So you have made the decision to put your Edmonton home on the market—congratulations! The right real estate agent should be able to advise on which home improvements will benefit the sale of your home the most, but to start, here are our 10 suggestions for how to increase the value of your home!

Paint your walls & ceilings

The average price for a can of paint is $50, making this the cheapest way to transform your home with a quick turn-around time. Consider investing in a popular neutral colour to give your home a fresh, updated look. While you have the brushes out, consider adding a complimentary accent colour to make a large space feel more inviting. Sticking with neutral, inoffensive colours (we suggest avoiding neon green) will appeal to more buyers once your home hits the market. 

Upgrade your appliances

Depending what your home improvement budget looks like, you may want to consider upgrading your appliances. Many buyers appreciate the value of clean, functioning appliances, but this doesn’t mean you have to blow your budget to upgrade. 

Appliance upgrades are a considerable investment so we always recommend consulting your trusted real estate agent before you commit to upgrading your appliances. It is also important to consider what type of buyer you are planning to target when you list your home – new appliances for first-time home buyers may seal the deal, but buyers who are looking to renovate for their dream kitchen may overlook existing appliances.

Remove clutter

If you have lived in your home for quite a few years, or you caught the online shopping bug during the pandemic, chances are you have collected a few extra things. Even though it is easy to fill up every nook and cranny of your home with decor or furniture, it can be unappealing to prospective buyers who aren’t as familiar with your belongings as you are. If you don’t want to part with what you have, consider renting a storage unit or ask your loved ones if they can hold on to some stuff for you until your home sells!

Stage your home

Similar to the above, home buyers want to view homes that they can picture themselves living in. Neutralizing colour schemes, decluttering, removing seasonal decoration, and displaying inconspicuous decor is a great way to stage your home with what you have. Watch some YouTube videos for cost-efficient inspiration, or consider bringing in a professional home stager to help you out (we know a few fabulous home staging companies in Edmonton if you need a reference!).

Modify your curb appeal

When you list your home, you’ll want prospective buyers to drive up to your home and immediately be impressed—even before they step through the front door. Enhancing curb appeal can be tough in Edmonton winters, we know! Do your best to keep your sidewalks and driveways shovelled, turn on exterior lights, and ensure there is parking available in front of your home if possible. 

During snow-free seasons, keep your lawn maintained, remove dead shrubbery, and make sure any underground sprinklers are turned off during showing times.

Upgrade your lighting

Over the years we have found that people are always surprised at how much of a difference new light fixtures can make.  Lighting goes a long way — a modern chandelier, a discreet wall sconce, or an elegant floor lamp can give your space a real ‘glow up’ (haha, get it?). If you’re looking for something budget-friendly, check out Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore or Facebook Marketplace!

Replace door knobs, cabinet hardware and switch plates 

While this may seem superfluous, high-touch areas often draw a buyer’s gaze so updating these everyday items is a great way to add a bit of pizazz. Research trending styles, like brass or matte black, and find something that fits the style of your home. To take it one step further, consider matching your cabinet hardware to the style you chose for doorknobs. It can be very appealing to prospective buyers to see consistency while walking through your home. As for switch plates, replace any cracked or stained plates with new ones—these are super cheap! 

Remove your popcorn ceiling

Textured stipple ceilings, commonly known as popcorn ceilings, were a popular trend in the 1940s-1980s. Not only does a textured ceiling hold on to dust, mold, and unpleasant odours, it also makes a space look outdated. If you have the time and tools, removing a popcorn ceiling can be accomplished with a ceiling scraper, a spray bottle, protective sheets, and a ladder – but there’s no harm in hiring a professional to remove the texture and finish the ceiling with a skim coat and a fresh coat of paint! 

If you choose to remove your textured ceiling, make sure you test for asbestos or have proof that your home is asbestos free! Disrupting the ceiling like that can disturb any latent asbestos.

Do a deep clean

This one may seem obvious, but deep cleaning your home is the #1 way to get to prospective buyers’ hearts. When you have people viewing your home, there is nothing more appealing than walking into a dust-free, clutter-free, nice smelling home. Take a duster to your baseboards and door trim, steam clean your carpets, wash your walls, and clean out any cabinets with stains or clutter. You will be impressed with how much it makes a difference. 

If cleaning isn‘t something that you are good at (or want to do) there are plenty of low-cost cleaning services in Edmonton. 

We at TruHome are enthusiastic to help you get the best price for your home, always. If you are looking into putting your house on the market and finding your next place to call home, we would love to meet with you! Connect with us to get started—we can’t wait to meet you.

Whether you’ve moved into a new home and have to find a place to put all your belongings, or you’ve been in your home for years but can’t find anything anymore, optimizing your garage space can save a lot of stress. Your garage offers important square footage and should be treated as such, but you’re not alone if you open the door and think “I don’t even know where to start…”

We can’t fix up your garage for you, but we can offer a few tips to help get you started:

Decide what you want to use the space for

Establishing your list of priorities for how the garage should function is step number one. Are you using it primarily as a car park with a bit of extra storage space? Is it a workshop and utility closet all in one? Will a part of it be turned into a home gym? Whatever the case, you should identify what wants and needs can be met with the space that you have. Start by grabbing a piece of graph paper and a pencil to make a to-scale drawing of your space so you know how much room you have to work with after you fill it with all the essentials. 

Declutter

This is a big step. We know. However stressful it may be, it is just as satisfying. Sorting through old sporting equipment, neglected hobby projects, tools that haven’t seen the light of day, and that old patio furniture you keep saying you’ll brush the cobwebs off for next season, is the second step in regaining garage space. Unless it holds sentimental value, serves a true purpose, or brings you some kind of joy, get rid of the extra clutter so you know what has to be organized. Who knows, you may even part with enough stuff to put on a garage sale (we won’t tell anyone if you secretly want to show off your new and improved garage). 

Pick the proper storage and garage mechanics

Once you know what items have to find homes in the garage, it’s easier to find storage solutions to match. First you have to decide on an organizing system. Some of us like clear bins so we can see everything in them without have to search high and low. Others like closed cabinets to hide the clutter and keep everything organized. After you’ve decided how to organize, find a system that works for you and the people that have to access these things. That might be labels, sections of the garage for certain activities, or a color-coded filing system that would impress Sheldon Cooper. 

Another part of optimizing garage use is making sure the mechanics of the garage work as they should. This includes door hinges and handles, lighting, heat, surrounding foliage, and more. If you can’t even access the garage, what’s the point of making it functional?

Use vertical and overhead space

An often-underused area of space is the wall space that’s just out of reach. Hanging floating shelves or adding a few extra stackable shelves to your storage system can produce new indoor real estate you didn’t have before. Storing the seasonal gear or “dangerous goods” (washer fluid, paint, etc.) keeps them out of the way but still accessible. We’ve also seen many functional garage spaces with racks that hang from the ceiling to hold life jackets, snowboards, and other equipment that’s hard to store. 

Make it a welcoming space

You won’t use your garage to its fullest potential if it’s not a space you want to spend time in (even those 3 minutes to get the winter gear of out storage or to flip a breaker). Maybe this means adding extra light sources (adhesive, battery-operated lights if you don’t want to re-wire), insulation for warmth and sound absorption, or paint to make the space look bigger and brighter. Whatever the case, part of regaining your garage space is making sure you actually want to go in there to access the things you need. 

As the needs of you and your family change over the years, consider tackling the garage every 2-3 years to make sure it’s still functional for you. Who knows, your most recent garage update might be the thing that seals the deal for you to list your Edmonton home with us at TruHome. Homebuyers love a practical garage!