Selling Your Family Home For The Best Possible Price
When renovating for profit, it's vitally important to follow the right formula for finding a great suburb. But what if you want to sell your own home and make aquick sale for atidy profit?
When renovating for profit, it’s critically important to follow the right formula for finding a great suburb, calculating your numbers before you buy and tailoring the renovation to suit your target buyer so that you can sell for the highest possible price in a short timeframe.
But what if you want to sell your own home and make a quick sale for a tidy profit?
Knowing your suburb and its buyers
If you are selling your primary place of residence, you are in the unique position of having researched your suburb inside out as you will have immersed yourself in the local community for several years. You will know the nuances between streets. You will understand what appeals to homeowners and what they consider turn-offs. And you will certainly have inside knowledge of the target buyer as there is a good chance that they are exactly like you!
When I recently sold my home in a family suburb south of Perth, I had lived and worked in the area for six years, so I intimately understood the wants and needs of homebuyers.
I knew that the ultimate buyer would be a family who would want a bedroom for each of the children, a parents’ retreat area, open plan living spaces and room for a pool in the backyard. So I set about sprucing up my home to appeal directly to that buyer.
Clean up and declutter kids’ rooms
When you have a busy family life, you dream of a house that is clean and organised with kids that keep their rooms tidy. This vision is rarely the reality but when presenting your home for sale you need to sell buyers that dream.
I had two teenagers and a primary school-aged child living in the home I’d listed for sale. This wasn’t necessarily ideal for presenting the dream to buyers so this is what I did;
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Painted a previously dark wall in the teenage boy’s room with a light, neutral colour,
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Swapped messy bedding with lighter, brighter furnishings,
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Removed excess toys and accessories to make bedrooms feel calm and inviting.
By doing this I was able to create an illusion of contented children enjoying their organised spaces.
Ensure living areas are light, bright and clutter-free
Open plan living areas are where the new owners will create their happy family memories so you need to ensure they can imagine their bright future when walking through these spaces. Here are some simple quick-fixes that I implemented:
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Changed the artwork and added a rug in the lounge room to create a warm ambience,
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Removed a dark cupboard in the kitchen to create the illusion of space,
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Changed the black dining chairs with white chairs to lighten this otherwise dark space,
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Kept to a simple, neutral colour palette throughout.
By doing this I was able to create spaces that buyers could see and feel and imagine themselves living in.
Create a parents’ retreat in a family home
While buyers want space for children in their new family home, it’s a sure-fire winner if they can also have a space that is exclusively theirs. This home had a large master bedroom, with double walk-in-robes and ensuite with separate toilet, so I was able to present the picture of space and tranquillity by keeping the colours and furnishings simple. Some of the key elements were;
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Keeping all clutter off the bedside tables and chest of drawers,
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Ensuring the bamboo flooring was dust-free and sparkling,
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Having large comfortable chairs in the retreat area to inspire relaxation away from the children.
By doing this, buyers could walk into the master suite and immediately sit down and relax, giving them the impression that they could have their own peaceful sanctuary away from the children.
The Numbers
Prior to sprucing it up, my home was valued at $445,000. I spent $5,000 on fresh paint throughout and some shower re-grouting so that all the walls looked fresh and clean. The home sold after 2 weeks on the market for $475,000 providing me with an extra $25,000 for my $5,000 investment. That’s a $5 return for every $1 spent – happy days!
*After photos by House Mandurah Rockingham, House Guru Photography.
