Getting Real About Real Estate

Painting Your Home Before It Goes on Sale: A Few Things to Consider

Unless it has been done coincidentally in the fairly recent past, it generally makes sense to paint your home before it goes on the market. It may not need a top to bottom comprehensive repainting, and it's a case of using your best judgement, and allowing this judgement to be compatible with your budget and available time. What are some of the basic things to consider when painting your home before it goes on sale?

Outside Your Home

Painting the exterior of your home can be expensive, and perhaps prohibitively so. Since painting is intended to freshen up the look of a home, you may wish to use other means to achieve this result on your home's exterior. Water blasting brickwork and other forms of external cladding won't necessarily make it look brand new, but it can significantly improve its appearance without needing to paint. 

Trim and Fascia

You will still need to do some painting on the exterior of your home since not every surface can be refreshed with the use of water blasting. If your budget and time allow, you may wish to paint your house's exterior trim and fascia. When done properly, this isn't an insignificant job. However, it's more labour-intensive than it is expensive, and it's a worthwhile effort when you see the results—especially when the other exterior surfaces of your home have been freshened up.

Preparing Your Interior Walls

The interior of your home is where you should be concentrating your painting efforts—assuming these interior walls are ready to be painted. You'll need to form a rigorous inspection for cracks and chips in your walls, as well as any suspected water damage. Small abnormalities with no underlying danger (such as an isolated damp patch without a leak to cause it) may be able to be covered with a stain-blocking primer before painting. Most cracks, chips and water damage in your plaster will need to be repaired before the wall can be painted.

Painting Your Interior Walls

Giving your interior walls a fresh coat of paint can give your home a basic (though effective) makeover, and this can considerably increase your home's appeal to prospective buyers. It's a time-consuming job, so if your finances allow, you might want to hire professionals. Opt for a neutral colour (white or off-white). You want to present your home as a relatively blank canvas, allowing prospective buyers to easily imagine themselves living in the space.

The extent of any painting is going to depend on how much time and money you're willing to invest in the project. But the transformative effects of a quick coat of paint shouldn't be dismissed, and this relatively minor job may greatly increase the price you can get for your property. For more information on painting, contact a company like Build it up Melbourne.


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