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Selling Your Pea Ridge Home? 15 Ways to Maximize The Sale Price

Selling a property in Pea Ridge, Arkansas? Residents say it’s an amazing place to live with great schools and a clean, small-town vibe, sitting just 10 minutes from a major metropolitan area. There are countless activities to do outdoors, and Pea Ridge has a rich history dating back to the Civil War, which includes a well-preserved Civil War battlefield now known as the Pea Ridge National Military Park.

Although it’s a great place to live, and it’s growing fast, selling your home in Pea Ridge, Arkansas can take some time. Before putting your home on the market, start doing things to increase your home’s value and appeal so you can get the maximum sale price.

1. Get a professional opinion

realtor

Invite a realtor to do a walk through of your home with you for an hour or two to give you ideas for improving the property, like changing the paint color, replacing appliances, and fixing small things that can turn into big frustrations. A realtor will be able to spot things you’re likely to overlook because they deal with home sales on a regular basis and know exactly what potential buyers are looking for, and what issues can prevent you from getting your ideal sale price.

2. Have your property inspected

Don’t put your home on the market until you’ve had it inspected because certain repairs and renovations will make or break the sale. For example, you might have a termite infestation or old electrical wiring, and you won’t know unless you get an inspection. Hidden problems are one of the biggest reasons buyers withdraw offers and/or lowball offers.

3. Give it a fresh coat of paint

A fresh paint job is one of the easiest improvements you can make to increase the value of your home. Over time, paint gets dirty and starts to look dingy. Nothing can brighten up a room better than new paint. However, consider a new color if the current paint job is drab. Neutral colors will appeal to more people, but there are specific color schemes people find attractive, like shades of dark blue, grey, and creme.

If you paint it yourself, you can expect to spend around $25 per gallon on basic paint. Premium paint will cost much more. Painting supplies are cheap, and you can get everything you need at your local home improvement store. However, if you’ve never painted before, consider hiring a professional or at least a friend who knows what they’re doing so you can avoid making big mistakes.

4. Make it energy-efficient

Homeowners want to save money on their energy bills, making your property more energy-efficient can help you get higher offers. The best place to start is to call your local utility company to see if you can get an energy audit. If they offer this service, you’ll get a list of ways to increase energy efficiency, which might include making improvements to the doors, windows, and appliances.

5. Install a water filtration system

While some people are content with the water dispenser built into their refrigerator, not everyone likes cold water, and sometimes it can taste funny, even when it’s filtered. Also, when the fridge is the only source of filtered water, cooking is frustrating. It takes forever to fill small pots, and bigger pots won’t even fit under the spout.

A water filtration system under the kitchen sink will not only provide superior filtration to the fridge, but it will make it a breeze to cook with filtered water and grab a glass of room temperature water. The best form of filtration is reverse osmosis with an activated carbon filter. Refrigerator filters are basic, and don’t remove much. With reverse osmosis, you can remove additional contaminants, like fluoride, nitrate, arsenic, and minerals that create hard water. To potential home buyers, a water filtration system will feel like a small luxury.

6. Get rid of popcorn ceilings

Nothing will make your home look older than popcorn ceilings, and you’ll dramatically improve your home’s aesthetics by removing all the popcorn ceilings. Just be sure to have them inspected by a professional first because some popcorn ceilings contain asbestos. You can still remove an asbestos ceiling, but that’s a job best suited for professionals. Getting rid of popcorn ceilings may seem trivial, but it’s an unpleasant aesthetic that can be a deal-breaker for many.

7. Consider replacing the carpet with laminate floors

Carpets are nice, but they trap a large amount of dirt and contaminants, including allergens. If your carpet is fairly new, it’s probably fine, but if it’s older and showing signs of wear, it can make your home look less appealing to buyers. Most people just replace the carpet with new carpet, but consider replacing it with a hard surface, like laminate or tile. Hard floors are much easier to clean and maintain because they don’t trap contaminants or odors. It can make your home look more upscale, and according to a USA Today study, 54% of homeowners say they’ll pay more for a home with hardwood floors.

As long as your property is well-insulated and weatherized, and can be easily warmed with central heat or a wood stove, hard flooring shouldn’t be an issue in the colder, winter months.

