Sell Your Home Faster By Making These Simple Repairs
LOUISIANA REALTORS • October 18, 2017
Selling your home
is very similar to a job interview. The more successful your first impression is, the more beneficial the outcome can be in the end. And just like you wouldn’t show up late in a wrinkled suit to a job interview, and you wouldn’t want potential buyers to see your house in any state of disrepair. The good news is that there are several simple repairs and preparations
that you can make before your home hits the market. Here are 5 great tips that can help your home sell faster.
CONTACT US
1.) Tighten up: The little things can mean big dollars. Make sure that all of the hardware on your cabinets is tightened. Use a little WD-40 on your door hinges to prevent squeaking. Door knobs and handles should also be tightened, making them easy to open. Also replace older or burnt out light bulbs. This can add some fresh light and prevent the unfortunate event of light switch not responding.
2.) Add a coat: Freshening up the interior and exterior of your home can easily be done with a fresh coat of paint. Walls, trim, and ceilings should be painted with soft, neutral colors. Gray, beige, and other soft colors won’t offend the eye, and make it easier for potential buyers to imagine their own style.
3.) Look up: While replacing a roof can be an expensive endeavor, making small repairs can pay huge dividends. Replace missing shingles, clean out the gutters, and clear out any debris that has accumulated. It will present a well maintained roof and add to the curb appeal of your home.
4.) Wood you rather?: A quick pressure washing session can take years of wear and tear off of your fence, gates, and deck. Louisiana’s wet summers and hot sun can take a toll on these elements of your home, but pressure washing and treating the wood can make them look like new.
5.) Keep your plumbing humming: Toilets, faucets, and plumbing hardware need to be both operating properly and current. Replacing hardware and knobs in the kitchen and bathrooms can be an inexpensive and effective way to update your fixtures. It’s also important to make sure that faucets don’t drip and toilets don’t run. Doing a little routine maintenance can go a long way when showing your home.
Depending on the age and condition of your home, these are only a few tips that can enhance your selling potential. Entrusting the sale of your home to a REALTOR®
is another important step. With resources and experience you can leverage the direct insight of your REALTOR to know exactly where to focus your effort.
Week three of the Regular Session kept real estate issues in the conversation, even as lawmakers continued to focus heavily on workforce, tax and insurance policy. On the property tax front, measures to reshape assessments and exemptions, including proposals for a new blight rehabilitation exemption and additional relief for seniors, remain parked in the House Ways and Means Committee as stakeholders work through fiscal and local government concerns. These bills matter because they will influence long-term carrying costs, redevelopment incentives and how tax burdens are shared across residential and commercial property. Homestead related legislation, including parish level authority to increase the exemption amount, is also in the queue, signaling that the broader structure of Louisiana’s homestead system is officially on the table, not just the dollar figure. For homeowners and buyers, this debate goes directly to affordability. For local governments, it raises revenue stability and service delivery questions. There also has been movement on several identical pieces of legislation that would instruct parish assessors to develop a process for homeowners to permanently register for the homestead exemption for the duration that they own and live on the property. We are actively tracking legislation that will directly shape how investor activity and non-traditional transactions are recognized and regulated in Louisiana’s real estate market. This includes HB 468 by Troy Hebert , a key component of the Louisiana REALTORS® legislative package that targets the wholesale of residential real estate, which was heard in the House Commerce Committee on Monday. The bill is currently positioned for a floor vote early next week. As drafted, HB 468 represents a major step in the right direction for consumer protection in Louisiana, advancing needed guardrails through potential disclosure, registration, and practice standards that could redefine how assignment contracts and “off-market” transactions intersect with licensed brokerage activity. In parallel, HB 292 by Delisha Boyd passed the House on final reading, 86-3, and is on its way to the Senate. Together, these measures represent a coordinated policy effort to bring greater structure and transparency to emerging transaction models, while preserving the integrity of the traditional brokerage framework. Finally, the broader policy backdrop remains important: the Governor continues to push income tax changes and cost of living relief, while business and industry groups are prioritizing insurance, workforce and energy — each a key driver of long run housing demand and investment. As these debates evolve, we’ll keep you updated on what moves, what stalls and what it all means for your clients, your pipeline and private property rights across Louisiana. Please view the weekly bill tracking report provided by our lobbying team over at Harris, DeVille and Associates.
Tax Questions & Updates for 2026 Webinar Recording Now Available
NAR is pleased to share the latest consumer guide that explains the concept of home staging, offers DIY staging tips and missteps and shares the latest NAR member sentiment on how staging can help buyers better visualize the property as their future home and potentially net sellers a higher price. As a reminder, all guides in this series are available for download—in both English and Spanish—on facts.realtor . Please allow up to two weeks for the Spanish version of the latest resource to be translated and uploaded. For ease of reference, below is a list of the most recent guides: NEW: Staging Your House for a Sale Spotting Deepfake Scams in Real Estate Are You Ready to Invest in Real Estate? Thinking of Selling? 7 Factors to Consider How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient Thank you for your continued engagement with the “Consumer Guide” series and for sharing the resources with prospective clients to ensure they have the information they need to find success in their home buying or selling journey. Remember that these guides are for informational purposes only and are not meant to enact or change any existing NAR policy. Be on the lookout for the next consumer guide, which discusses home mortgage options that allow buyers to fold in renovation costs.
