Selling your home is an exciting transition that signals new horizons ahead. Whether you’re downsizing, upgrading to a larger house, relocating for a new job, or simply making a lifestyle change, the first step is preparing your current house for sale. A little pre-planning can ensure that process goes smoothly.
Make a plan
Think about prepping your house in ways that may increase its value and its appeal to potential buyers, inside and out. Walk through each room, noting anything that could benefit from some attention, from cleaning to repairs to a fresh coat of paint. Do the same outside, with the exterior of your home. Next, turn your notes into a checklist. This will keep you on track and focused as you get your home ready for sale.
Make repairs, if needed
Before making repairs, keep in mind the difference between repairs and upgrades. Repairs, such as fixing a faulty oil burner that could decrease the value of your home, are often necessary. These things will typically come up in an inspection, and you will likely have to fix them before closing regardless. Upgrades, such as a kitchen renovation, should be carefully considered in terms of outlay versus how much they might increase the selling price. Having a budget in mind will help you decide what upgrades, if any, make sense.
Include the exterior of your house when making repairs and upgrades. Curb appeal can have a huge impact on potential buyers. Landscaping can also be important. In addition to keeping the lawn trim and manicured, as an upgrade, consideradding new plants and bushes to make your house look more appealing and inviting.
Once you have a list of repairs and upgrades you want to make, you’ll want to think about financing options. You might choose to use savings or credit cards, or even consider borrowing against the cash value of a permanent life insurance policy. A big advantage of a policy like whole life insurance is it provides flexibility by offering lifelong coverage, potential dividends, and a cash value that builds over time. You can borrow against this cash value for any reason, including financing home repairs.
Clean and reorganize
After you’ve addressed the repairs and upgrades, move on to improvements that require just a bit of elbow grease and imagination. If you are downsizing, now would be the time to start that process, which will have the added benefit of decluttering your house. Fewer things also means more spacious-looking rooms. Decluttering will also allow you reimagine, and perhaps rearrange, the remaining furniture for a more balanced and harmonious feel.
Make it look like a blank slate
The ultimate goal in prepping your home for sale is to make potential buyers want to purchase your house. One way to achieve this is to eliminate your own “fingerprints.” Remove all personal belongings, such as family photographs and mementos. Consider applying a fresh coat of neutral paint. Also, make sure the lighting complements every room and creates a pleasing ambiance. Overall, you want potential buyers to be pleasantly drawn into your house and not be distracted by your belongings spread throughout it.
Staging your home—redecorating, rearranging, and implementing other aesthetic changes—so buyers can easily imagine themselves living there is one of the most important steps you can take. Once you achieve this result, you’re ready to put your house on the market.
The primary purpose of permanent life insurance is to provide a death benefit. Using permanent life insurance accumulated value to supplement retirement income will reduce the death benefit and may affect other aspects of the policy.
Source: iQuanti
