Small home? Here are 20 hacks to make it look and feel bigger!

Square footage is always at a premium when you buy a home, but that’ even more so as prices climb and centralized neighborhoods become more attractive.

In fact, the average square footage of new homes has gone down since the zenith of McMansions in the mid-2000s. In neighborhoods like East Sacramento, Arden, midtown, Curtis Park, and more, we often find a lot of smaller homes – often with two bedrooms, one bathroom, and maybe only around 1,000 square feet – that are otherwise charming and perfect.

So, how can you make the most out of a small home, and make it look and feel much larger than it really is? Here are 20 hacks that “solve” your small home dilemma.

Hint: I can even help you with #20!

1. Install floor to ceiling bookshelves to make your rooms look taller. It’s also great for additional storage and you’ll look well read!

2. Add outdoor living spaces to extend the use of your home. This can be a wrap-around porch, an outdoor eating area, a covered patio, or a sitting area to enjoy your wine/coffee and greet your neighbors in the front of your home.

3. Remove unneeded walls, opening up the floorplan and making it appear bigger. (For instance, many smaller homes in East Sacramento have a wall separating the kitchen from the living area that can be taken down with the addition of a new header beam by a licensed contractor.

4. Add a breakfast bar across a window or even “floating” on the wall. Breakfast bars and counters save you a lot of space by eliminating the need for a whole table.

5. Use large mirrors to trick the eye into seeing the room as much larger than it really is. Mirrors are also great for spreading natural light.

6. Turn your eyesore fence into the highlight of your yard by covering it with vines, stone, colorful paint, strings of outdoor lighting, or other decorations.

7. To maximize space and add more storage, install a loft over your desk or office, in the spare bedroom, or over your main garage area.

8. If you have a two-story home but are cramped for space, a contractor can transform your plain staircase into a storage dream. The stairwell is particularly spacious, and each riser can be turned into a separate drawer, too.

9. If you can’t remove walls (because of load-bearing issues), you can easily swap doors for sliding walls, opening up options for multi-purpose spaces.

 

10. Or, reconstruct walls with interior glass panes, windows, or opaque materials that allow natural light to go pass.

11. Adding a nice shelf over your kitchen sink (even across the window) frees up a lot of countertop space.

12. Too often, people think that they need to paint small rooms all-white to make them look larger and brighter. However, a fun and funky paint color can revive old cabinets, adding personality and interest in the kitchen.

13. For bedrooms and living areas, try the opposite: go with a white motif and color pattern. Your place will look more modern and airy, and any color that you do have (like paintings, pillows, etc.) will really jump out!

14. Just about any window can be expanded to a floor-to-ceiling window or French door!

15. Floating, fold-down, and floor-to-ceiling shelves are all great, but they still take up valuable airspace in your small home. However, you can easily build shelves into the recesses of each wall, so they’ll only slight protrude—or not at all.

16. Small bedroom with very limited storage space? Dreaming of a bigger bed—and a walk-in closet. You can actually have both by building a large sleeping loft in the bedroom that with a full closet underneath!

17. Postage stamp-sized backyard? Dreaming of a swimming pool on hot days? A small pool is better than no pool, and they make all sorts of easy-to-install pools that fit in any corner of your yard.

18. I love this idea;- make use of empty corners by building in small shelving. You can even hang rods in the bedroom and closets across corners to hang clothing.

19. Not only can you use a floating desk, nightstand, or breakfast bar to save space, but they can actually fold down from the wall—and go back up again when you need the room.

20. Buy a bigger house! Problem solved!

 

 

Home value “balloons” – 15 unexpected things that may increase your home’s price tag.

Every homeowner wants to see their value on the rise, and every home buyer wants to purchase a property that has the potential to go way up in price. Of course, buying a beautiful, big home in the best neighborhood possible will ensure that happens, and there are also countless blogs and articles that go over how to boost your home’s value by improving its curb appeal, remodeling kitchens and bathrooms, and the like.

However, there are some other, far more unexpected, factors that play into your home’s value. I assure you that although these factors may seem frivolous and even illogical at times, they are all based on credible data and studies into home prices.

Therefore, by paying attention to these fascinating home value “balloons,” you may be in for a value increase, too!

15 Home value balloons:

 1. Access to public transportation.

The American Public Transportation Association has found that market values are higher on average for homes that are located near popular public transportation hubs. Although it’s inconclusive just how much these properties will rise in value, one estimate is that they’re worth 42% more than comparable homes that are not near public transport. While that number seems stunningly high to me, there’s no denying that homes with easy access to transportation are more attractive to buyers.

