“How Much is Too Much to Fix up Your House?”
I came across a nice article on RealtyTimes.com written by M. Anthony Carr which covers the aspect of redecorating before selling your home and its cost.
So how much is Too Much to fix up your house?
As with any resale product, the person trying to sell said product will usually try to make the product look as new as possible to ensure the highest profit available. In reviewing many of the homes on the market today, however, some sellers don’t get that notion.
Don’t make the mistake of the seller who, knowing full well that buyers were coming by, not only failed to do a fresh clean up, but also left his underwear on the exercise bike, a pan of crusty macaroni and cheese on the stove and debris throughout the yard.
There are some task items any seller should consider when selling a house. Even if you decide to sell “as is,” a little soap and water could put a few more bucks in your pocket. With that in mind, let’s look at what sellers should look at doing with any house they want to put on the market; what to do when you want to get a little more money; and how to compete with the Joneses when looking to prepare your home for sale.
Any House
1. All homes going on the market should receive a deep cleaning. This is the cleaning that you do when … well, you would never do it unless you’re selling your house (or you’re just an absolute neatnik. This involves scrubbing every cranny of the house. Nothing goes unscrubbed. I would suggest bringing in a professional group to get this done and plan on spending a couple hundred bucks (maybe more) to get the house ready for your new buyer.
2. Next, declutter the house. Go ahead and rent a huge storage unit and fill it up. Plan this with a bunch of pre-made boxes that have lids you can tape shut and label. Take extra kid’s toys to charity. Donate all clothes that are even a bit too tight or out of date. Remove excess furniture (or even cover with matching covers).
3. Repair and paint where needed. As with most homes that have been lived in, that would be all of them. Walk through a new construction home to see what you’re up against and then go and make yours look as best you can on your budget.
4. Landscaping. Thankfully, mulch and flowering plants don’t really cost a lot of money for those who are just sprucing up. Before going out and paying for a designer-created landscaping job, start with the local garden center and get some free advice on how to spruce up on a budget. Fresh, flowering plants (even in fall and winter) can make the house look oh-so much better.
Even if you’re selling as-is, the above four tips are a must. Next is where we spend a little more money.
Redecorating
1. Renewed color. Giving your house a makeover doesn’t have to cost you a second mortgage. The first item to consider for rehab is your color selection. While the traditional advice is “go vanilla,” professionally selected colors (not too bold) can make a “nice” house into a “wow” house.
2. Flooring is one of the best moderately priced upgrades a seller can install to make a huge difference. While I like the concept of “choose-your-own-carpet” offers in home listings, think about what else it’s saying: “We’re too cheap to fix up the house now, so we’ll let you walk through our tattered, stained carpeting and let you get it installed the weekend after we leave.” Like I said, make your house a “wow” by making that first great impression with new carpet.
3. Replacing dated items. Sometimes replacing certain items in the house is really more like maintaining your home instead of upgrading it. Items like windows, doors, light fixtures, faucets, door hardware, etc., need upgrading and replacing periodically. A walk down the light aisle at your favorite hardware store reveals this could be done on a budget. Nevertheless, there’s nothing more gross looking than a brass light fixture that’s chipping and rusting.
Keeping up with the Joneses
At some point you have to look at what the neighbors are doing and keep up or you’ll lose out. If everyone in the neighborhood is ripping out the old and installing the new (kitchen, bath, carpet, doors, etc.) then you may be forced to do the same thing long before you’re thinking of putting your home on the market. My wife and I are facing that right now with the kitchen. It’s starting to show its age, which means before we put the house on the market in a few years, if I want the best buyer (or any buyer for that matter) the kitchen cabinets need an upgrade.
Redo, Remodel, Relax
As you look around the house, making your list of things to change before putting the house on the market, remember to create some time to enjoy your new digs before selling the place. If a sale is on your horizon and you must redo the landscaping before putting the house on the market — do it early so you can drive home to the professionally designed flowerbeds and floral creations a few months or years before selling it to someone else.
While you want to repair, paint, remodel and add on to your house because it adds value to your home, every homeowner should especially do it because they want to enjoy the changes as well.
by M. Anthony Carr
Resource: from http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20061020_toomuchfix.htm
June 13th, 2007 at 3:52 am
That’s true. And these rules are really so simple! All you need is to follow them.
