The art of selling smart when money is tight

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Published Date 7/2/2025

You want to sell, You have to sell. You’re going to sell. The trifecta is upon you and the decision has been made.

But what if you have no budget to do all those fancy (and sometimes expensive) things to prepare your house for sale? What happened to those days when an agent simply stuck a “for sale” sign on your front lawn, held a few open houses, and within a few weeks, got offers?

Realtor.com’s Lisa Marie Conklin knows that first and foremost, people driving by your listing must first be impressed enough to want to arrange a showing. And that means curb appeal. “In other words, you have to make your well-loved, lived-in home catch the eye of potential buyers in the best possible way,” she says.

She poses the question: What's a seller to do if they're strapped for cash and can't afford to replace the '90s linoleum floor in the bathroom with fancy new tile? So she compiled what she refers to as “cheap tricks” to make your home irresistible to homebuyers.

Paint is always the least expensive component in freshening up a house, inside or outside. But who says you have to repaint the whole house? No need to splash the latest trendy paint colors on the walls to impress homebuyers. Instead, take a close look at the rooms homebuyers focus on the most — like bathrooms and kitchens. It doesn't take much paint because there are generally more cabinets than wall space. Then consider painting the first room potential buyers see — like the living room.

As for the exterior paint? Believe it or not, the garage door is a huge focus for anyone even taking a casual glance at your home. It can take up as much as 40% of the front of the home if your house is garage-forward. A quick coat of fresh paint will go a long way toward brightening your home's first impression. And the front door, that matters bigtime too.

Sometimes homebuyers just can't get past what's in front of them when they walk in. The first thing they’ll do is try to visualize where they might place their own furniture. And if you’ve got heavy pieces of furniture lining the walls, antiques taking up space, and a family room full of kiddie entertainment, think about taking a few steps back and putting yourself in their shoes.

While professional home staging can be pricey, many stagers offer a consultation or hourly fee — a much cheaper alternative to using their furniture and case goods. Your Realtor might even be good at this, so no harm-no-foul in getting his or her ideas. They might suggest something as simple as moving the sofa to a different position or even another room in the house and suddenly it opens up space that buyers can smile over.

A stager or Realtor can also offer you a punch list on how to stage your closets, pantries, and cabinets to show their storage capacity. New York based Realtor Martha Gaffney says, "An extra-full pantry and closet don't allow a buyer to visualize the space, especially in dark rooms or areas.” Removing half to one-third of the stuff in your closet, pantry, and cabinets will permit buyers to see most of the floor and the ceiling.

Old, scratched-up hardwood floors? Breathe new life into them and even fill in scratches by mopping on a water-based polyurethane wood floor restorer to get back that rich, high-gloss finish of a newer floor. Conklin says one application should last through all those open house feet on the ground.

Reality check. If you’ve got to bite the bullet somewhere, lug that carpet and upholstery cleaner from the big box store and get started on a chore that pays off, especially when you have pets. Homebuyers pick up pet smells as soon as they walk through the front door, but sellers tend to be nose-blind and don't realize how badly little Maxie is stinking up the house.

Not sure this is true or if you’re even making a difference by doing all this? Invite your brutally honest friends over after you clean all the pet areas. If they still smell pet-related odors, find the culprit and deodorize it like cray-cray.

Ever wonder why model homes look so spacious inside? It’s because builders leave off the screens and the blinds. Natural light makes a home feel larger, cleaner, and more inviting. And if your home is lacking natural light, there are tricks to let more light in instantly. Wash your windows and remove the screens. Then install full-spectrum bulbs that mimic the midday sun for rooms lacking in natural light.

Where to go for stuff? Consider second-hand stores like your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. They offer a slew of renovation items, including paint, cabinets, hardware, appliances, tile, etc., for affordable prices, and your purchase helps contribute to affordable homeownership in your community. As for tchotchkes to stage your entryway, get thee to HomeGoods for some inexpensive pots and a spiffy welcome mat.

Yard work means sporting a pair of garden gloves and grabbing a few tools to tidy things up. Spiffing up your yard is one of the highest impact returns on investment you can make. Weed those flowerbeds, water and mow that lawn to perfection, and trim those bushes and trees. Be the perpetual gardener while you’re marketing your house, checking every few days on the state of your outdoor spaces.

Now. Wipe your brain clean and take the test. Drive up to your own house after having done all this, blur your eyes a bit, and imagine what your buyers will see and experience right off the bat. Do the same once you approach the front door and walk inside. In the process, make a list and like Marilyn Monroe used to say — if it stands out, remove it. Your newly spiffed-up home is now ready to face the world.

Realtor, TBWS

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