Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Where to spend money in preparing a house to sell?

Paint and remove any wallpaper. As mentioned, people will have their own preferences for flooring/countertops/etc. The main thing is to not “overwhelm” folks with the feeling that they need a complete renovation.

Funky colors PLUS funky carpet PLUS funky kitchen/bathrooms leaves folks with the impression that they’re looking at a 6 month “project” rather than a one week “improvement”....

Paint is worth its weight in gold when it comes to selling a house.

what are other homes in your area doing? I put homes in my area in 3 catagories. beaters and as is properties, painted sellable condition and updated/max force appreciated. The updated houses in my area usually have new or painted white cabinets. new countertops, new carpets and bathroom updates. Those bring the most money. What you want to do is a skill that many people screw up on. so many people over improve their house, I would look at other homes for sale and get a vibe of what buyers are looking at. your property sounds somewhat unique. probably a good idea to ask an experienced realtor.

In that type market, I would sort of think that the first asswipe would turn their nose up at any ‘more than cosmetic’ improvements. Hate to see you do a ton of much beside some light curb appeal, fancy up the landscape minimally, fresh paint, driveway seal,etc.


Those snooty dumbfoucks that want a move a load bearing wall, install 30-40$k worth of new cabinets right off the bat, and they never like the existing shower.

I might be too opinionated by all those home shows on TV in doctor’s offices.


In our local markets which are 1/2 of your range, most people don’t have to kiss too much lookie lou or tire kicker ass. Homes in all classes sell fast in our no income tax state.

I like to do open houses. I am amazed by some of the crap that flippers install or the hodgepodge of tile they toss down because Home Depot only had enough sq footage in the discount stack to do half the house. I just subtract all the improvements from the sales price. Granite usually fits this category.

Neat and clean, house with no odors, fresh paint can help.

Agree with the others who mentioned just do any basic repairs, fix any cosmetic issues, maybe some fresh paint and cleaned up landscaping etc. Most high end buyers have their own ideas on EXACTLY what they want as far as things like kitchens, baths, etc and will redo it anyway so why waste your money. Also as others said, get as much of your stuff out as possible while still keeping it livable for you if you plan on living there while its on the market. Less "stuff" makes the space look larger and easier for a buyer to visualize their stuff in the rooms.

Pharm; lots of good advice already given. We sold our house in a down market a year ago, time from listing to closing a deal was about 2 weeks, the house was built in 1989 and we were the only owner.

The key things we did was have a home inspection done, then remediate all the deficiencies. The house was decluttered including getting all the taxidermy and guns out of the house. All the oak in the house was treated with howard's feed and wax. We had pictures taken of the house in the summer (we sold in January) so prospective buyer could get an idea what the house looked like without snow.

The home inspection report was then updated and made available to prospective buyers along with a copy of the real property report, all permits from the basement development, a copy of the floor plan and a list of all of the renovations we had done including details on the french drains the downspouts ran into.

6 months prior to listing we followed the market on comparable houses in comparable neighborhoods established what the selling price was for houses like our was.

The big things the really helped in selling the house:

1) The home inspection report be available for review
2) The house be clean and neat
3) The Howard's feed and wax. Several people wanted to know when the cupboards were replaced, Howards bring old wood back to life like no other product I know.

In short clean and declutter inside and out, provide information to give prospective buyers a sense that they know what they are getting, and buy some Howard's if you have any amount of wood doors, trimor cupboards

Good luck with the process

GRF

IMHO... if the house persents even reasonably well as is... I would list it immediately. Your number one selling feature is the crazy low interest rates of present.

If you spend four months fixing up a house and interest rates go up by 4% you will have a harder time selling.

Of course your location may differ then my opinion would warrant.

If you are in a Hispanic population city you may post it up in Spanish also.

And thats usually a realtor, we just went through this and my realtor said STOP... your house is good to go in this market. I could have kept on doing stuff that bothered me. 4 offers first day, took one well above asking and they paid all of closing. Realtor quoted the buyers saying "this is the house" before they even got out of the car.

