Sunrise Homes & Renovations, Inc.

3 Tips for a Higher Home Appraisal

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Selling a home can be a roller coaster of emotions, especially when it comes to the appraisal process. Homebuyers and sellers alike are keenly aware of the importance of a successful appraisal, as it can make or break a deal. To help ensure your home appraises for the highest possible value, here are three tips every homeowner should consider.

1. Information is King

Appraisers typically spend only about 30 minutes or less inspecting the interior of a home. This brief visit is all they have to make a first impression, so it’s crucial to prepare thoroughly beforehand. One of the best ways to do this is by creating a comprehensive packet of information for the appraiser.

Your packet should include:

  • A fact sheet with your home’s address, year built, square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and lot size.
  • A list of recent sales in your area, highlighting any for-sale-by-owner homes or quick sales due to unique circumstances.
  • A detailed list of improvements made to the home, including dates and contractor contact information.

While appraisers have access to sales data, providing specific information about your home can ensure they don’t miss anything that could positively influence your appraisal.

2. If It’s Broken, Fix It

The condition of your home significantly impacts its “effective age,” which appraisers use to determine value. Effective age reflects how well the home has been maintained rather than its actual age. Any visible wear and tear can increase this effective age, leading to a lower value.

Common issues to address include:

  • Cracked windows
  • Worn carpets
  • Broken tiles
  • Torn vinyl flooring
  • Damaged fixtures

By fixing these problems, you can help ensure your home is assessed as being in better condition, which can positively affect its appraised value.

3. Give the Home a Quick Cleaning

While cleanliness itself doesn’t directly impact a home’s appraised value, it does contribute to the overall impression of how well the home has been maintained. A clean, well-presented home can give the illusion of better upkeep, which can subtly influence the appraiser’s perception.

Focus on:

  • Tidying up landscaping
  • Cleaning carpets
  • Removing marks from walls

Remember, while some factors that impact home value are out of your control, taking these steps can streamline the appraisal process and potentially increase your home’s value. Preparing your home well can also attract more buyers and ultimately lead to a successful sale.

Autumn Home Staging: How to Set Your Home Up to Match the Warm, Rich Colors of Autumn

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Autumn Home Staging: How to Set Your Home Up to Match the Warm, Rich Colors of AutumnCan you believe that autumn is already here? Autumn is not only a great time to enjoy some cooler weather, but it is also a perfect time to sell a home. If you want to sell your house this autumn, these home staging tips will have buyers pounding down your door.

Improve Your Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is easily the most important factor when it comes to selling a home, and it is even more important in the autumn. Maintaining great curb appeal can be difficult in autumn because of all the falling leaves.

Raking the leaves and planting some autumn flowers will make your home inviting to buyers. You can even add some pumpkins around the porch, if you desire.

Brighten Up The House

The shorter days of autumn make lighting more important when staging a home, because nobody wants to walk into a dark and depressing house. The best way to brighten up any house is by opening the blinds and turning on every light.

While it may not be great for the electric bill, the extra lighting will help the home sell quicker. You can even place some spotlights on the floor behind furniture to brighten up the darker rooms.

Make It Feel Comfortable

There is something about the cooling weather of autumn that makes people want to stay inside. Showing off how comfortable your home is will definitely pique buyers’ interest. A great way to make your home more cozy during a showing is by playing seasonal music and handing out some fresh baked cookies – it adds a personal touch and a subtle sense of coziness.

Accent The Home With Autumn Colors

While it is impossible to change the color scheme of your home to fit the season, you can add some accent colors throughout the house. If you have a neutral colored couch, then you can easily throw some red or orange pillows on it to make it really stand out. Adding some autumn decorations to each room is also a great way to accent your home with autumn colors.

Autumn is an extremely popular time to buy or sell a house, and for good reason. Taking advantage of autumn’s vibrant colors when you stage your home will give your house an irresistible appeal. For more information about how to sell your home in the autumn, or if you’d like to list your home for sale, contact an experienced real estate professional today.

