Business & Real Estate: Making your home’s interior shine

Philip A Raices

Well, can I assume my readers have a greater understanding of what and how to begin to spruce up your exterior landscape of your home and attract those purchasers now or when you are ready to sell?

From the calls and emails that I have received since last weeks Part 1, “Creating curb appeal for your home,” I am happy to report that most understand or have learned where to begin.

It’s all a process where one gains the knowledge through trial and error; reading some gardening periodicals or take classes at your adult education or even go to one of the big box garden centers where they have “free” classes on landscape design for beginners!

Well, now for your interior of your home; where do you begin?  First off, here are some suggestions to spruce up your interior:

1. When is the last time you painted your inside, that is, all your rooms, not just one or two that you thought needed it?

2. How do your hardwood floors look?  Need some renovation or sanding and 2 coats of polyurethane?

3. Look at your kitchen and think about what you want to do, assuming you are going to stay in your home for the long or short haul.

What will you need to do to make your home (worst case scenario) handicap accessible for the future or at least easier to live within?

a. Are the cabinets reachable now or in the future and will a wheel chair accessible in around your kitchen

b. Do you have sufficient storage?

c. Are all switches easier to work and grounded, to eliminate shocks and potential fire hazards?

d. Will a wheel chair potentially fit underneath your kitchen table or will you need to purchase another one?

e. Do you have an electric stove, that you may forget to shut off, causing potential physical burns or a fire hazard or a gas stove that again, you might forget to turn off, causing affixation and causing a potential fatality?

f. Is your laundry in the basement or could you relocate it to your kitchen or even more convenient, in or around your bedroom for easier access and convenience.

These are some basic items to think about, as you get older and still want to stay in place or then you might decide to consider selling and many of those changes will not have to be done.

You will have to give extremely serious thoughts to your future course of action in determining whether you are staying or going.

Now, let’s view your bathrooms and determine what has to be changed or renovated, if you are staying in place or eventually going to sell.

Is your door to your bathroom at least 34 inches wide to accommodate a wheel chair as well as your vanity accessible.

Does your bathroom have grab bars by your toilet and inside your bathtub or shower.

There are bathtubs that have doors that you can walk into the tub or a shower or that will allow a wheel chair to gain access into the shower area?

Come to think of it, are all your doorways at least 34 inches to allow access to all the rooms?

Now for most of my readers, none of these suggestions might apply right now, because you are in excellent health; but as you grow older, one must think about the future and plan ahead to insure a quality of life and to be able to minimize your stress of everyday living, in getting in and around your home and the use of its facilities.

Is your master bedroom on the second floor or on the main floor?

Will you need a stair lift attached to your wall and staircase to get upstairs or save money and have a bedroom to sleep in on the main floor?

Do you have a safety alert setup, in the event of a fall in your home, whether it be in the shower/bathtub or anywhere within your property, so someone will come and assist you in an emergency.

This article is to get you to think about your future, which is right around the corner, because time flies by, as we all know and one must prepare, because, we are living longer and the “graying of Long Island” has been upon us for many years.

If you need suggestions about what you may need to do in your home, feel free to call me and we can discuss your specific “Needs and Wants.”

I want to wish all my  readers a healthy, happy and a very relaxing and fun 4th of July weekend.

Philip A. Raices is the owner of Turn Key Real Estate in Great Neck. He can be reached by email: Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com or by cell, (516) 647-4289 to answer any of your questions.  

To search for property, see what your home is worth or homes that have sold in your area, go to:  WWW.Li-RealEstate.Com

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