To increase the chances of selling your home quickly, start by focusing on three crucial rooms, says real estate mogul Sidney Torres: “The kitchen area, the master bedroom and the master bathroom are the key areas when you’re flipping a property.”
After all, these are the rooms that you “live in the most,” he tells CNBC Make It, so it’s worth investing extra time and money to improve these spaces.
In general, these areas should be open with simple color palettes. Most importantly, you want to maximize natural light, says Torres, who helps struggling property investors on CNBC’s “The Deed.”
Here are a few more design tricks and details that can transform each of these three rooms.
The master bedroom
“When I walk into a bedroom, I like to see the bed up against the wall, facing you when you come in. And I like to have two windows on each side of the bed to bring in natural light,” Torres tells CNBC Make It, adding: “I believe in keeping things symmetric.”
As for the specific color palette, he prefers “whites and greys. Very light colors.” And that goes for the flooring, too: “I like to do a light-colored flooring, whether you use oak or pine. That way it flows through the house.”
Small details matter, he notes: An easy way to make the space feel more open and less cluttered is to “conceal the outlets, so when when you walk in the room you don’t see all these loose wires everywhere.”
The master bathroom
Using light, neutral colors is even more important in the bathroom, says Torres: “Especially in small spaces, you don’t want to go dark because it really closes it in and it’s harder to sell.”
If your master bath doesn’t have great natural light, one way to open up the dark space is to install a skylight. While they can “cost a little extra money, it pays off in the end,” Torres says. The same goes for each of these three key rooms.
The kitchen
One of Torres’ favorite features to add to the kitchen is under-cabinet lighting. It’s as simple as a strip of lighting that runs underneath your cabinet and it can significantly boost the value of your home.
Best of all, it’s easy on the budget, says the real estate veteran: “It’s not expensive to do, but it’s nice. It washes down the back-splash. You can also put them above the cabinets, which is nice too. If you have nice crown molding, it features the crown molding.”
Plus, under-cabinet lighting adds depth to your kitchen: “It gives the ceiling height and makes it feel higher than what it really is.” It may even save you money on your energy bill.