2. A good school district.

There’s much debate about the influence good or bad schools play on home prices, and some think that it’s actually good neighborhoods that make a school, not the other way around. But studies have shown that there’s a direct correlation between higher-priced communities and good school systems. In fact, it’s estimated that buyers will pay between 1 to 10% above their budget for a home in a better school district.

Likewise, research shows that if a school is named a National Blue Ribbon School, the surrounding homes have the potential to increase by up to 5%.

3. The Starbucks Effect.

The presence of a Starbucks coffee shop in your neighborhood is such a clear boon to home values, that there’s a name for it! It’s true – homes that are less than a mile from a Starbucks increase in value 30% faster than comparable homes further away.

4. Other coffee shops?

Does that home appreciation magic extend to coffee chains other than Starbucks? Maybe, but it’s certainly not as prevalent. For instance, if your home is within a mile of a Dunkin Donuts, it’s likely to appreciate faster than the national average – but nowhere near the Starbucks Effect’s 30%!

5. A Trader Joes or Whole Foods.

A study by a national real estate website found that proximity to a Trader Joe’s appreciated in value up to 40% faster than homes further out, and a Whole Foods could increase your values by 34%. Of course, this price appreciation doesn’t happen immediately when one of these establishments opens next door but exerts its positive influence over time.

6. Close to parks and outdoor recreation areas.

If you’re lucky enough to live within a stone’s throw of a nice park, jogging trail, or even golf course (Ok, maybe you don’t want to be TOO close to the driving range!), then you could be looking forward to rapid home appreciation. A comprehensive study found that homes in those locations are worth, on average, 8 to 20% more than similar homes that aren’t close to these outdoor amenities.

7. Mature trees and well-manicured landscaping.

If your neighborhood enjoys mature trees, your home value may increase by up to 3 -10% more than similar structures in neighborhoods that don’t have them. Additionally, well-maintained landscaping in yards and public areas is at a premium and may boost your home’s value by 3-15%!

8. Street names – not numbers.

Believe it or not, your street name may factor into your home’s value. A New York Times study concluded that homes on streets with names – not numbers (like 3rd Street) – went up in value 2% faster. Likewise, if your address contains “Lane” or “Place” instead of just “Street,” then your home price may increase at a faster rate. Furthermore, uncommon or unique street names can also boost values more than ordinary street names.

9. Privacy.

It seems that we don’t want nosey neighbors and passer-bys seeing what we’re doing at home, so we’re willing to pay more for privacy! In a study of home prices in 1,836 counties across the country, properties that rated higher privacy scores also had higher values.

10. A wide lot.

Often referred to as “frontage,” homes with particularly wide lots see a boost in their values in many markets around the country. However, country and suburban properties see the most prominent value gains by wide frontage, not city properties.

11. Backyard views.

Curb appeal and street views are important but don’t neglect the view from your backyard, too. In fact, a national study found that homes with larger view angles (no matter what they saw from that vantage point) routinely had higher values.

12. A down-sloping backyard.

One study measured housing prices cross-references with the slope of their respective backyards. They found that homes with downhill slopes in their backyards sold for significantly more than homes where the backyard sloped uphill.

13. Military base.

A study by a national real estate website found that homes near military bases went for a premium, as much as 34.8% higher than the median home average in those areas!

14. Drop in crime.

Of course, we can assume that high crime rates will drop a home’s value. But what’s interesting is that research shows as those same crime-blighted communities start to clean up their streets, property values will rebound accordingly.

15. Walkability.

Homeowners love being able to leave their front door and walk around their community, particularly to local restaurants, coffee shops, or other stores and amenities. Studies show that this “walkability” feature is so attractive that it actually improves neighborhood home values.

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10 Ways to sell your home for more money.

When it comes time to selling your home, everyone wants to walk away with as much profit as possible when the ink dries. So, I’ve put together this list of 10 ways to do just that based on my experience selling homes for top dollar, housing sales data, and industry research.

Here are 10 ways to sell your home for more money:

1. Address inspections early

When someone purchases your house, they’ll conduct inspections throughout the process to make sure it’s on good shape and free of significant defects. These almost always include a home inspection, a pest inspection, and possibly a roof inspection and more. What will they find? Instead of blindsiding them with termites in the foundation, a malfunctioning HVAC system, or a leaky roof, it always makes sense to address these things early, before we even list your home for sale.

