5 Improvements Every House Needs Before Listing

Every agent wants to put a move-in-ready listing on the market to appeal to the most qualified buyers and to get to closing without any slowdowns.

We know that often, you’re met with clients who may not want to complete pre-listing updates. After all, it can seem counterintuitive to many homeowners to update their homes for the next owners. Especially if inventory is low and demand is high – why wait when they can list today and probably sell within days?

Sellers often opt out of pre-listing updates for three reasons: time, money, and stress. Curbio’s pre-listing updates provide a solution for two of these: efficiency from estimate to project kickoff and full-scale project management for every project. With those worries alleviated, sellers and agents can move forward in the pre-sale prep process and focus on what comes next — moving into a new home! — vs. managing the hassle of updating their old one.

Below are our top five improvements we recommend for almost every house in order to make it move-in-ready.

1. Add a fresh coat of paint

Even homes that have been maintained very well usually need a fresh coat of paint, and the right paint color can actually help homes feel larger. Below are our favorite examples to show the power of paint.

All we did in this bathroom was apply a fresh coat of paint and update the lighting. After, it looked like a completely different space. While wallpaper used to be a popular design choice, most of today’s buyers prefer light, solid, neutral paint to brighten up spaces and make them appear larger. Curbio tackles wallpaper removal, wall skimming, drywall repairs, and fresh paint throughout.

Wood paneling is another design choice that’s fallen out of favor. In many cases, painting original wood paneling is a smart renovation choice. It looks great and costs less than removing it and installing new drywall. Paired with a beautiful fireplace redesign and new hardwood floors, the paint brightened up this room and helped to make it look larger and more modern.

2. Use consistent flooring to bring spaces together

While painting is one of the most common updates we see, flooring is a close second. Older homes often have dated or damaged flooring that needs to be replaced to appeal to buyers.

For this property, installing uniform flooring throughout helped to tie the spaces together, making the rooms feel cohesive and improving overall flow.

3. Update the kitchen

Kitchens are the heart of the home, and one of the biggest selling points for potential buyers (not to mention, an intimidating project if the kitchen isn’t up to date).

Updating a kitchen doesn’t always require a complete remodel. Curbio frequently recommends refreshes instead of full-scale remodels to shorten project timeline and cut down on costs while still meeting the demands of modern buyers. Kitchen refreshes can include countertop replacement, appliance upgrades, light fixture swaps, cabinet painting or refacing, backsplash replacement, and more, as seen in this example.

Here, the clients opted for a full kitchen remodel, including the removal of a wall to open the space up to the living area. The result is a jaw-dropping open concept design that buyers swooned over.

4. Update bathrooms

With self-care steadily rising in importance, bathroom design has become an important element for buyers. Popular bathroom trends favored by today’s buyers include free-standing tubs, furniture-style vanities, and modern paint colors, flooring, and hardware.

Similar to kitchens, Curbio can complete bathroom refreshes or full bathroom renovations. At the top of this post, you can see a bathroom project where we removed the wallpaper, painted, and updated the lights.

Below is one of our favorite bathroom renovations that transformed the master bathroom from dated and dingy to modern bliss.

5. Clean up the exterior

Buyers make a decision on whether to explore a home fully in seconds of seeing the outside. So improving curb appeal is crucial. Even if a home is a buyer’s dream on the inside, if the outside looks like it needs work, you may take longer to sell the home.

Sometimes, a fresh coat of paint is all you need. Powerwashing, yard and plant cleanup, fence repair, tree trimming, or patio and paver updates go a long way too.

Make your next listing move-in-ready

Curbio is the agent’s go-to home-improvement contractor for pre-sale updates. To get started, request a free, same-day estimate from our team of Home Improvement Consultants.