Everyone can argue what room in the home is the most important. While the kitchen and living room are largely important, the bedroom also ranks high in importance. When buyers are touring a home, they will envision themselves living there, and a stale bedroom with outdated style can be a deal-breaker. Instead of scaring off potential buyers, use these tips to update and freshen up your bedroom’s stale design to create a relaxing calming space.

Fresh Paint: Remove Outdated Wallpaper

A fresh coat of paint is a huge step in updating your bedroom. Does your bedroom have a paint color that could be off-putting to buyers? Is there outdated wallpaper? Remove that wallpaper, or off-putting color, and choose a neutral color to create a relaxing space. Light gray or blue are often recommended colors. If there is wallpaper involved, don’t be afraid of the wallpaper removal process, here are tips by HGTV for wall paper removal.

Bedding

Make your bed look as comfortable as possible! Puff it up and make it cozy, or, consider purchasing a fancy comforter. Create an inviting place they will want relax in. Ballard designs presents multiple possibilities to arrange your pillows to ‘cozy up’ your bedroom.

Mirrors

Mirrors can offer reflected light to make a bedroom look bigger, however, too many mirrors can create a fun house environment. Find a balance, don’t go overboard, but instead, one or two mirrors strategically placed can create a larger looking bedroom.

Remove Popcorn Ceilings

Popcorn ceilings can date a room. Popcorn ceilings catch dust easily, are difficult to clean, and hard to repair. Removing your popcorn ceilings will instantly modernize your bedroom. This Old House offers three popular options for removal, include scraping, covering with a new layer of drywall, or skim coating with plaster to create a new texture.

Light & Windows

Lighting is essential, but make sure it’s the right kind of light. Don’t create a dim dark space, and don’t utilze fluorescent lighting. Instead, take advantage of natural light, lamp light, and low light. Clean the windows to receive the most natural light. Along with this, choose light bulbs with warmer tones.

Remove Frills

Excessive frills can scream “Outdated!” Check those bed skirts, window dressings, and curtains. Toning down the frills will bring your outdated look up to date.

Declutter

Lastly, but most importantly, declutter. Remove distracting knick-knacks off nightstands, organize the closet, and store away roughly 2/3 of your belongings. Consider using the Kon Mari Method to remove the clutter from your life.

These steps will freshen up that room and take it to the next level! If you need someone to evaluate your interior appeal, I would be happy to share my thoughts and guide you towards maximizing your home’s appeal!

Want to boost your home’s value, but don’t have the budget for a big renovation? Don’t worry, there are a multitude of home improvements that can be done without having a big budget.

However, when making your home improvements, it is vital to ask yourself, “Will the money I invest be recouped in the sale of the home?” The best renovations not only cover their costs, but they will boost your home’s value and provide you with a nice return. The key, of course, is identifying home improvements which will deliver the biggest return for the smallest investment.

Here are renovation projects that are both easy and inexpensive ways to dial up your home’s appeal and value:

Paint the front door: You might not have the budget for full exterior paint job, and that is okay, but have you looked at your front door lately? It’s a focal point from the street and if it’s looking weathered, updating it with a fresh coat of semi-gloss paint will improve its appearance and will impact your curb appeal. If you have more room in your budget, consider replacing the door entirely.

Paint the foyer/entry way: Interior paint is an obvious improvement, but you don’t have to make it an all-or-none proposition. Where do people enter your home? Like the front door, your point of entry is the first impression of the inside of your home. Refresh the point of entry of your home and make it look brand new.

Change light fixtures and switch plates: You probably don’t even notice your light fixtures anymore, but buyers will. Swapping out the fixtures and modernizing the look goes a long way. Same goes for switch plates, replace the old (and possibly dirty) with fresh new stylish ones.

Upgrade kitchen and bath fixtures: Do you need a new sink, or do you just need a fresh faucet? It’s amazing how much a deluxe kitchen faucet upgrade can change perceptions of a kitchen. Same goes for the bathrooms: Faucets and even a new toilet can do wonders. Along with this, a detail that often gets overlooked is door knobs. Replace old doorknobs on kitchen cabinets, or anywhere around your home.

Garden upgrades: Fresh borders on your flower gardens, new flowers, and fresh mulch are all small touches which refresh a home’s exterior. Remember that simple lawn maintenance can pay off in the end. It is believed  that “the cost of maintaining your lawn is only about $330. In exchange, you can recover a value of 303% or $1,000 from this basic fix, according to the National Association of Realtors” (CheatSheet).

Clean Carpets: Having your carpets professionally cleaned in an inexpensive investment to quickly update your home and make it feel cleaner. It is often suggested not to replace wall-to-wall carpeting before you sell your home because homeowners like choosing their own carpeting. Therefore, cleaning is the best option to create a clean feeling environment.

Want a second pair of eyes to advise you on your remodeling, big or small? I am happy to help you make a checklist to prepare your home for sale. Contact me at today: (928) 916-1921.

