The April/May issue of Realtor magazine (the trade magazine for the National Association of Realtors) has some great tips both for Realtors and home buyers and sellers. One that caught my eye is an excerpt from Home Gain’s 2011 Home Sale Maximizer Survey on “Worth-the-Price Fix-Ups”.
In this market we’ve been saying we’re in a pricing war and a beauty contest. The market doesn’t seem to reward such big fix ups as kitchen remodels by giving a return on that investment. And for awhile we’ve been advising sellers not to spend much of anything on preparing a home for sale. But smaller projects may have a place. This market has lots of properties in not great shape, combined with buyers expecting the picture perfect, like they see on television, homes. What to do?
The Realtor article highlights six projects under $1000, and their average expected return.
#1 Cleaning and decluttering; estimated cost: $290, return: $1990.
#2 Brightening (clean windows, replace curtains, update lighting fixtures etc); estimated cost: $375, return: $1550.
#3 Smart staging (rearrange furniture, new accessories etc); estimate cost: $550, return: $2194.
#4 Landscaping enhancements (bark mulch, add bushes and plants); estimated cost: $540, return: $1932.
#5 Repairing electrical or plumbing (ground fault interrupt outlets where needed, under sink leaks etc); estimated cost $535, return $1505.
#6 Replacing or shampooing dirty carpets; estimated cost $647, return: $1739.
In general, buyers are drawn to houses where the seller has put some effort getting their home ready to sell. Many buyers are turned off by and won’t even consider houses that feel as though they are in disrepair. Sometimes the difference in doing some work before marketing a home can be the difference in the home selling or not. Lastly, items that will most certainly be issues in the buyer’s home inspection should be addressed up front. Some repeat offenders we see in most inspections; working and properly vented bathroom fan, pressure relief valve and earth quake strapping on the hot water heater and improper hand rails (especially on basement stairs).
I’m glad to give your house the once over if you have questions about potential projects. Give me a call.
In this market we’ve been saying we’re in a pricing war and a beauty contest. The market doesn’t seem to reward such big fix ups as kitchen remodels by giving a return on that investment. And for awhile we’ve been advising sellers not to spend much of anything on preparing a home for sale. But smaller projects may have a place. This market has lots of properties in not great shape, combined with buyers expecting the picture perfect, like they see on television, homes. What to do?
The Realtor article highlights six projects under $1000, and their average expected return.
#1 Cleaning and decluttering; estimated cost: $290, return: $1990.
#2 Brightening (clean windows, replace curtains, update lighting fixtures etc); estimated cost: $375, return: $1550.
#3 Smart staging (rearrange furniture, new accessories etc); estimate cost: $550, return: $2194.
#4 Landscaping enhancements (bark mulch, add bushes and plants); estimated cost: $540, return: $1932.
#5 Repairing electrical or plumbing (ground fault interrupt outlets where needed, under sink leaks etc); estimated cost $535, return $1505.
#6 Replacing or shampooing dirty carpets; estimated cost $647, return: $1739.
In general, buyers are drawn to houses where the seller has put some effort getting their home ready to sell. Many buyers are turned off by and won’t even consider houses that feel as though they are in disrepair. Sometimes the difference in doing some work before marketing a home can be the difference in the home selling or not. Lastly, items that will most certainly be issues in the buyer’s home inspection should be addressed up front. Some repeat offenders we see in most inspections; working and properly vented bathroom fan, pressure relief valve and earth quake strapping on the hot water heater and improper hand rails (especially on basement stairs).
I’m glad to give your house the once over if you have questions about potential projects. Give me a call.
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