8. Use low-maintenance landscaping

When it comes to enhancing curb appeal with flowers and foliage, go for low-maintenance landscaping. Most people don’t have the time or energy to maintain a big yard that requires a lot of upkeep, including watering. The best plants are shrubs, trees, and perennials that can tolerate drought and require less water to thrive.

9. Fix your lawn

If your lawn is patchy or overgrown, fixing it up will do wonders to improve your home’s curb appeal. While it’s important to keep it neatly mowed for potential buyers, you also want it to look green, thick, and lush. It’s worth hiring a professional landscaper because they can shape your lawn, create borders where necessary, and they can even dig it all up and plant a different type of grass that will look better and be easier to maintain.

10. Make your home look bigger

You can’t magically increase the square footage of your home, but you can make it look and feel bigger with some visual strategies. The first place to start is with natural lighting. If you have heavy drapes, replace them with lightweight vertical blinds or simple shutters to allow more natural light into the home. Make sure to open the blinds for each showing.

bigger home

Mirrors are excellent at making small spaces feel bigger, but they also make living areas feel about twice as big. If you are still living in your home when you put it on the market, remove all clutter and don’t leave anything of a personal nature visible to potential buyers. Also, minimizing the amount of furniture in each room will make it feel more expansive. Ideally, you should hire a professional to stage your home with nice furniture.

11. Clean your home from top to bottom

Regardless of how clean your property seems, if you haven’t had a deep cleaning in a while, it’s overdue. No matter how often you clean, there are likely corners and small things left behind. Never start showing your home to potential buyers before getting a deep clean from a professional. It shouldn’t cost more than $400 to get your whole house scrubbed down, and that’s a small price to pay to create a stellar first impression.

12. Remodel the kitchen

If your kitchen isn’t absolutely amazing, or if the cabinets are old, worn, or look grungy, don’t hesitate to remodel the kitchen. It’s one of the best ways to increase the value of your home. People want to enjoy the time they spend in the kitchen, and an ugly kitchen can be an immediate deal-breaker. When potential home buyers tour your home, you want a kitchen that will create a good first impression, with updated appliances, beautiful cabinets, and nice countertops.

Even if you only increase the value of your home by the same amount of money you spend on a kitchen remodel, it’s worth the effort because a beautiful kitchen will help you get more offers and can support your listed price.

13. Make important repairs

Don’t leave any major repairs to the buyer. People won’t pay top dollar for a house that needs big repairs, like plumbing and electrical upgrades, septic system repairs, water damage repairs, or a new roof. Take care of all major issues before putting your home on the market to give potential buyers peace of mind, especially if you’re selling an older home. When people know common problems have been recently handled, they’re more likely to make a good offer.

14. Get professional photos and videos

Snapping images with your cellphone is easy, but if you don’t hire a professional, you’re not going to get photos that properly represent your home. Hire a professional photographer to take photos of your home for your listing. They’ll capture the right lighting and ensure every room in your home looks amazing.

If you’re going to create a virtual tour, hire a pro to set up the cameras instead of trying to do it with a DIY app. A professional will cost more, but a virtual tour is often the first impression a potential buyer will get while searching for properties online. A poorly made virtual tour can turn people away.

15. Remodel the bathroom

An updated bathroom will go a long way in making a great first impression. Nobody likes bathrooms that look dated and grungy even after a good cleaning. People spend a lot of time in the bathroom, and if yours is impressive from the start, potential buyers will be able to picture themselves enjoying their time getting ready for work or relaxing with a hot bath at the end of the day.

If your fixtures are outdated, ugly, or cheap, a bathroom remodel is warranted. Consider adding a ceiling fan for better ventilation, bright lighting, a nice mirror, a new tile floor, and updated fixtures. When the bathrooms in your home make people feel good, they’ll be more likely to make you an offer.

Get the most for your Pea Ridge home

After you’ve done everything possible to improve the value of your home and upgrade the aesthetics, make sure you price it correctly to sell. With the right repairs and improvements, you’ll be able to sell it for a much higher price than if you did nothing at all.

If you want to sell your home, we’d love to help you get the sale price you deserve. Our experienced Pea Ridge real estate agents can help you list and stage your property, show it to potential buyers, and negotiate the sale. For an easy, stress-free experience selling your home, contact us now to learn more about our Northwest Arkansas real estate services can help you sell!

Ethan Emerson
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