People ask me ALL the time about what they should do to their homes before they put it on the market: i.e. what will get them the highest returns for their investment. (Interestingly I often find that they aren’t really asking as much as they’re hoping I validate the ideas they already have about it.) One thing sellers always seem to want to do is “finish the basement.” I’ll tell you right now: do NOT finish your basement just to sell your house thinking it will make your home the most attractive, or that it will sell for the highest amount!
You know what you can do? CLEAN AND DECLUTTER YOUR HOUSE! It’s way cheaper than finishing the basement. Fortunately you don’t have to take my word for it – HomeGain did a study in which they found a 587% return from cleaning and decluttering! Other big ticket items include: lightening and brightening, staging (by the way, I often pay for the staging on homes that I list), landscaping (curb appeal is SO important these days), new carpet and paint, etc. All of which return more than 100% on the investment!
photo credit: waferboard
