My favorite real estate appraiser once gave me a VERY GOOD tip for buying a home. He said the very best house to buy in terms of value was one a few years old (3 to 10). The floor plan would be fairly up to date. The house is likely to be in decent shape for systems (heat and air, plumbing, electrical and roof) and only in need of a little paint and cosmetic repairs to be a nice home and a good value.

Let's face it. Paint is a lot cheaper than a big remodel or a roof or new kitchens and baths.

BUT, people rarely paint when they put houses up for sale and they also don't bother to clean up. Many think, "Anyone can see that it only needs a little paint and cleanup."

So what happens?

The house just sits on the market for a long time even though it's a good house that will appraise well and sell well if nicely packaged.

If it's been on the market for a long time it's also getting cheaper.

Then you start to see signs like "MOTIVATED SELLER".

But if you're willing to change that outdated wallpaper and worn paint you can reap the extra equity the seller has passed up. Better still, it goes directly toward improving your personal net worth.

But you don't want to paint. I know, I know. Stop whining! It's easy.

Even I can do it. In fact with all the practice I've had over the years I can do it better than many professionals. Think of this straight forward task as a job where you are being paid (in equity) hundreds if not thousands of dollars per hour!

You can do it, too. Get a good angled, 2-inch sash brush, some primer, some good drop cloths, and some good rollers and get started. You want to do a neat, professional job. If you don't feel confident about trimming out perfectly, just get some painter's tape. I don't bother with it now, but it's great for beginners. Forget fancy paint treatments on walls. They take too long, go out of fashion quickly and they don't do well at resale. Wallpaper is also something you may want to avoid.

Paint your new home with any colors you want. Then before you resale, paint again in neutrals so your home doesn't sit on the market for too long...like it did the last time. What you, unlike the previous owner want is a home where prospective buyers will say. This is nice and my stuff will look good in here.

Fresh paint can do wonders for the look of a house, both inside and out, and make you fall in love with a house that you didn't love before.

Look past the old colors and look at the attributes of the house itself. If the only thing you don't like is paint colors?BUY IT, PAINT and REAP the REWARDS!

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