It is spring! The time for people to start moving has started. Phone calls are now ringing from customers about doing some painting at their homes to help it sell faster. One of the many calls we receive is about painting my house before I sell, But the top question is Is Will painting my house get me more money?.
Hey Everyone- David With Dfranco Painting and wallpaper here in Huntley, IL. We work to help home owners and businesses with their painting and wallpaper needs in Bartlett, South Elgin, St. Charles, Algonquin and Pingree Grove to name a few areas. As we discuss the issue of painting your house, and will painting help improve the value, you may have questions- let us know! You also may have a different view point- let us know! Your insights and questions may help other people dealing with painting their house.
Should I paint before selling my home?
While there is no best answer for this questions, there are some good themes or similarities we see and hear from realtors and people moving into a home. The top issues we see and hear are:
- look how dirty the walls are
- I hate these colors
- I don’t want to have to spend the money before moving in
- I don’t have time to paint
- how do I know what colors to paint
What do you want a potential home owner to think of when you see your house? Do want a buyer to think how much work it needs or I’m ready to move in? Paint is a cheap fix cheap and it is the most value in terms of appeal.
The wrong paint color is all a person will think about and the first thing a potential buyer will scoff at once they are back in their car.
Things to paint before selling a home
Lets keep this quick and simple- take a quick walk around your house and take a look at these areas:
- look at the doors and door frames- are they dirty or dinged up?
- Do you have a lot of holes from pictures on the walls?
- Are the walls banged up with nicks and dings?
- Does the mud room and closets have a lot of scuff marks on the walls?
- How are the kids bedrooms? No colors that will send people away angry?
- Bathroom walls- do they show signs of water, moisture etc
Best colors to use to help sell a home?
This is a very interesting question as there are no great answers, because to say neutral is not a safe answer any more. It used to be a neutral earth tone was great, not any more. There are people that love a solid white house, but not everyone. We do many homes in gray, but the gray’s have so many underlying tones of blue, green, etc. It can be hard to pick one that some may decide not to keep in the house because they hate the color! Crazy right?
This pic is from the house we bought (fixer upper) – deep red and water stains never painted over- don’t give a buyer a reason to say no, walk away or show a reason to pay less for your home.
That being said, for the most part we are picking neutral grays, such as Agreeable gray from Sherwin Williams is very popular right now, However!!!-2024 has shown white as a strong contender the the most common color we will be using in homes.
Can I just do touch ups?
I wouuld lover o tell you yes- but the answer is going to be no. Due to changes in paint, age of paint, age of existing wall finishes, differences in tints and colorations, it is almost impossible to touch up walls effectively (so no one see its) anymore.
So just bite the bullet, paint the whole wall.
Can painting a home before selling increase value?
This is a definite yes. You want the buyer excited about moving in, not stressed about having to find a painter before they can move in. Curb appeal matters, if it didn’t your brand new used car would not have been detailed before you bought it.
If you have questions about painting your house before you sell, let us know how we can help.
