Best Renovations When Selling Your Home
The pea soup bathtub and matching toilet in the guest bathroom have got to go. The shag carpeting in the family room is due for a change. Also, the siding on the house could use a little work.
If you’re selling your home, you probably know where the problem spots are, and the areas that will make buyers cringe. However, the best renovations might surprise you as far as their true value are concerned.
Make a List of Your Home’s Issues
Put yourself in the shoes of your buyer and consider whether you’d value a renovated kitchen or a new roof on the home. An old, leaky roof represents an immediate problem you’d need to fix after moving into the home.
However, a kitchen that could use a refresher course in style and accoutrements might not represent a deal breaker. After all, the stove still works, and the refrigerator still cools. That leaky roof, on the other hand, isn’t doing its job.
You’ll want to make a list of the areas that need some attention in your home and then arrange them in descending order of importance. Generally, the projects that represent a fix to something in the home (like decrepit siding, a leaky roof, or broken tiles in the bathroom) will need to take precedence over adding an extra bathroom, gutting the kitchen, or putting an addition on the back.
Think practically when considering the features of your home. Unless your home is in such a state that a buyer might consider it a “fixer-upper,” your buyer will just want a home that doesn’t come with any problems.
If you feel you can spare the budget for refurbishment beyond the general maintenance projects required of selling your home, that’s when you’ll want to create a second list of features that will add true value to your home.
The key to choosing the right projects is recognizing what features will excite buyers and make the buyer believe, “I could see myself in this house!”
Choosing the Right Renovation Projects
According to most home improvement experts, many renovation projects offer a slightly variable return-on-investment, and you’ll want to consider the ROI plus the static, upfront cost when choosing how to improve your home.
Remember: Higher cost doesn’t automatically mean higher ROI.
According to the pros at “This Old House,” on home renovations:
And just because a project is expensive doesn’t mean it will pay back more. Often, minor improvements can yield major dividends. According to Remodeling magazine’s annual analysis of cost versus value, a kitchen “face-lift” — painting, refinishing surfaces, and upgrading appliances — will return more than a full redesign.
If your kitchen is all but falling apart, a full renovation makes sense. However, if you’re moving and simply want to boost the initial opinion buyers form about your home, you’ll want to think about strategic renovations.
Getting Ready to Sell Your Home?
Have questions on how to make your home look attractive and inviting to buyers? Contact us for a Free Consultation. We’ll listen, go over your project, provide our input and give you an idea of how much it would cost. Best of all, there are no costs, risks, or obligations in this initial consultation.