Just make sure you paint the right way. An artist creates a new painting on a plain, primed canvas. Through your efforts with painting, you’re hand-delivering your potential buyers a clean, primed canvas through which they can imagine their family in your home. Keeping all of this in mind, proceed with your home’s canvas using neutral colors. That doesn’t mean everything must be lifeless or stark white. That can have a negative effect as well. Rather, you want your colors to be unobtrusive. Stick with gray, beige, tan, off-white, and white. Even if you just painted the master bath turquoise and added cute polka dot trim—change it! Remember, a blank canvas opens the imagination to endless possibilities. (Polka dots do not.) KITCHEN AND BATH: Focus on these high-impact areas. Buyers are most turned off by dirty, grungy bathrooms and kitchens. Let’s face it. Nobody wants to eat in a place they feel is nasty. Likewise, no one wants to be naked in a disgusting place. That doesn’t mean you can create stunning bathrooms and kitchens, while leaving the rest of the home a mess, and still expect to sell your house for top dollar. Just be sure to address your bathroom and kitchen first, and give these areas the attention they require. Keep this in mind: Potential buyers might forgive a less-than-stellar child’s room, but a questionable bathroom or kitchen could cost you a possible sale. So, let’s get started. Now, you’ve done a deep clean of the whole house, and you most likely painted it, as well—including the bathrooms and kitchen. It’s time to move on to another important issue: appliances. This can be a good idea or a money pit. Fortunately, you can follow a few guidelines to make the big decisions. Should you buy new appliances? It depends on your situation. No doubt, new appliances make an impact with buyers. The National Association of REALTORS® did a survey of buyers in the market over the past several years and found:
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