When you are selling your home, you want to appeal to the widest audience possible, so you can attract the most buyers and the most offers -- perhaps even create a multiple offer situation!
One of the best ways to do this is to choose or update your home with neutral colors when you put it on the market. Bright colors will have limited appeal. Imagine walking into a home and finding bright orange or blue walls (like you see above) -- that may not make a good first impression. When we say "neutral," we don't necessarily mean white, which can be too stark and industrial. Go with cream, beige or a soft grey instead.
Your to-do: If you have an accent wall, or bright colors all over, either pay to have them painted over or do it yourself.
The lone exception to this can be a kid's room with a theme. Blue walls with an ocean theme or lavender with a garden theme, for example, will probably work -- but only if you also have furniture that compliments the theme. Otherwise, go neutral on all the walls.
Not Just Walls
Think about your flooring, too. I listed a house once with bright blue carpet throughout. The carpet was in great condition, and the seller resisted the idea of changing it out for a more neutral color. We priced the house a little lower to accommodate the issue, and it sold quickly despite the carpet. But to this day, I wonder sometimes how much we might have sold it for had he replaced the carpet with something less distinctive. Use a neutral carpet, tile, etc., for your floor covering when listing your house.
Implementing these changes can help you put your house's best foot forward. When a buyer walks in and nothing jars them, but instead they are surrounded by a cohesive color scheme, the house looks more attractive and a higher offer is often the result.
- Cari McGee
