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10 Ways to Spruce up your Property

Below are ten ways to spruce up your property to get your place rented or sold:

1) Un-clutter your Space
When someone rents a space and especially when they purchase, they want this space (whether it’s a condo, apartment, home or other) to reflect them and not the previous owner or the landlord. In order to achieve this, personal affects from the owner/landlord need to be removed so that there is space for the tenant or the new owner to display their personal affects.

Take a look at your space with different eyes. If you are renting your space with a lot of your personal items remaining on the premises, you must purge these items for the tenant’s sake. Do you have family portraits or framed photos of you and your family in the space? Do you have any sort of collection of ornaments on display like ceramic ducks, dolls, plates, silver spoons, medieval characters, sports memorabilia etcetera?

If you do, you must remove these items. Nobody wants to rent a space with personal objects there; they want a space for themselves. Remove your personal items and remove items in storage so they have the opportunity to store their items.

2) Fresh Paint Job
A fresh coat of paint goes a long way! That’s right. Did you know that this is the best way one can see a whole new space? A fresh coat of paint looks bright and clean, and smells new giving your space an immediate update. It is often a very good investment and really spruces up the appearance, adding dollars to offers.

When choosing your paint colours, rather stick with the neutral spectrum. Bright and dark colours change the feel of the size of any given room, and these colours are not the easiest on the eyes. Neutral paint colours will satisfy more people than bright and dark ones.

Painting the exterior? If the paint still looks good on the walls just repaint the roof boxing. The boxing should be painted an offset colour to the rest of the building.

3) Crown and Floor Molding – Install and Paint
Do you have crown moldings or floor moldings in your space? If you do, do they need to be painted? If your walls do not need a paint job, then consider just painting your crown and floor moldings to improve the space.

Crown moldings create a great first impression if installed in your entry and living / family rooms.

4) New Electrical and Light Switch Plates
This is such a minor, yet overlooked improvement. A lot of landlords leave the old faded and chipped electrical and/or light switch plates in their space. Most of the time if a painter is hired he/she will usually paint over these plates, which doesn’t make it look any better. This is the cheapest improvement in this list. Be sure to replace your plates.

5) Front Door
The first thing that is seen when entering a building whether it’s a home, condo, townhouse or the like, is the front door. It is the first impression into the space you want to rent or sell and so it must be in great condition. If the door shouts “Help me! I’m falling apart. I have termites. Please paint me. Look at my mold” or the like, your door is not leaving a very good impression on the rest of the space.

Assess the damage to the door and replace it if it’s necessary. Sand and paint the current door and leave open to dry properly, otherwise the paint will stick to the door frame.

If the door handle has a copper finish, polish it. Perhaps you may also want to change the handle if it looks old.

6) Update the Kitchen
The kitchen is usually one of the first major renovations / updates a house would have. Updating the entire kitchen will cost anywhere up from $30,000. One of the cheapest and easiest steps in updating your kitchen would be to update the faucets. If your cupboards look old and worn, try a coat of paint to breathe some life into them. Replacing the knobs on the cupboards is an inexpensive update that will transform the look of the entire kitchen. If you would like to spend some more money to make a dramatic difference, add a beautiful tile backsplash. The backsplash adds colour and dimension to your kitchen changing the whole feel of the space.

7) Update the Bathrooms
Replace your old stained shower curtains and continue the new theme with a rug and a few highlighted pieces like the soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, and tissue cover. The new theme that you pick for the bathroom should not be childlike. Pick a bathroom theme that is either a solid colour like burgundy, a relaxing theme like a sailing boat, or pick one that is of random colourful shapes.

To really make this space a cut above, update your faucets and towel racks. You can even replace the mirror or update it by adding a wooden frame.

Clean the Tile Grout
After long periods of time dirt and debris settle between your tiles in the tile grout which turns the finish dark and nasty. Removing this embedded dirt is going to take a little bit of hard work with a lot of elbow grease. There are many ways you can try to clean the tile grout; most will take a long time and not yield great results. The best method is to hire a professional who will use some version of acid. Do not do this by yourself if you do not know what you are doing. You can burn your skin and eyes very easily and further to that you can damage your floor if you are not careful. You can contact me (Brett Pinder) at RE/MAX Paradise Realty for a quote on your space.

9) Clean the Carpets
Carpets retain a lot of dirt and debris, especially in ‘high traffic’ areas, which can cause your carpet to look older than it actually is. The dirt and debris also aids to create a funk in the air over time.

To ensure that your space is ready for a tenant or new owner clean your carpet. There are two types of methods, the dry method and the wet method. Use either Carpet Powder with your vacuum cleaner or use Carpet Shampoo with a Carpet Shampooer.

10) Go Green and Add Plants
Plants can brighten any room. A room void of plant life is a plain room. A room full with plants is a room full of life. Plants calm our heat rate, lower our blood pressure, add oxygen to the air, help us relax and focus, and so much more.

Add plants to the inside and the outside of your property. The plants on the inside will make the space more appealing and should relax potential tenants or purchasers. The outdoor plants will do the same and also add curb appeal.

About the Author

I have lived in The Bahamas nearly all my life and I have been involved in the Bahamas real estate industry since 1998.

How can I spruce up a plain chocolate cake?

I’m making a chocolate cake from a mix for a thank you present, and I wanted to know…how can I spruce it up? What can I add to it to make it special?

Frost the entire cake with one color frosting (say chocolate).. Smooth the frosting out by heating your spatula under hot water, dry it and smooth over. Repeat till all smooth. Then take a contrasting color frosting,( say white) put into a little plastic bag and cut the tip of the corner off. Now you can pipe a design of your choice all over the cake or along the sides. It will be one of a kind & look very professional.

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