Selling Your Home? 5 Jobs You Shouldn’t DIY

Selling Your Home? 5 Jobs You Shouldn't DIY

If you’re selling your home in Orlando, you’ll need to make minor (and, if necessary, major) repairs before you put it on the market. Your real estate agent will talk to you about getting the whole property up to snuff before you ask someone to buy it – and there are some jobs you can tackle yourself.

But unless you’re a licensed professional, there are five jobs you should never try to DIY.

Selling Your Home? 5 Jobs You Shouldn’t DIY

  • Decorative painting
  • Plumbing issues
  • Electrical repairs
  • Wall removal
  • Major renovations

Decorative Painting

Decorative painting is a skill that takes years to hone – no matter what you see on home renovation shows or Pinterest. And while there are plenty of ways you can decorate your home beautifully without years of schooling and instruction, decorative painting isn’t one of them.

Check out these ordinary DIY painting fails – and then remind yourself that decorative painting, like marbleizing and other faux finishing techniques, are a lot harder than they look online.

Don’t Try to Fix Plumbing Issues

We’ve all ignored a leaky faucet at home, snaked a drain with a little clog in it, or replaced a faucet washer.

But anything more extensive is definitely professional territory. While a major plumbing fail probably won’t put your life in danger, like electrical problems can, they can put your bank account in serious jeopardy. Water damage is among the most expensive to repair, and it can lead to other issues like mold and mildew growth.

Don’t Make Electrical Repairs

Working with electricity is incredibly dangerous, and you should absolutely leave electrical projects to the pros. You can do things like install light fixtures or replace outlet plates, but when it comes to rewiring anything, you really do need to work with a licensed electrician. Risks of working with electrical wiring range from house fires to deadly shocks – and it’s just not worth it.

Don’t Remove a Wall (or Do Any Other Structural Work)

Steer clear of structural work unless you’re 100 percent positive that you’re not working on a load-bearing wall. You could literally knock down your entire house – and then there’s nothing left to sell.

Faulty structural renovations can destroy your home’s integrity, which can pose much bigger problems you (or the next owners) will have to fix in the future… or worse, much bigger problems right now.

Don’t Do Major DIY Renovations

Major renovations, like redoing a basement, are better left to the professionals. There’s nothing wrong with diving into small renovation projects like replacing bathroom cabinetry or changing out your faucets… if you already know what you’re doing. If you don’t, though, you could be asking for trouble.

Are You Selling a Home in Orlando?

If you’re selling your home in Orlando, we can help – we know how to market it to all the right buyers so you can sell it quickly and at the right price.

Call us at 407-529-4621 right now to learn about our premium property marketing services and how we’ll put them to work for you.

If you’re also looking for a new home in Orlando or one of the surrounding communities, check out our:

5 Common Decorating and Design Mistakes to Undo Before You Sell Your Home

5 Common Decorating and Design Mistakes to Undo Before You Sell Your Home

If you’re like most people, you know that to sell your home in Orlando, you need to stage it properly – but what if you’ve made some design mistakes that’ll send prospective buyers running for the Everglades?

Here are five common decorating and design mistakes you can – and should – undo before you put your home on the market.

5 Common Decorating and Design Mistakes to Undo Before You Sell Your Home

When you’re selling your home, your Orlando Realtor® will walk through and point out areas that you might be able to improve so your house appeals to more buyers. Before that, though, you can undo a few of the most common decorating and design mistakes people make. They include:

  1. Dark, painted walls
  2. Crowded living spaces
  3. Over-decorated walls
  4. Cold, unwelcoming kitchens
  5. Multipurpose rooms that aren’t well-defined

1. Dark, Painted Walls

Dark colors make rooms feel smaller and “closer,” but when you’re selling your home, you want the whole space to appear light, airy and open. Whether you need to hire a professional painter to come in and paint over the dark colors or you do it yourself, it’s one of the things your Realtor might suggest you tackle first.

2. Crowded Living Spaces

Back to the light, airy and open theme: When there’s too much furniture in your space, buyers will feel like it’s cramped and crowded. Remove everything that you don’t need – including that comfy chair, extra end tables and other furnishings that interrupt traffic flow or make a room look smaller. Pull your sofa away from the wall at least 6 inches while you’re at it; this move sounds counterintuitive, but it works to make a room look bigger.

3. Over-Decorated Walls

Too much décor crowds a room, and that’s true even if it’s only on the walls. Try taking down art and replacing it with mirrors, or simply take down half of what you have. You want buyers to be able to envision their own personal style in your home, so make sure you remove anything that’s eclectic, religious-themed or personal.

4. Cold, Unwelcoming Kitchens

Your kitchen may be incredibly practical, but when it comes to selling a home, most buyers want to see it as a comfortable gathering place. Add a fruit basket, fresh flowers or colorful appliances – or even paint something in bright, friendly hues (like the cabinets). Fix up your backsplash with fresh tile, add bright artwork or set up a miniature herb garden to add even more style and warmth to the space.

5. Multipurpose Rooms That Aren’t Well-Defined

Make sure every room in your home has a purpose to help prospective buyers envision their “stuff” in your space. Even if you have a catch-all room where you’ve stashed the treadmill, that extra bed and your winter clothes, clear it out and turn it into something specific. Make it a guest room, a home office or a workout room – but make it something.

Are You Selling Your Home in Orlando?

If you’re selling your home in Orlando, call us at 407-529-4621 or get in touch with us online to find out how we’ll market it to all the right buyers.

