Why Painting Your Home Will Increase the Chances of Selling It

Sharper Impressions Painting provides premium painting services in the following cities: Columbus, OH; Kansas City, MO; Indianapolis, IN; Atlanta, GA; Orlando, FL and Nashville, TN. We are happy to provide you with a quote. Just contact us.

You’re taking the plunge and you’ve decided to move home. You know the area you want to relocate to, you have your budget worked out, and you’re looking forward to making a brand new start in a new neighborhood. You just have one small issue: you need to sell your current home in order to make the move.

Whether you’re preparing to put your home on the market, or you’ve been patiently (or impatiently) waiting for someone to make an offer, to give your property the best chance of a quick sale, you need to take a look at it through the eyes of potential buyers.

Real estate agents are in agreement that the best way to increase the chances of selling your home is to repaint it – and that means giving a new coat of paint on the interior and exterior. You might be asking yourself if it really matters that much. After all, how much can a lick of paint influence someone’s decision to buy? Well, quite a bit..

When your home is freshly painted, it is far more likely to inspire potential purchasers to make an offer. A living room newly painted in a shade of magnolia with glossy white woodwork says “let’s move in now! Where shall we put the sofa?” On the other hand, a tired exterior that hasn’t been painted for a number of years makes your house look old, and not in a stately historic way: buyers won’t see ‘quaint,’ but in turn, a potential money pit of ongoing repairs and updated paint.

When it comes to repainting your home’s exterior, choose a fresh color that compliments the outsides of your neighbors’ homes. You might like standing out from the crowd, but the majority of your potential buyers probably won’t. Bear in mind something as innocuous as the color of your front door can be a turn off for some buyers – an entire exterior painted baby blue is likely to drastically reduce the amount of offers you get.

On the inside, marks or scuffs on walls or woodwork need to be painted over if you want to create a great impression and give the appearance that your home has been well loved and cared for.

You’ve heard it before, but we’ll say it again: to attract the highest number of potential buyers you really do need to get rid of brightly colored walls and stick to shades of cream, beige, magnolia or other soft neutrals such as pale greens or browns. It can be tempting to let your personality shine through, but bright purple walls will prevent a buyer from seeing the potential in your (i.e. their future) home. Also, strong colors will not only hamper a viewer from envisioning your home as theirs, but will have them mentally calculating the cost of the many tins of paint that they’ll need to cover up your walls! The point here is not to show off your eye for color, but to present a blank canvas and a home that is ready for its new owners to move into and easily decorate to their taste.

To increase the chances of a quick sale and of maximizing your profit, put yourself in a buyer’s shoes or think about the homes you’ve been looking at as you prepare to relocate. You’re probably more impressed by the houses or apartments that are clearly well looked after – not those that appear to have been neglected. After all, if at surface level a home appears to be uncared for, then it is a sign that there are bigger, more expensive problems and reapairs waiting to be discovered.

It is the outside of your home that makes the first and biggest impression, while the inside shows how well maintained it has been. So if you’re planning to sell, you should reach for the paintbrushes before you think about calling the real estate agents. Just a few hours work will not only add great value to your home, but also help ensure a more speedy sale.

For more advice about repainting your home before you put it on the market, get in touch with us today.