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$400 per
gallon Paint?
Why
hasn’t my home sold?
It's a question REALTORS®
hear often these days. The answer depends on whether the
homeowner (seller) is going to help by making the house
saleable. By saleable, I mean a fair market price and a
marketable appearance. But where “Price” and
“Appearance” meet lies a valuable commodity... paint.
The contents of this metal container magnify both the
price and appearance of a home. We estimate that every
gallon of properly applied paint increases the value of
a house by $400. – not to mention that it will help the
house sell faster. If you do the painting yourself,
you’ll keep most of that $400 per gallon.
Curb Appeal
Buyers today look at houses on the
Internet and even drive-by potential neighborhoods
before they decide to narrow their choices. Favorable
curb-appeal is crucial. A freshly painted front door and
trim may get you onto the “short list” of houses to see.
Conversely, peeling paint on trim and a dirty scuffed
door may keep your house off.
Put
your personal tastes aside
Paint
in bright, neutral colors. You may love dark, bold
colors, but you don’t what the potential buyers will
like. Let them picture how nice the house looks without
being distracted by a purple bedroom
As
a Minimum
Your home should be "fresh and clean"
on the very first day it goes on the market. Make time
to do at least the following, or hire someone to do it
for you:
1.
Carefully paint the front door and the doorframe. You
only get one chance to make a good first impression
2.
Touch-up any problem areas with matching paint.
Especially important are the areas that potential buyers
are likely to see up-close! This includes the front
door, foyer area, the kitchen and any areas that you're
"selling" as attractive features.
3.
Touch-up chipped paint on corners of walls and gently
wash soiled areas around light-switches and clean or
replace the switch cover plates
The more
rooms you paint, the better. It makes the entire house
look better, fresher, brighter and newer. The aroma of
fresh paint is intoxicating to buyers.
A gallon
of paint covers 300-400 sq ft. This means a gallon will
paint a typical 12’ x 12’ room. If you paint the walls
off-white you can paint the ceiling the same color. Or
better yet, paint the ceilings white. It makes the room
feel brighter and larger. Paint all ceilings the same
color – it makes touch-up easier and you can save money
by buying paint in larger containers. If there is a
water or cooking stain on the ceiling paint first with a
good primer coat, or else the stain may bleed through.
Think seriously about removing wallpaper and painting
those walls. Wood paneling can also be painted – paint
with a primer coat first.
When
you consider that you're increasing the sale value of
your home by about $400 per gallon of (properly applied)
paint, the only question left to ask is...
How
many of those $400 checks
would
you like to receive?
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