Expert: Tina Clarke - 6/27/2009

Question
QUESTION: I'm in a situation where the mortgage on my condo is very close to what I think I can get for it (based on what others have sold for). What can I do to maximize value - increase interest and asking price - without spending much.

PS I could not get to your website (kept getting error messages)

ANSWER: The best rooms to spend money in is the bathrooms and the kitchen.  Make sure all your lighting fixtures and other decor is up to date: paint colors, wall coverings, flooring, bathroom fixtures etc.  If it's out of date then you will lose money in selling your home.

Without specific descriptions of your house I can't make specific recommendations.  Feel free to reply with a more specific description of what your house looks like.

You may want to hire a Home Stager, invest around $250 for a consultation and they can give you a whole audit of your home and what you need to fix to sell for more money.

My new website is http://va.local.yahoo.biz/eleganthomestyling/

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Tina,
Thanks for your prompt answer and info. I appreciated the photos on your website. We moved here(CA) from Bethesda.

I appreciate your invitation. Here are some specifics: My condo is two stories. I completely redid the kitchen with tile floors, granite countertops, new modern spot lighting and maple cabinets. Fridge and stove are probably vintage '90s.
The house is painted in quite light colors (that might look white but have enough color to contrast with the white woodwork). I put down laminate floors in the family room , dining room and living room as well as in the hall and master bedroom. The other two bedroom and the stairs have a beige loop carpet (1. Would it be worth replacing?).

I'm just finishing tiling the bathrooms. The outdated aspect of the bathrooms is that they have that faux marble (I forget the name for it)countertops (2. worth doing something about?). All do have big mirrors and decent lighting.

I have a large painting over the gas fireplace (It is simple - with off white marble hearth a few inches above the floor). A simple piece of 1 1/2" thick wood is the mantle.(3. Worth putting a more decorated bigger piece of wood on top of it to make it look more "mantlely" and notable?) A friend suggested putting a very big mirror over the fireplace.(4. Your thoughts?)
The condo is well maintained in a very desirable neighborhood. They have been selling tho prices are down about 15-20% from the high when I bought.

Thanks so much,

Answer
Hi, I am in Leesburg VA so not too far from Bethesda.

The kitchen sounds very nice.  It's nice to have silver knobs on your cabinet doors in case you don't already have them.

If you have area rugs, I would try to use them as much as possible in the family room, dining room and living room.

What's the condition of the carpet?  Is it stained?  Are the stains removable?  Sometimes it's necessary to consult a professional carpet cleaner to get a good answer on this. If the answer is it's stained and it can't be removed then yes I would recommend replacing the carpet.  Probably a light to medium beige would be best.

It sounds like the faux marble bathroom countertop may date your bathroom. Replacing the bathroom countertop would work to your advantage.  Try a less expensive stone countertop or laminate top in a neutral color.   

One inexpensive tip I have is if you have any brass fixtures (very dated), you can remove them and repaint them in an updated nickel color with spray paint. I have done this in my own home but still have way too many brass fixtures left (haha).

The mantle sounds fine, better you have one than none at all.  A mirror above the fireplace mantle is a traditional choice, or a nice colorful painting would work as well.

Good luck in selling your home and I hope you as much $$$ as you can!