June 13th, 2007 at 3:56 am
I think that when you clean and redecorate your house, you will not want to sell it
June 13th, 2007 at 7:29 am
Oh I think it may be very hard. You can “Repair and paint where needed” but some buyers don’t take it into consideration. And of course all these actions cost some money.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Buyers are very savvy today. If there’s something wrong in your house, you had better take care of it. All things being equal, if you have a home that needs a new roof, it can make it somewhat less attractive to a buyer than another home on the market.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:30 am
I agree with this issue. If you would like to sell your home you need to do it best. i think that it isn’t enough to clean it and to change something in it. It will be better to change mostly everything in it: furniture, carpets,doors,windows etc. Buyers will pay attention to flower-bed, good garden - everything that brings comfort to owners of the house. outward appearence plays a big role. If the house is well-groomed outside and well furnished incide - everybody will like it, even very exigeant people. So don’t economize on equipment and replacing of the house you’ll want to sell. Well-equipped house will bring much money to its owner.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:51 am
I don’t agree with this author. There is no reason to waste time and money to rebuild and replace the house you want to sell. If people want to buy a house, first of all they will pay attention for the arrangement of the building and it’s landscape. As for house - of course it may be well-looked building which make buyers pay attention on it, but no more. I think that color of walls and furniture are not so important things, because “Tastes are differ” and it it not exeption that your taste will be very differ from the buyers one. In my opinion everyone want change everything in it new appartment, so buyer will change everything on it’s own way. So if you want to sell your house for the good price - simply clean it and do your landscape well
June 15th, 2007 at 6:22 am
A lot of what needs to be done to get a home ready for the market doesn’t cost a dime, but takes time. Removing excess personal possessions and furniture is important. Buyers need to be able to see past the owner’s belongings. They need to imagine themselves living in the home. In order to de-clutter, some homeowners rent storage space, if their own storage space is limited.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Cleanliness is next to godliness when it comes to selling homes. The interior of your home should gleam. Wash windows inside and out. Hire help, if necessary. And plan to keep your home this way during the entire marketing period. Hire a cleaning person, or service, to come once a week if you are a busy person who doesn’t have help.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:26 am
My advices about exterior:
Repair for damaged gutters
You know you have to clean them, but you also have to look for other signs of trouble. We’ll show you how to patch a hole, seal a leaky corner joint and secure a gutter that’s pulled away from the house.
Rain gutter rehab
We’ll show you how to clean your gutters, how to make basic repairs and improvements, and what to do to keep them operating smoothly.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:29 am
After my friends bought their first house, they quickly realized that it came with a yard.
First they dug all the grass and weeds out of the newly designated beds. A small dump truckload of soil was delivered and tilled into the new planting beds. A low fence was designed to wrap around the front door, creating a small courtyard or entry garden. To simplify the project, they purchased prefab panels at a home-center store. The low pickets gave the yard structure and helped tie the house to the landscape. After the fence was complete, Carol, my friend, immediately planted a rose to ramble across the top. Its blooming pink flowers soften the structure and lend the garden a relaxed cottage look.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:30 am
For instance, if you find a home that you determine the fair market value is a $100,000, but you can buy it for $80,000 because it needs some TLC (tender loving care), you really save more than $20,000. If you put 5% down and take a 30 year mortgage for 30 years on a $80,000 purchase price, the payments are $557.66. If you paid $100,000 for the house, the payments would be $697.08. This is a savings of $139.42 per month, or $1,673 per year. This adds up to $50,189.88 over the life of a 30 year mortgage.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:32 am
And one more…
There are many sites on the web to help you figure the costs of renovating a house. When you find a house you are interested in, you can go to the Home Depot site (www.homedepot.com) and find calculators to figure the cost of paint, carpet, tile, wallpaper, grass seed, etc. You put in your room sizes and the calculator will tell you how many gallons of paint you need for the room. Or how many square yards of carpet each room needs.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:34 am
Don’t make the mistake of the seller who, knowing full well that buyers were coming by, not only failed to do a fresh clean up, but also left his underwear on the exercise bike, a pan of crusty macaroni and cheese on the stove and debris throughout the yard.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:35 am
All homes going on the market should receive a deep cleaning. This is the cleaning that you do when … well, you would never do it unless you’re selling your house (or you’re just an absolute neatnik. This involves scrubbing every cranny of the house. Nothing goes unscrubbed. I would suggest bringing in a professional group to get this done and plan on spending a couple hundred bucks (maybe more) to get the house ready for your new buyer.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:37 am
About redecorating
Renewed color. Giving your house a makeover doesn’t have to cost you a second mortgage. The first item to consider for rehab is your color selection.
Flooring is one of the best moderately priced upgrades a seller can install to make a huge difference. While I like the concept of “choose-your-own-carpet” offers in home listings, think about what else it’s saying: “We’re too cheap to fix up the house now, so we’ll let you walk through our tattered, stained carpeting and let you get it installed the weekend after we leave.” Make your house a “wow” by making that first great impression with new carpet.
Replacing dated items. Sometimes replacing certain items in the house is really more like maintaining your home instead of upgrading it. Items like windows, doors, light fixtures, faucets, door hardware, etc., need upgrading and replacing periodically. A walk down the light aisle at your favorite hardware store reveals this could be done on a budget. Nevertheless, there’s nothing more gross looking than a brass light fixture that’s chipping and rusting.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:37 am
Wow, Jessica, great advices! Thanks
June 15th, 2007 at 6:39 am
As you look around the house, making your list of things to change before putting the house on the market, remember to create some time to enjoy your new digs before selling the place. If a sale is on your horizon and you must redo the landscaping before putting the house on the market — do it early so you can drive home to the professionally designed flowerbeds and floral creations a few months or years before selling it to someone else.
While you want to repair, paint, remodel and add on to your house because it adds value to your home, every homeowner should especially do it because they want to enjoy the changes as well.
June 15th, 2007 at 8:50 am
2 King D: quote [There is no reason to waste time and money to rebuild and replace the house you want to sell. ]
I do not insist on making major improvements on your home. I do agree that most home-buyers want to make their own major changes. You are usually wiser to sell them the potential at a price they can afford.
June 15th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Hmm.. 2my mind the most important thing is not to overdo. So that the house won’t look as if you’re dreaming to get rid of it
Fixing it is sure great but it does influence the price of your house 
June 15th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
2 Rafa_El: Not some but quite a lot. Remember my Granma fixing the foor in her house.. actually, she realised that central heating also needed repairing, electricity system wasn’t ideal either… actually, it all _worked_, so I don’t understand her..