Trent Beaver
(928) 916-1921

For many, the open house is a make-or-break event for marketing a home. The mix of people stopping by can lead to an offer or a quality referral. With the directional signs pointing your way, the balloons bumping off the sign posts, and the house looking its best, a successful open house creates a network of awareness around your listing.

A lot of cleaning and preparation goes into an open house. Make sure to freshen up the exterior of your home, garage door, and front door with a fresh coat of paint. Look into purchasing new house numbers and mailbox and remember to open up all blinds and curtains inside your home. Letting light in every room will make a bright atmosphere.

After this, it can be easy to forget some crucial elements which might impact the safety of the event or even make the difference between an offer or no interest. Before the doors open, be absolutely sure you’ve secured the following items in a safe, alternate location:

1. Drugs. No, we’re not (necessarily) talking about the sort of stuff you’d see on Law & Order. We’re talking about prescription drugs. Remember that strangers are going to visit your home, and while we like to think they’re all interested buyers, there’s always the possibility that someone will comb through your medicine cabinet. Pain pills and ADD/ADHD drugs are common targets.
2. Guns. Have a weapon in your home? Is it locked in a safe, or stashed under the bed? The last thing you want to grow a pair of feet and walk out the door is a home defense weapon. Don’t assume your weapon is well-hidden. It they’re not absolutely inaccessible and secure, they need to be stored off the premises.
3. Heirlooms & valuables. Don’t tempt the weak. Gather up the family jewels and store them securely elsewhere. Don’t assume that putting them in a jewelry box will keep prying eyes away. Same goes for highly portable antiques. The expectation of privacy can get a little murky when people are opening up closet doors and the like.
4. Animals. Okay, so you don’t keep a wild cougar in your living room, but what about the family dog? A friendly cat? There’s no such thing as an open-house-friendly pet, especially where allergies and personal preferences are concerned. (And don’t even get me started about snakes!)
5. Political material. Everyone has different political preferences, and during an open-house, don’t eliminate half of your buyers with political messaging. Double-check the fridge for magnets, or your front lawn for posters.

When it comes to open houses, I like to make sure they go off without a hitch for you. If you’re listing soon, get in touch so we can chat about selling your home fast! Contact me at (928) 916-1921.

Trent Beaver
(928) 916-1921

Making a house on the market shine is all about attention to detail. If you’re going the extra mile to ensure your home is a stand-out, you’ll probably go beyond the typical touch-ups that refresh curb appeal. You might even decide to stage your home, especially if you’re not living in it while it’s for sale.

One “room” you don’t want to forget when you stage? Your garage!

Staging a garage may sound excessive, but it’s an important and frequently-used entryway to a home. While many prospective buyers may expect a dark, cluttered, unfinished concrete box, you can surprise and delight them by following these simple garage staging tips:

1. Clear out the clutter. Don’t use your garage as a storage facility while selling your home. Yes, it might mean renting storage space, but that can be a good idea anyway when you’re staging a home to impress. Weed through the junk, have your garage sale, and then store all your packed boxes, extra furniture, seasonal items, holiday decorations, unnecessary belongings and other typical garage clutter in a storage facility.
2. Enhance the floors. Cracked, stained, or otherwise shoddy looking concrete flooring can be a visual turn-off. If you’re not planning on sealing, priming, and painting the floor, at least get a suitable cleaning chemical or power washer to brighten up the flooring. For oil stains, pour paint thinner on the stain, and then apply an absorbent material such as cat litter, baking soda, cornmeal, or sawdust over the saturated spot. Let the mixture set overnight, and sweep it up in the morning with a heavy push broom with sturdy bristles.
3. Organize what remains. A workshop area with hook boards for small tools can be appealing, especially if great care is taken to make the area look tidy and functional.
4. Create more storage space on walls or hanging from the ceiling. Provided your garage isn’t low-ceilinged or particularly tight, shelving and hanging racks can show your buyers how much room they’ll have to keep extra tools, seasonal decorations, or sports equipment handy.  An alternative to hanging bicycles from the ceiling, mount them on the wall using this stylish Monkey Bars 4-Bike Storage Rack ($80).
5. Check garage safety. Make sure all flammable products and poisonous chemicals are stored out of reach of children and pets. Plus, if you don’t already have one in your garage, install a smoke detector.
6. Tune up the lighting. A nice hanging fluorescent fixture, plugged into outlets or existing fixture outlets can change your garage from a dungeon into a clean, inviting place. Besides, don’t you want to highlight all that hard work you’ve done?
7. Polish it with fresh paint. A fresh coat of paint will finish off the space and make it look brand new. If the walls of the garage has stains that the pressure-washing couldn’t get rid of, paint it and seal them. Transform them from worn and drab, to bright and clean.
8. Check the garage door. In addition to functioning properly, give it a good clean. The garage door is one of the first things buyers will see when they drive up, so make sure it looks beautiful and polished.

Want to make your house stand-out in the Prescott area real estate market? I’m happy to share all the tips and tricks I have to give your home an edge. Let’s connect! Contact me at (928) 916-1921.

Trent Beaver
(928) 916-1921