If the buyer finds these things mid-way through the transaction, they may ask for a dramatic price reduction (in addition to having you pay to fix everything), or even get cold feet! But if your house has a clean bill of health going into their inspections process, all will run smoothly – and you won’t have to compromise on price.

You don’t necessarily need to pay for a complete round of inspections for no reason, of course, but if you detect a problem area or a system or feature is getting old, it may make sense to at least get a good contractor to take a look.

2. Carefully craft the listing description

We want to paint your home in the best light possible for the listing description, that short blurb that will appear on the MLS and other online sites. Photos are critical, too, but crafting the perfect listing description is beneficial so that your home will show up in searches and attract buyer attention. We can go over the wording together, but research shows that homes with these terms sell for higher prices:

“Move-in condition” sell for 12% higher than average.

“Gorgeous” sell for 15% higher than average.

“Landscaping” (often in the context of describing new or beautiful landscaping, etc.) sell for 20% higher than average.

Likewise, these words in your listing may correlate to a higher sales price:

“Fenced backyard.”

“Open concept.”

“Natural light.”

“Updated kitchen.”

Needless to say, just throwing these words into the text won’t guarantee your home sells for more, as the descriptors need to be accurate, too!

However, studies show that some words in your listing description won’t be as warmly received. In fact, if we use the terms “gourmet kitchen,” “ceramic tile,” “gold course,” or “custom built,” your home will take more Days on Market to sell!

3. Fix up the kitchen and bathrooms

When a buyer first walks into your home, there are several things they’ll focus on. But none is more important than the state of your kitchen and bathrooms.

In fact, research shows that when it comes to improving your home before selling, putting money into kitchens and bathrooms yields the highest Return on Investment (ROI).

Replacing outdated floor or shower tile (and definitely replace linoleum), adding a new sink vanity kit, a nice new towel rack and light fixture and a fresh coat of clean, neutral paint and you have a bathroom worthy of a design magazine – and a higher asking price.

Likewise, laying new tile in the kitchen, painting over worn cabinets (much cheaper than replacing), adding new fixtures and lighting, and adding a little wine fridge will typically equate to more views, offers, and a higher net profit when your listing sells.

4. Sell neighborhood amenities

People do not buy homes in a vacuum. They’re not just looking for a physical structure to provide a roof over their heads. (The days of the McMansion far out in the suburbs or even in an undesirable part of town are long gone.) Instead, home buyers are focusing on the greater experience and lifestyle their new home will afford them, and that means we should sell them on the neighborhood amenities.

Are there plenty of restaurants, cafes, and other fun shops nearby? Can they walk to their favorite coffee shop every morning, or even walk their kids to school? Is there a nice park in the vicinity? Are they half an hour closer to downtown or their job every morning in this new location? Are there amazing fairs, events, and block parties in the summertime?

All of these things no play a huge roll in a home buyer’s decision, and if we’re smart, we’ll make sure to sell them on these amenities to encourage the asking price of your home.

5. Price it right the first time

Your ultimate goal is still to receive the biggest check possible when your home sells, but homeowners sometimes misunderstand how to achieve that. Their first instinct may be to price the home unusually high in hopes of finding a buyer that agrees with their lofty opinion. But that’s actually the worst way to sell your home for top dollar, as it will be counterproductive in several ways.

First, overpricing your home means that it will receive less views, fewer buyers walking through, and only sporadic offers (if any). So, you’ll basically have to take whatever offer comes your way without much leverage in the negotiation.

Pricing your home too high also means that it will sit on the market much longer, and time is money in home sales. According to home sales research, the longer your home is on the market, the more likely your final sales price will be lowered. And you’ll probably be making additional mortgage payments if it sits without selling for extra months, which means you just lost the profit you were hoping to recoup.

Instead, we’ll sit down and carefully go over a Comparative Market Analysis before your home ever goes on the market, reviewing the Active, Pending, and Sold properties in your area that are similar to your home. Those are your competition, and any buyer (and, more importantly, the bank’s appraiser) will gauge your sales price against those other homes.

By pricing it right the first time, we can actually create quite a buzz the moment your home hits the market, attracting far more eager buyers and maybe even creating a bidding war!

The result will be top dollar for your home, as well as a smooth and efficient sales process!

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Look for part two of this blog, where I’ll cover the next five strategies to sell your home for more money. If you have questions about selling your home or how much it’s worth, please contact me anytime!