Sellers DIY Errors costs Sale
Preparation is Key
FIVE MOST COMMON DIY MISTAKES & HOW TO AVOID THEM
Before putting you home on the market it’s wise to check that it is in tip top condition to achieve close to your asking price. It’s tempting to say ‘Who-ever buys the house will fix it – they will change the colours anyway so what’s the point?’ The point is that every problem spotted by prospective buyers is money off your asking price. But a poorly done ‘Quick Fix’ is as bad as leaving the original problem. Below are five common DIY errors and what you can do to avoid them so that your home can be presented for sale in perfect condition.
1. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
Before you start any DIY job make sure you don’t scrimp the preparation. Yes, it’s a bore but that attention to detail before you start will make the job go much smoother and give a superior finish. Always clean walls and skirting before you start painting, vacuuming will keep the dust down and stop it sticking to wet paint and ruining your hard work.
2. Watermarks
You’ve had a leaky roof in the past and the evidence is there for any prospective buyer to see in the shape of the watermark on the ceiling. The amateur DIYer’s mistake here is thinking a quick paint over with the usual water-based emulsion will cure the problem. Unfortunately, plain old emulsion won’t help and the stain will keep showing through no matter how many coats you apply. What you need is to paint over the stain with a white oil-based paint or primer – another option is would be to spray the stain to seal it and then cover with paint.
3. There’s no such thing as a quick fix
It’s all too easy to think a quick cover up will do until the house is sold – but what if it hangs around on the market for longer than the optimum six weeks (more than likely in the current housing market). Quick fixes are just that – they don’t last forever one area where the amateur DIYer tends to take a short-cut is with sticking doors. After wet weather wooden doors can become swollen and stick. Planning the wood is an instant fix but if the edges are left raw it will continue to absorb moisture and swell. If you do have to shave a few centimetres off make sure you paint over the exposed edge with an oil-based primer to seal it.
4. Cheap as chips essentials guarantees a cheap finish
Using cheap brushes is a waste of time and money – they shed their bristles more easily which means you are continually stopping to try and ‘pick’ them out off the freshly painted wall a messy time-consuming job. These brushes have less bristles making it harder to get a clean straight line around edges. Although buying expensive paintbrushes is a waste for just one job, good quality mid-range synthetic brushes are find for the DIYer and they keep their shape. One brush you should invest a little more in is the Cutting in brush. This is a specially shaped brush that allows a good clean finish close to edges such as door and window frames and between ceiling and wall.
5. Paint the woodwork not the carpet
Always get in the experts for electricity or plumbing etc
Nothing refreshes a room more than a lick of paint add to that the look of freshly painted woodwork and a room can gain almost instant wow factor. But no prospective buyer likes to see gloss paint brush marks on the carpet or overlapping the woodwork onto the wall. Take the time to spend a few minutes fixing masking tape along the exposed edges.
Rhonda’s Tip for Today is brought to you direct from the desk of Rhonda Deal – Interior ReDesigner and Home Stager. Rhonda is available as a speaker, teaches (including recycling/upcycling techniques) and provides consulting services for B2B and private residential clients who want to improve their work/living space
You can find out more about what Rhonda has to offer at www.rd-homestaging.co.uk
Please feel free to reprint Rhonda’s Tips. All I ask is that you reproduce the whole article including the by-line with all contact details. All photographs in this article are copyright of Rhonda Deal
