How to Prepare Kansas City Homes for the Market Part 2
During Part 1 on this subject, we suggested creating helpful
checklists months ahead of putting a Kansas City home on the market. Also we spoke of the important projects of
de-cluttering and staging. Sellers must
also take care of as many major and minor home repairs before listing real
estate in Kansas City.
Smart sellers of Kansas City properties obtain a pre-listing
inspection of the home and repair anything else that surfaces. The home will
sell most quickly and at better price if it looks well-maintained from the
get-go. Homes that are sold in “as is”
condition move quite slowly on the Kansas City real estate market.
Let’s go over some basic repairs. Depending on the season of the year, homeowners can tackle
the outside elements or the inside elements first. Examine interior and exterior paint on the
walls and trim. Perhaps the front door
could be painted one of the new neutral colors that complement the trim on the
home's façade.
As your
Kansas City real estate agent, I may suggest the entire exterior repainted, and
with good reason. The colors should be
neutral. Not only walls but wood floors,
cabinets, doors, woodwork, and built-ins may need to be refreshed. A good hardware store can refer products for
this purpose.
Decide
if the flooring is in good condition or if it somehow dates the home. Hardwood floors are very popular these
days. Fortunate property owners may
discover that the old carpeting covers pristine wood floors. For example, the old shag carpeting styles
from the 1970s and 80s deter from the property value as do certain colors. Damaged linoleum and floor tiles, counter
tiles and backsplash tiles must be replaced.
Any
leaks in the home need to be fixed. The
plumbing and plumbing fixtures, toilets, tubs, showers, hot water heater,
washing machine, icemaker, air-conditioner, and other water-bearing elements in
the home should be examined for leaks.
Be sure all appliances are in good repair and remove others.
The
roof shingles must be in good repair.
Examine carefully the roof tiles, especially around seams where the roof
is pitched. At the same time, clean out
the leaves from the gutters. Run a hose
down the gutters and downspouts to be sure they do not leak. Seal all of the seams on the gutters if they
leak.
Look at the garage floor.
Hardware stores sell compounds that can remove oil drips from
cement. Consider washing the walls in
the garage and/or applying a coat of fresh paint.Shelly O'Boynick
Realtor, Broker Associate
RE/MAX Realty Suburban
12701 W. 87th Street
Shawnee Mission, KS 66215
cell-816.830.3370
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