Fix Up your house to appeal to your Buyers and Tenants!

It's really simple to modify a home to suit your preferences. Selecting the colors that YOU like. Creating the layout to YOUR liking. However, when it comes time to actually SELL or RENT that property, you cannot be so personal. You have to think like a business person.

YOU ARE NOT THE PERSON WHO WILL LIVE IN THE PROPERTY. If you're flipping the house, the Buyer will be the primary occupant, but if you're keeping it for rental income, a Tenant will be the final one. Consider this scenario: "Shouldn't I be determining what items the Occupant would like?"

What if the items that you pick aren't attractive to buyers or renters? What if those selections repel them and delay their purchase or renting? Even worse, what if these choices turn them off and cause it not to be rented or sold as quickly as possible?

How would you know what they want if you don't know what they need? This may be accomplished in a number of ways, but the one I like most is visiting large development firms' open houses. Visit their model homes, apartments, and take notes while doing so. Take photos of any interior doors, walls, and furniture in the home. What colors are used in each area? Consider how the rooms have brighter colors vs darker ones. How do kitchen cabinets with a wide range of neutral tones compare to those with bold primary hues? Are there handles on the cabinets or are they incorporated into the cabinet door?

What kind of shower surround are they employing in the baths? Is it a tile shower surround, or is it a one-piece molded surround? What sort of bath vanity, faucet, and toilet are utilized? Are the floors in the main areas of the house carpeted, hardwood, or some other material? Is there anything distinctive about the way that the developers have decorated their model homes?

After taking all of this in, begin to make a list of what you like and don't like in each model home. This will help you understand what potential buyers and renters are seeking in a property.

You can use your smartphone's camera to snap photos of the items you're looking at and then go shopping for comparable things to include into your rehabilitation.

The result to you rehabbing the property through the eyes of the Buyer or Tenant and finishing it to their liking, hopefully is a WOW reaction when they walk the property for the first time. If you WOW them, you have nailed the rehab!