Project 4 – Adding Value To The Family Home

Project #4 was our family home that I decided to sell after my divorce.

The appraisals came in at $445,000 so we spent $5,000 on a spruce up, and were able to sell it for $475,000 after only 10 days on the market. That’s a $6 return for every dollar spent!

To learn how to profit from a quick spruce-up of your home, read the blog post below.

Click on the images for more information.

How I made $25,000 from one simple idea

I love Australia Day.

It’s a time of celebrating what is great about Australia and being Australian. It’s a day brimming with Aussie pride.

We are proud of our beaches, our sport stars and our mates. We are proud of our children. We are proud of our homes.

There will be hundreds of thousands of house parties around Australia today as Aussies invite family, friends and acquaintances into their homes to celebrate.

So, in the spirit of Australia Day, I would like to invite you into my home (which I’ve just sold) and show you how one simple idea increased my sale price by $25,000. It is so simple that anyone can do it and put money in their pocket.

So here it is.

Re-arrange the furniture

Yep. That’s it. Simple, isn’t it?

Ok. If you weren’t gifted with a decorating gene, you might want to embrace the Aussie spirit and invite over some friends. People who can take an impartial view of your home and recommend better furniture placement. And make it fun!

This is what I did.

What I found in my back shed

I am a bit of a bargain hunter. And procrastinator.

Months earlier I had bought furniture from a closing down sale. I just had to have it. It was a bargain! But where did I put it? In my shed.

So, when it was time to present my house for sale, I looked at the mess through fresh eyes and brought my light-coloured furniture bargains inside.

This is how I did it.

Dark vs light

The dining room in the middle of the house was dark. No windows. The dark chairs did nothing to brighten the space.

The dark dining chairs were replaced with white ones that I had in my shed. These were purchased inexpensively from Fantastic Furniture.

In the background, the tall mahogany book case was replaced with a light wooden console table. What an improvement!

Re-arrange wall art

Some of the paintings I had on my walls did nothing to enhance the room.

I re-arranged them, bringing warmth to spaces where previously there was none.

Less is not always more.

The room looks larger and friendlier with a more balanced painting and the introduction of a coffee table and shaggy rug. Don’t you think?

Tidy up teenage bedrooms

The dark feature wall was painted to match the rest of the room.

The quilt cover came from another room and the bed frame from… you guessed it… the shed!

A new quilt cover from K-Mart added so much more than its $14 value to this room!

What you can do

If you’re selling your family home, please, please, please tidy up. Embrace the Aussie spirit.

Get the kids involved. And your friends.

There is a good chance you will be rewarded with more dollars in your pocket so adopt a positive attitude and just do it.