When you need to fix up that recent real estate investment or get your house ready to sell, but don’t want to spend a lot of time or money on it. Here are some tips that are quick, easy and inexpensive ways to fix your repairman top.
Paint – When you’re trying to improve the look, a little paint can go a long way. A nice freshly painted surface can make it look like new. If you find a paint that looks good, you might consider brightening the trim with a coat of semi-gloss. Be sure to choose a neutral beige or white color when painting the interior.
Cabinets – Kitchen and bathroom cabinets getting you down? Spruce them up with a coat of paint to give them a new and improved look. If the cabinets are stained or heavily colored, use a white semi-gloss. A quick coat of paint on cabinets is much less expensive than replacing them and can make them shine. Take it a step further and purchase new cabinet hardware. You can buy simple round handles inexpensively at any home improvement store.
Disconnect the covers of switches and outlets. Do not paint over switch plate covers. They are cheap, so just buy new ones and replace them for a fresh, clean look. If the problem is that the entire switch is not working, replace it for as little as $2.
Give it a new trim – if that trim doesn’t look right, just replace it. You can get durable foam molding that looks just like the real thing at Lowes or Home Depot. You can find it unfinished or already painted depending on what you are looking for.
Give it new doors and handles – go ahead as in the exit covers, bite the bullet and replace the doors. The doors are cheap; You can usually replace an old door with a new six-panel hollow-core door for about $30. Then take and give even more by replacing old and worn door handles with new ones. This can give you a fresh, less dirty look. Door handles will cost anywhere from $10 to $20 depending on the style you choose.
On the subject of doors – Improve the entrance to the house by replacing that front door to make the house brighter. You can get a nice heavy door for about $140, but if you don’t want to replace it, try giving it a high-gloss coat of paint. Use a color that makes it stand out like red or green.
Make the mailman smile – buy a new mailbox that will turn heads. For about $30 to $40 you can get a different mailbox than anyone else on the street. If you add another $60, you should be able to get a nice new post to put it on.