the next logical step is to sort through the Newton realtors that are available and decide on the one that’s the best for you. Here’s a little checklist of some of the factors that will help you sort through the possibilities.

1. Reputation. Regardless of the type of business, reputation is very important but even more so with Newton real estate and the professionals that work with it. Look for the real estate agent here that has a proven track record of customer satisfaction when it comes to fitting people with the Newton homes that they want. Newton realtors should be able to provide you with a list of happy customers that you can contact as references.
2. Other Credentials. Realtors working in Newton should have other credentials that you can use to gauge if they are a suitable fit as well. Ask to see any of their licenses and certificates they are willing to show you, and remember that working with real estate generally means that the top people are always taking courses to improve their knowledge of the business in their area.

Finally, you’ll need to have a personal connection with the Newton real estate professional you eventually decide upon. Because you’ll be working together to find and settle you in that new Newton home, it’s important that you and your agent get along well.