What type of improvements will help me sell my one bedroom one bathroom condo? I live in an urban location.?

I live on Capitol Hill in Wash, DC and need to sell my 1br/1ba condo in the next several months. I've seen a ton of sites that describe upgrades that can help you sell your home more quickly, but is there a list of upgrades that work for condos in large buildings?

I don't want to make any improvements that are a waste of money... but I've been thinking about upgrading light fixtures, building out the walk-in closet, painting the place beige, and upgrading the bathroom hardware. We already have a good kitchen. What will get me the most mileage??

The condo market here is ok. It's not nearly as bad as in suburban locations.

Have you ever watched shows like "Sell This House" on tv? They give you great suggestions. Bathrooms are super important. Make sure the fixtures are updated. If the cabinets need to be updated, sometimes an inexpensive fix is painting. It really depends on what your place looks like. Neutral colors work well - if you use beige, use a light enough shade that it will work with any decor and keep the condo feeling bright and open. You could try a bold color on an accent wall or something like that. If the trim is wood and is outdated or dark, try maybe painting it white - it's more contemporary and looks cleaner. Make sure the carpet is clean. Flooring is important. If you need to replace the flooring, go with a bamboo - you can get it for less than $2 per sq ft on places likethe Lumber liquidators website, that's cheaper than carpet anyway & will add so much value to your home. Nice floors in general will help a sale - get rid of any vinyl, nobody wants that stuff!
Replacing hardware is great. People LOVE walk in closets, but make sure you're not taking space away from another important spot like the bathroom - people dont' like cramped bathrooms.

Lots of good suggestions so far. Here are some more small things:

Clean any grout with a Clorox Bleach Pen. Run the pen over the grout, wait about two minutes, and wash it off. You'll see why after you've done this.

Clean any window screens or, better yet, remove them. Your windows will look brighter.

Clean ledges outside the windows. Again, clean is what sells.

Box up half your clothes, half you belongings, and half your dishes. Put them in storage. Your place will look more spacious. Get rid of more than the basic furniture, too. I recently sold a 700 square foot 2BR 1BA condo that people thought was very spacious. That's because they saw open floor and walls.

Set the bathroom up like a hotel bathroom. A small basket of mini-soaps and shampoos signals the condo is like being on vacation.

Fix any small things, like doors off hinges or drawers that don't completely shut. Nobody wants to move in and fix your problems.

Line up everything in your fridge, cabinets, and closets like it is on the shelf at Safeway or the Gap. People associate organized with lots of space to store. Trust me on this one.

Super clean the entryway - the door, the knob, the kickplate, and the threshold. This is the first thing the potential owner sees. And clean equates to well cared for.

Take EVERYTHING off of your kitchen counters. The coffee maker, toaster, microwave, and napkin holder may say "convenient" to you, but they say "cluttered" to the potential owner. Make them see nothing but counter space, but lots of counter space. Don't believe me - take the stuff off and you'll see the difference.

Put canister lights in the corners of the rooms. These are about five bucks each, but will make the rooms look larger.

And I agree with everyone else. Beige screams "Golden Girls" Miami in the '90s. Sherwinn Williams has a color called "Architecture" that is a very neutral but interesting off white. It is bright, will make your rooms look large and cleaen, and matches everything.

Clean all electrical outlets and face plates. Clean all light fixtures. (Take them down, clean them in the sink, and re-hang them.) Clean all heating intake and outflow covers. (You can put them in the dishwasher.)

When you know the place is being shown, do a very quick spray of one of the body sprays currently being marketed to teenage boys. A very quick spurt. Renuzit and Glade scream that you're covering something in the air. The body sprays are scented in a way to get the "I want it" reaction you're looking for. And cookies and cut lemons scream that you're covering up a problem scent.

Have fresh flowers somewhere that they can be seen the second someone opens the door. Yellow is supposed to be the magic color.