3 DIY Kitchen Upgrades That Will Boost Your Home Selling Price With Just A Few Hours Work

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3 DIY Kitchen Upgrades That Will Boost Your Home Selling Price With Just A Few Hours WorkHomeowners who want to increase the appeal of their residence before putting it up for sale can, within a few hours and with a little elbow grease, perform some do-it-yourself (DIY) kitchen upgrades that are sure to pique the interest of would-be buyers.

Many people either have or are in the process of listing their home, so it makes sense to do as much as possible to attract the interest of prospective purchasers.

It need not cost a proverbial arm and a leg to boost the selling price of a home. Here are three DIY kitchen upgrades that will help homeowners gain a competitive advantage in the real estate market and get attractive offers for their residence.

On-The-Cheap Cabinet Upgrades

For a DIY upgrade project that won’t cost much money and won’t take much time, homeowners should consider revamping their cabinetry, as long as the cabinets are structurally sound. After cleaning them and, if necessary, sanding down any rough spots, homeowners can apply a coat or two of paint and, after the paint dries, install new knobs or handles to finish off the project.

The end result will be a totally transformed kitchen that likely won’t require more than a can of paint, sandpaper, some cleaner and some knobs or handles.

Upgrade Your Countertops

It’s amazing how much of a difference an upgraded countertop can make to the overall look of a kitchen. Homeowners who believe that a new countertop would definitely transform their kitchen have a number of options at their disposal such as buying a new one, tiling over the existing one or repainting the existing one.

Often the easiest of the three options is repainting, since this simply involves sanding the surface, priming it, applying the paint and then applying numerous coats of polyurethane to safeguard the finish.

Transform Your Kitchen Backsplash

While a nice-looking kitchen backsplash can be a plus for would-be home buyers, the fact of the matter is that an ugly backsplash will definitely turn off prospective purchasers.

A cheap and relatively quick way to give a backsplash a new lease on life is to use so-called tile decals that, because of the adhesive they contain, can be pasted over top of existing backsplash tiles. There many different options in terms of styles, colors and concepts, so homeowners will be able to find the perfect option to make their backsplash look as good as new.

Preparing to list a home and get acceptable offers involves ensuring that your home will stack up nicely compared to other homes up for sale in the area. As it turns out, doing some quick and relatively simple kitchen upgrades will help to attract prospective buyers. Tips for performing any of these DIY upgrades can be found either at neighborhood big-box stores or online.

For more information on the real estate market or to get more information on any related topics, call your trusted real estate professional today for a no-obligation consultation.

Surprising Secrets Of Successful Home Staging

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surprising secrets of successful home staging Before you let a potential buyer see your home, take the following steps to ensure a great showing. These surprising secrets of successful home staging will help.

Maximize Horizontal Space

Horizontal space gives the illusion of spaciousness. Nearly every homebuyer wants to buy a home with lots of living space. The horizontal space you create doesn’t even need to be utilized. You can create the horizontal space by:

  • Clearing surfaces like countertops, tables and desks
  • Hanging floating bookshelves with nothing on them
  • Clearing the tops of kitchen cabinets

Invest In Fresh Flowers And Plants

Fresh flowers and plants evoke feelings of vitality and health. Homebuyers will respond positively when you use this tip. Place arrangements of fresh flowers and plants at strategic locations throughout the home. Be sure to avoid undoing your horizontal space clearing. Instead, consider placing fresh flowers and plants atop corner occasional tables, on outdoor decking, on each side of the front door, etc.

Stick To Neutral Paint Colors

Your bold tastes in color might not appeal to homebuyers. If you do need to paint a room to make it show-ready, stick to neutral colors. If your teen has painted their room black or some gaudy or bright color, it’s worth it to paint over it with a neutral tone. Otherwise, colors may be all your prospective homebuyers will remember about your home.

Rent A Storage Unit

Decluttering is a necessary step in staging. Buyers don’t want to see your assortment of desk accessories, perfume bottles, or family photo walls. Less is more. Gather all the excess clutter you can and box it up or hide it in drawers. Takedown wall decor, fold-up sofa throws, and corral kitchen appliances. Put all the clutter into boxes and bring it to a storage unit.  Afterward, your home will look more airy and spacious.

Hire Professional Cleaners

Hire professional cleaners to come in and get everything sparkling clean. Every home looks better when it’s clean. Even though you could do this yourself, professional cleaners will do a better job. This will save you the stress and still get your home in picture-perfect condition.