Doing the same thing right now, but our house will be on the market in 4 or 5 months. Nice mid to upper priced home in the area, 2003. We have added and upgraded stuff over the years. Hardwood floors, New appliances, tile backsplash, water heater, crown molding etc. Curb appeal is key. I had the house painted, replaced the garage doors and lifts. Appliances and HVAC are big items, as well as the roof. Also buying a home right now as well. I looked at all of those things. I personally am not that worried about paint inside the home. We will most likely pick our colors. Same with carpeting/flooring, will pick our own. Big issues like the HVAC, roof, well, septic system, were what I was worried about. Offered accordingly, and am getting a new roof. (house was '98 with original roof) A good deep clean, and make sure everything works. Little things like dirty light switches, cracked/missing outlet covers etc can turn a buyer off. Front entry and yard are CURB APPEAL.. will be re-sodding our front yard. It is a sellers market right now, not sure where it will be in 4 or 5 years.

Zillow discontinued the “make me move” feature, where the owner could say the house isn’t for sale but if some a-hole showed up and offered me $x, I’d sell. That was fun for me.

I have it listed on Zillow now for about $75k over high market, just to see if someone bites.

I looked at other homes in the neighborhood that sold recently and identified the highest per-square-foot sale. I multiplied that number by my square footage and then added $50k. Funny thing, Chase holds my note and their website says my inflated price ($899K) is below their top of the range price. Someone is smoking crack at Chase, as their top end is $1.1 million. I wish.

Keep the advice coming, I really appreciate it. Kinda got in a fight with the wife this morning, I think she wants new flooring and what I’m hearing contradicts what she thinks.

Edit to add, we got new appliances recently, the oldest appliance is the reefer and it’s only 2 years old. Stainless reefer, oven/microwave combo, and dishwasher, they match. Roof is 5 years old.

As long as what is there now is more or less neutral in a color scheme, and in decent condition, I don't think replacing/repainting would bring much more. Most folks like what they like and would prefer that. Anything on the wild side could be an issue. A home inspection is a good idea,saves any nasty surprises at the tail end of the process. If you are showing, then de clutter and little to no personal items around, pictures on the wall etc would be a good idea. If the home looks cared for, it should sell itself.

Cracks need fixed, paint needs to look good.
Not new, just good.
You want to look good enough to not be a fixer upper.
Anything more is a loss.

Ever see one of those lists that recommend what to fix up?
Nothing is over 100% return.

Why do anything that isn't profitable if you are in a good market?





Do not put much into aesthetics, they will want to change them.
Mechanics and structure need to be solid, but do not sink much into
anything that works or will be good for 5 plus years.

People are fickle and stupid.
They will pay more for something showy than a fabulous heating
or water treating system.

Freshen up the paint both inside and out, make sure its spotless and clean and stage it to look like a model home.

Folks either want a turn-key deal or to be the next star of HGTV.

Yep.

People always wanta do their own tweaks to make it their own.
And have a budget for it after closing.

Paint and clean......

We always put new skirting on so they can't see that the tires are dry-rotted and take the tires and tarp off the roof. It's all about the drive-up appeal.

The answer has already been given, but I'd point out that this has actually been rigorously researched and IRC, kitchen upgrades returned the most -- about 80%. In other words, anything you spend upgrading the kitchen will be at a 20% loss. Anywhere else and losses are likely to be a lot closer to 100%. Still, I wouldn't argue with those that made the point to clean-up and make necessary repairs. You might end up having to do it following the inspection anyway. So removing eyesores, yes, investing in upgrades, no.

With your four-year horizon, you could consider renovations YOU would enjoy AND that you could reasonably expect to get a decent amount back for when you sell. Otherwise, I'll echo what other people wrote about spending the minimal to get things looking ship-shape. If you or your wife have wanted to upgrade something in your kitchen or bathroom or elsewhere, consider doing it now so you can enjoy it for three years.

With the OP's four-year horizon, getting 80% return on an upgraded kitchen would be worth the upgrade IF he or his wife already wanted the upgrade. I wouldn't do the upgrade for the sole purpose of selling the house unless the current kitchen was going to seriously hamper your sale at your target price point.