Replace outdated light fixtures. IKEA is the best place to find these. (It's in Springfield, VA, near you.) Since nobody touches the light fixtures, it's okay of they are cheap but good looking. My kitchen has Silestone counterops and European cabinets and a Dacor oven, but the one thing people ask me about the most is the light over the sink. It is a $5 IKEA fixture. I swear. Replacing outdated pulls on drawers is also a quick-fix.

As for the closets, I had more renovators tell me, as I was recently house hunting, that they don't do the closets anymore because the new homeowner usually rips them out immediately to do their own thing.

Sorry to go on, but I'm a staging geek. In fact, tomorrow I'm taking the day off of work to help someone place furniture in a new house as the movers take it off the truck.

Right now you are better off saving your money than spending on improvements. If you are going to spend, spend it on fresh paint, a maid to throughly clean the place and bug sprays to kill any insects. Houses are just not selling quickly and the upgrade you make might end up being a waste.

If your condo will allow it, get hard wood floors. That and a fresh coat of paint will really up the value of your home. Also, when doing upgrades, think new and cheap. The stuff you get doesn't have to be expensive at all, just new.

Sounds like you are on your way to sell.
The 2 biggest places is the kitchen and bathroom then the bedroom.
People can always dress up the living room.
They say light beige or white is the best colors because they are the easiet to paint over. Lighting is important.
They also say, if you are able to, back something that is simple but smells so nice and it goes with the season. Grab a box of pumkin bread through it together and through it into the oven.
It makes the home seem more homier and they get a "feel" of what it would be like or if they had company over.

Fresh coat of paint (keep the wall colors neutral: flat or eggshell beige/taupe with semi gloss white trim), new fixtures (lights, ceiling fans, etc.), update the bathroom or just make it look as clean and fresh if you don't have the budget to replace everything. I would make sure the carpet is clean and no major spots or stains. If you have wood, laminate or tile floors I would make sure everything looks clean and fresh. If you are living in the place while showing to prospective buyers make sure your house looks like a model house and keep the place clean. it wouldn't hurt to bake some cookies during an open house.

paint but not beige(yuck)
most people want a good kitchen and bathroom so concentrate on those two rooms.

There is nothing you will be able to do to increase the value. The value of your unit will be based on other units in your building. But there are a lot of thing you can do to make yours stand out like stage it, paint, clean the carpet, ect. your realtor should be able to help you with it.

In an urban location upgrades are more valuable then space.

So start with the bathroom.. thats the easiest. Most people love modern bathrooms these days. So go to home depot and see what they can do for you. Then look into Hardwood floors, and possible re-doing the kitchen. Although that can be very pricey.

I would recommend you start taping the home improvement shows like "Sell this House" "Get it Sold" and Designed to Sell. All three show how to stage your house to show it to it's best advantage. The first step is to clean and I mean really clean, no dust, dirt, mold etc, clean ceiling fans, if you have fake plants GET RID OF THEM, they are dust collectors, clean carpets to remove musty smells, you might not smell anything in your house but others will. Brighten darkly painted rooms with a fresh coat of paint, even if the paint is white, give it a freshly painted look. Remove oversized furniture and leave only essential pieces. If you have a huge TV it's got to go, remove all personal items (photos etc) DE CLUTTER remove all DVD's CD's personal photos etc. You don't want people concentrating on your decorations or your family photos, you want them to notice the room. If it's dark, open the curtains, change out dark dated curtains for lighter brighter curtains.

Remove all magnets from Fridge, straighten all kitchen cabinets and pantries, turn food jars/cans facing the front like a supermarket. Put all signs of dog or cat bowls away (if you have pets) clear the kitchen counters of all items. Put out a fresh vase of flowers or a bowl with Lemons or Limes or Red Apples.

Clean and empty closets. Remove and pack away clothes that you aren't wearing, making the closets look bigger. Pack up items and store them. You're going to be doing it when you sell why not get started.

Put away toiletries in bathrooms, change light fixtures to a more modern one, put out clean white towels, remove shower doors if any, replace shower curtain with a clean white one and make sure the floors and everything is spotlessly clean.

Those shows, on HGTV & A&E will help point you in the right direction and give you very good tips on how to stage your house to sell very quickly.

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