If you’re also looking for a new home for sale in Orlando or a nearby community, check out our:

 

 

5 Ways to Scare Away Buyers When You’re Selling Your Home

5 Ways to Scare Away Buyers When You’re Selling Your Home

If you don’t want to sell your house in Orlando, you’re in luck – these are five tips that will help guarantee buyers will run, not walk, out the front door.

5 Ways to Scare Away Buyers When You’re Selling Your Home

(Or, Five Pieces of Terrible Real Estate Advice You Should Never, Ever Follow)

When your home’s on the market, there are things you can do to sell it faster and at a better price. If you’re going for the opposite effect (you don’t want it to sell at all, or you want to encourage low-ball offers), follow these five pieces of advice.

#1: Leave Dishes in the Sink During Showings

Nothing says “leave this kitchen right now” like a sink full of dirty dishes. Even if you don’t let them pile up, make sure you don’t rinse out the sink, clean the faucet with window cleaner or put away the dishes you air-dried.

#2: Keep the Litterbox and Pet Toys in Plain Sight

Don’t put away the cats’ litterbox when potential buyers come to call. Make sure there are pet toys everywhere, too – even if potential buyers don’t like pets, or if they’re allergic, they’ll be glad to see that you have pets you care about very much.

#3: Don’t Clean the Oven or Organize the Cabinets

Buyers who come into your home will open the oven, peek inside cabinets, and even open the fridge – in many cases, people associate how clean your hidden areas are with how well you’ve taken care of the home. Want to show them that you don’t want them to make an offer? Don’t clean the oven, organize the cabinets or wipe down the inside of the refrigerator. They’ll get the message.

#4: Put Up the Most Eclectic Décor You Can Find

When you want to sell your home, you need it to appeal to the widest range of buyers – but if you don’t, it’s time to put up décor that could put people off. Think politically-themed posters, enlarged family photos or anything that could be considered risqué and you’re on the right track.

#5: Stuff Clutter in the Drawers – Or Just Leave It Out

Again, buyers will open the drawers to see how easy it is to keep the home organized… but they won’t need to if you just leave all the clutter in the open. The more crowded and sloppy your house looks, the less likely you are to sell it – and that’s what you’re going for, right?

Are You Selling (or Not Selling) a Home in Orlando?

Of course this is all terrible advice – but it does illustrate what not to do when you want to sell your home.

And while we’re on the topic of selling your home, we can help you do it quickly and at the right price. Call us or get in touch with us online for a free home valuation – we’ll tell you how much your house is worth on today’s market. If you’re also looking for a new home, check out our:

 

5 Ways to Help Your Realtor Sell Your Home in Orlando Quickly

5 Ways to Help Your Realtor Sell Your Home in Orlando

When you’re selling a home in Orlando, you need a great Realtor® to help you along the way – but there are a few things you can do to help your agent sell your home quickly and at the right price.

Here’s how you can help.

5 Ways to Help Your Realtor Sell Your Home Quickly

Your Orlando Realtor will walk you through the home-selling process and answer your questions every step of the way, but the more you know about what to do, the better off you’ll be. Check out these five tips for helping your agent sell your house quickly.

#1: Price your home right the first time.

Many times, sellers believe that they should set a high price and lower it later – but that’s a huge mistake.

The first 30 days your home is on the market are critical. That’s when you’ll see the most activity, but if your home is priced too high, you’re cutting out a huge segment of potential buyers.

#2: Boost your home’s curb appeal.

Potential buyers form an opinion of your home before they even come inside, and it all starts the second they spot it when they’re driving by. Curb appeal is incredibly important; you need the house to look attractive, easy to maintain and well-cared-for.

Talk to your agent about improvements you can make outside the house, such as planting flowers or improving walkways.

#3: Declutter, clean and depersonalize your home.

Buyers are instantly put off by a cluttered, messy home because it doesn’t show the home’s full potential. Before you even list your home, take out unnecessary furniture that blocks traffic flow, give your home a deep-clean (or hire a cleaning service to do it for you) and remove anything that contributes to clutter.

Then, remove things that make it distinctly yours. Take down family photos, religious items or anything that could be controversial, like items that make political statements or risqué art. (Check out our home staging tips, too.)

#4: Take pets out of the equation.

You don’t have to go so far as sending your four-legged family members to live with grandma, but when you leave the house for showings, take your pets – and their gear – with you. (That’s for your pets’ safety and to avoid chasing off potential buyers.) Prospective buyers shouldn’t even know that you have a pet, so remove toys, dishes and bedding when you leave the house.

#5: Make your home easy to show.

While it’s understandable that you don’t want to disrupt your whole life by leaving the house so a real estate agent can show it to buyers, you don’t want to alienate potential buyers.

Naturally, you can tell your agent that you only want to show the home at certain times… but remember, the more rigid your showing schedule is, the fewer opportunities you’ll give buyers to explore and potentially buy.

Are You Selling a Home in Orlando or the Surrounding Communities?

If you’re thinking about selling your home in Orlando or any of its suburbs, we can help. The first step is to find out how much your home is worth, so call us right away at 407-529-4621 or get in touch with us online. We’ll be able to value your home and tell you what it’s worth so you can make the right decision about selling.

If you’re also looking for a new home, check out our:

 

 

About Abr Orlando

We love working with Buyers and have worked hard to develop the skills necessary to assist our clients. All of us at Accredited Buyers Representative-Orlando LLC are certified as ABR®’s or working towards that and other NAR Designations to help you find your perfect spot. This short video highlights some of the important benefits of working with an ABR® when buying your next home. Education and Experience produce results for our clients.

ABR Orlando
1936 Lee Road Suite 100
Winter Park, FL 32789
Email: dave.hoyle@abr-orlando.com
Phone: 407-529-4621

  

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