Expert: Tina Clarke - 7/2/2009

Question
QUESTION: Good Afternoon Tina, my husband and I built our house 4 years ago and are ready to sell and build again. I'd like to do some things to push our house in a slightly higher price bracket. We've upgraded lighting fixtures and I'm wondering what else we should do. Paint? Wallpaper? Do you think this will help? I would stick with neutrals obviously.

ANSWER: Hi Sarah,

The rooms you should focus on are the bathrooms and the kitchen.  Make sure your paint colors are neutral: beiges, light blues or greens. To sell in a higher price bracket, I recommend granite countertops (for baths and kitchens), tile floors and steel appliances.  I would avoid wall paper since it's usually a very personal design choice and it's difficult to remove if the buyer doesn't like it.

If you would like specific recommendations, please describe you house in a more specific manner and I can give you more advice.

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

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick reply Tina, I appreciate your time. :) We have a 2700 square foot home with vaulted ceilings and a 2 story foyer, the basement is finished with a full bath (not a walk out so not included in sq.ftage). Granite might be hard in our kitchen, we have a TON of counterspace and a very large island, the estimate for granite was 8-10k, I doubt we'd get our money out of that. But maybe in the bathrooms...? We have 3 full baths and 1 half, only 1 bath has tile flooring, the others are vinyl. The downstairs kitchen/foyer/morning room is all vinyl flooring and the formal dining room and great room are carpeted. The layout is pretty open so any floor changes would have to be throughout or it would look choppy. I guess I don't know what buyers are wowed by, what will make them pay that extra 10-15k we'd like? Do sellers get their money out of a fenced in yard? We have 2 guest bedrooms that are nicely decorated with bedroom furniture but I left the walls white, would it help to paint them a beige or would buyers prefer to do their own colors? The house is staged already, we bought everything from a model so I'm not hugely worried there. Also, we have a master bedroom with attached sitting room and master bath with seperate shower and a giant tub with jets, how can I make this look more "master suite-like?"

Answer
It might be worth doing granite countertops in the bathrooms.  Any kind of solid surface stone would be nice, including for the kitchen. Is your vinyl flooring up to date (ie looks like stone/tile)?  I think that buyers want a home that they don't have to change when they move in.  This is why it's key to have everything look up to date and in neutral colors.   I am not sure on your ROI for a fence, but a deck is one of best returns you can get.  See this website: http://homeimprovement.lovetoknow.com/Home_Improvement_Return_on_Investment

It would only help to paint the rooms a color if you have crown molding.  Painting it a color will make your crown molding pop which appeals to buyers. Beige is probably your safest bet. Personally I can't stand white because all I can think is paint it something, any color! Everyone is OK with beige, even if they don't like it, most people can live with it for a while.

For your master, make sure you have chairs in the sitting room and try to make your bath as spa-like as possible: nice thick towels, candles, plants, soaps/lotions etc.