Home Buyers Top 10 Wish List

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Home Buyers Top 10 Wish List

• Kitchens and Baths Sell Homes
• Modern, Updated Kitchen. The kitchen in todays
  home is the communal place where family gathers
  for socializing as well as eating. The best
  investment a seller can make is to update the
  kitchen. The cost of updating a kitchen for a
  buyer is often an expense theyd rather not deal
  with, as most want a home that is move-in ready.
  If they see a kitchen with too much work
  involved to update it, unless there is some other
  compelling reason why they are in love with the
  home, theyll usually move on.
• The best recommendation for homeowners is to make
  updates and maintain and repair their home
  throughout the time they own it. Waiting until
  you decide to sell the home can mean a shock to
  your wallet when you have a lot of updating in
  front of you at once.
• Similarly, deferred maintenance often leads to
  chronic problems that are more expensive to fix
  in the end.
• Bathrooms. Buyers will look next at the number
  and age of the bathrooms. The cost of updating a
  bathroom is usually the 2nd most costly update,
  after the kitchen. A master bath that evokes a
  modern spa retreat is a coveted feature. Although
  you cant hide major imperfections in a
  bathroom, staging can do wonders in this area.
  Painting the bathroom in a serene color, adding
  plush towels and a stylish decorator soap
  dispenser set can change the entire feel of a
  bathroom. There are also some clever inexpensive
  ways you can update a bathroom, like painting
  the trim on a dated shower, or updating the
  lighting or fixtures.
• Todays Home Expectations Have Changed
• Number of bedrooms. I recently viewed a large
  (5000 square foot home) on 2 acres in an estate
  neighborhood. The home had only 3 bedrooms in a
  neighborhood where the comparable homes have 4
  or 5 bedrooms. Can you say Fatal Flaw? The
  original

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homeowners designed and built the home according
to their needs and wants, not thinking of the
resale. The home had been on the market for over
2 years. The only remedy is price in that
instance. Todays homeowners have higher
expectations than their parents or grandparents
did. Todays families require that every child
have their own bedroom, and sometimes their own
bathroom. If you have rooms that you have
repurposed for other uses, make sure you convert
them back to bedrooms before you put your home on
the market. Most of the time people are looking
for standard bedrooms, not special purpose rooms,
or bonus rooms like hobby or craft rooms. Those
are fine if they dont come at the cost of a
bedroom. 4. Accessible and dedicated laundry
space.
Laundry rooms used to be relegated to the
basement. In most modern homes the laundry space
has been brought upstairs to the bedroom levels
or to the first floor where people live.
Cabinets and counter space is a value-add for
managing clothes and cleaning products. An
organized laundry area that allows the homeowner
to control clutter will be a plus. A Home Buyers
Must Have Room for Stuff
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• Storage. People have stuff. Stuff needs space.
  Most buyers tour a home looking at the overall
  storage possibilities.
• If you dont have a huge amount of storage in
  your home, dont fret. Make sure you make the
  most of what you have. Pay attention to your
  storage spaces and rooms in your staging. Cull
  the closets to show as much room available as
  possible.
• If your bedrooms are smallish, make sure you
  maximize the space. De-clutter and minimize
  furniture. This is just one reason why staging is
  important. It shows your home in the best
  possible way. Look at it this way, youre going
  to be moving soon anywaywhy not pack up a good
  amount of your stuff now?
• An Organized Garage. One item that is a moving up
  the home buyers top 10 wish list is a functional
  garage. Todays families appreciate a space large
  enough to fit 2 vehicles and offer storage space
  for their many activities. Having an organized
  storage system in the garage is a big plus for a
  home seller.
• Living Large
• Outdoor Living Spaces.

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• Homeowners want to have all the functionality in
  a smaller home, including the outside of the
  home.
• Outdoor living space can be found in a deck or
  patio, or even in a side-yard. Creativity and
  some good old-fashioned labor can produce
  attractive outdoor spaces that add to the
  livability of any home. Add some inviting staging
  touches and you can add a lot of charm and
  appeal.
• A Home Office has been growing in demand over the
  last decade as more people work from home either
  part-time or full-time. If a home doesnt have a
  dedicated office space, it really adds to the
  appeal just to carve out office space in a
  kitchen or family room.
• Energy efficiency is high on todays buyers wish
  list. Buyers are more aware of and interested in
  green innovations, both for the environment and
  for their wallets. The top of the list of green
  features are energy-efficient appliances and
  high-efficiency insulation and windows. There
  are many ways to increase the energy efficiency
  of your home, from simple additions like a
  programmable thermostat, or replacing your
  lighting with energy saving LED lighting
  fixtures.
• Upgraded Light Fixtures and Ceiling Fans.
  Sometimes the most obvious things can get
  overlooked. Lighting and ceiling fans are so easy
  to replace with modern, design- friendly
  fixtures, for a very reasonable cost. Even if you
  dont need to replace them, make sure you use
  the brightest bulbs possible. Lighting makes a
  huge difference and is one of those details that
  gives you the most bang for your buck.