These home staging secrets will enable you to ensure that your home looks its best during showings. Remember, you have only one chance to make your home shine for buyers.

Four Ways You Can Enhance Your Home’s Value Before You List It for Sale

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Four Ways You Can Enhance Your Home's Value Before You List It for SaleWhether you’ve decided it’s time for an upgrade or you’re moving on to a new city, if you’re selling your home you may be wondering how you can boost its value before listing it up for sale.

In today’s blog post we’ll share four ways that you can spend a bit of time and money upgrading your home before it hits the local real estate market.

Spruce Up Your Landscaping

You’ll want your home to make a great first impression, and as such a great place to start is by sprucing up your lawn, gardens and other landscape features. Your grass should be a healthy green, free of weeds and freshly trimmed.

If you can, look to add seasonal flowers in your front gardens as this can add a bit of color to your home. Keep any shrubs or trees trimmed away from the home so that buyers can get a good look.

Apply A Fresh Coat Of Paint

Another excellent way to increase your home’s “curb appeal” is by applying a fresh coat of paint to the house, the trim around the windows and the front door.

Of course, painting a house is a big job so this might be one that is best left to a team of professionals. For added effect, replace the fixtures on the front door and pick up new house numbers.

Upgrade Your Kitchen Appliances

Many buyers will focus intently on your kitchen and the condition of everything from your flooring to your cupboards. If you have an older refrigerator or stove you’ll want to replace those with newer stainless-steel models.

You’ll also want to ensure that you have quality countertops – if you’re replacing them, consider going with granite as it’s popular with younger buyers.

Install A New Set Of Bathroom Fixtures

Finally, if you haven’t renovated your bathroom recently you’ll want to invest in modernizing your faucets, mirrors and other fixtures. The decor of your bathroom should match that in the rest of your home, but also stand out in its own unique way.

If you have an old bathtub with stained porcelain, consider replacing it with a glass-enclosed waterfall shower. Don’t forget about your light fixtures; if you find the bathroom is a bit dark, replace these with something that adds brightness.

For more information about the home staging and selling process, contact a local real estate professional today. Real estate agents are your best source for expert advice when selling a home, so don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call if you have questions.

Juggling Priorities: How to Manage Buying a New Home and Selling Your Old One at the Same Time

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Juggling Priorities: How to Manage Buying a New Home and Selling Your Old One at the Same TimeAre you a homeowner who is thinking about selling their current home and making an upgrade to a newer, larger home?

If you’re facing the prospect of having to manage a home purchase and a home sale at the same time you’ll find that there are numerous priorities that are begging for your attention.

In today’s blog post we’ll share a few tips for how to manage a buying and selling transaction simultaneously without being overwhelmed by them.

Start By Getting Your Finances In Order

Before you start the hunt for a new home you’ll want to ensure that your finances are in order and that you’re fully prepared for the many costs that you’ll face.

If you are currently paying off a mortgage on your home, you’ll either need to be approved for a second mortgage to buy your new home or you’ll need to sell your current home first.

You’ll also need to have your down payment lined up for the new home, as well as some money set aside to cover your closing costs. If you plan on selling first and then buying afterwards you may want to have a “transition fund” set aside to cover any rental or other costs if it takes a month or two before you get into a new home.

Selling First Is Typically Far Easier

It’s worth noting that selling your home first and then buying is far easier than buying first and trying to sell. There is a lot of uncertainty in the selling process, especially if you’re in a slower real estate market. Conversely, once you find that perfect new home you can typically get an offer in and close on it quickly if you’re the only bidder.

Begin The Hunt For Your New Home Immediately

Although you may want to wait before you buy your new home, you’ll want to get your house hunt started as soon as you decide to make your move. The more time you give yourself to find a new home, the better the chance you’ll get one in your target community and with the features you’re after.

Leverage Professional Expertise To Help You Manage It All

Trying to manage both selling your current home and buying a new one at the same time will be a significant challenge – one that can be made far easier by working with an experienced real estate agent who knows the ins and outs of the local market. Contact your real estate agent before getting started and they’ll be able to advise you how to best proceed.