01 Aug Painting Your Home for Resale
When it comes time to sell your home, you need to strike a balance between sprucing it up to make a good first impression and needlessly spending money on upgrades and finishing touches that don’t add any value to the home. We took some time to chat with Joe Kitchen of Five Star Painting about his experience and advice to homeowners.
First Impressions Really Count
Buyers are on the lookout for their future home. Unless they are looking for a tear-down, they will be walking the house trying to visualize themselves living there. This means that it is important to take a fresh look at your walls, ceilings, floors, windows, and doors to see how they might look to a first-time viewer who’s worried about value. Painting is the most cost-effective upgrade you can do to your home. A fresh coat of paint makes a great first impression and shows that the property has been maintained.
Painters Do More Than Paint
A good painter will fix drywall cracks, nail pops, and water stains on ceilings. These small fixes are exactly the kinds of details that pop out to a potential buyer, worrying them about the condition of the house. If not tended to, these same details will always work their way into a home inspector’s report as well. No one is suggesting you try to hide a serious problem like water intrusion, but ordinary wear and tear should be tended to so that the house looks its best.
Budget, Brand, and Color
Rather than spend money on top-of-the-line paints that will likely be painted over by the new homeowner Joe recommends some solid brands like Sherwin Williams, Promar 200, or Benjamin Moore Ben Series. These are base premium paints that look very good, but they do not last as long as more expensive paints. For color choice, remember that the buyers are trying to visualize themselves in the home, so appeal to the broadest spectrum of color tastes by going for beige or another neutral color. If you have bright color choices on your walls already, it may require extra coats to get to neutral. If you are on a budget, choose to paint high-traffic areas first. To make that critical first impression, start with Entry doors, foyer walls, hallways, stairwells, and bedroom doors. On the other hand, unless there are visible issues, low-traffic areas and trims can stand pat to save on the expense. Garages, basements, and closets should be considered last. Potential buyers are typically excited just to have a finished basement and garage.
It’s tempting to try for a one-stop for all the work you plan to do on your home to get it ready for sale, but Joe recommends against a handyman. They will buy paint at retail, take a longer time, and they don’t always come in at the same budget as professional painters. Instead, he recommends getting a couple of quotes, and looking carefully at what is included in the price before making a decision.
We were grateful to Joe for his advice. We’ve spoken before about the benefit of getting a home inspection in advance of a sale to identify any other issues that need attention prior to listing. If you are interested in maximizing the return on your biggest investment, contact Biller & Associates today to schedule an inspection.
