Make Improvements in Home before Sale

[sunny46]

We are going to sell our home by owner and wanted some ideas from the members. There are a couple of improvements we can make such as replacing countertops in kitchen and carpet in bedrooms. A local realtor told us it is better to leave them alone because no matter what you choose, the buyer will probably want something different. What do you think we should do?

[Villager Joyce]

There will be lots of strong opinions on this one. We replaced the carpet and painted the interior before we listed our previous house. We were under contract in one week. I will always believe it was the best money we ever spent. It made a 20 year old house look new.

[graciegirl]

We had three offers and a bidding war on home in Ohio before we moved here. Took our agents advice;

Removed and stored excess furniture. Had carpets cleaned professionally. Had neutral paint on all walls.

Cleaned and cleaned again. Removed all personal photographs and all clutter. Had exterior bushes trimmed a LOT. Replaced tired looking outdoor furniture covers. We had granite. and hardwood.

Trusted our agent, a long time friend to price the home.

21 Staging tips for selling your home fast | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/real-estate/2012/07/29/21-staging-tips-for-selling-your-home-fast.html)

Here is a list that might help.

[perrjojo]

I think any oblivious repairs need to be done. The home should be fresh and clean...scuffed baseboard could be painted. As far as any improvements...I think it’s good to add an allowance so that the potential buyer can make some upgrades they might desire. As mentioned before, get rid off excess furniture and accessories.

[Villageswimmer]

That link with staging tips is great. Make it look as modern as possible. Minimal furniture.

FWIW don’t hesitate to post great pictures on Zillow. Many Villagers said not to bother. We got one Zillow hit and she bought it immediately. Her relative in Seattle saw it online and sent it to her. Sold in less than a week.

We had no success with Daily Sun ads. They’re buried.

Good luck. It’s well worth the effort.

[Fraugoofy]

We are going to sell our home by owner and wanted some ideas from the members. There are a couple of improvements we can make such as replacing countertops in kitchen and carpet in bedrooms. A local realtor told us it is better to leave them alone because no matter what you choose, the buyer will probably want something different. What do you think we should do?I would remove many personal things and de clutter as much as possible. If you feel strongly about replacing the carpet you may want to think about laminate...best of luck to you.

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[Villager Joyce]

We had three offers and a bidding war on home in Ohio before we moved here. Took our agents advice;

Removed and stored excess furniture. Had carpets cleaned professionally. Had neutral paint on all walls.

Cleaned and cleaned again. Removed all personal photographs and all clutter. Had exterior bushes trimmed a LOT. Replaced tired looking outdoor furniture covers. We had granite. and hardwood.

Trusted our agent, a long time friend to price the home.

21 Staging tips for selling your home fast | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/real-estate/2012/07/29/21-staging-tips-for-selling-your-home-fast.html)

Here is a list that might help.

That’s a great link even for every day living and having family and friends over.

[Nucky]

For us, we would rather get the money off the selling price because we will be replacing everything anyway. Some people need to put the money into the house when they are leaving. For the life of me I don't understand that. Why wouldn't you improve the property several years before you sell it so you can enjoy the new countertop, toilets, showers, paint job etc before you hand it over to a buyer?? Keep the money in your pocket on the big item's just clean it within an inch of its life and never replace carpet with carpet. Hardwood or laminate is better depending on the house price if you must. Sunny send me a PM and maybe you will have a sold house today or tomorrow.

There are two schools of thought no doubt. You wouldn't believe some of the houses we have bought site unseen. They were bombs but we made money. Good Luck to you either way you go.

[Sgroemm]

In my opinion....you will get more for your home and sell it quicker if you update the flooring. Personally I like the Pergo style "wood look" laminate over carpeting. I just bought my home in TV and did buy the home that was updated with new flooring over the less expensive one with old carpeting.

[Wiotte]

In my opinion....you will get more for your home and sell it quicker if you update the flooring. Personally I like the Pergo style "wood look" laminate over carpeting. I just bought my home in TV and did buy the home that was updated with new flooring over the less expensive one with old carpeting.



Don’t like the Pergo click click click as you walk on it. I’d rip it up and put down real wood or tile.


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[Barefoot]

Definitely make the changes. Some prospective purchasers have no imagination.
Your house should look uncluttered and clean (turn on all the lights and open the blinds).
Soft music playing in the background during showings.
Your house should smell good, preferably fresh-baked cookies that you can offer to prospective purchasers.
But at least cinnamon simmering on the back burner.

[Halibut]

An updated house will almost always sell faster than an identical model that has ground down carpeting and is in need of painting. Even if buyers would have chosen a different countertop or flooring themselves, they can usually live with the previous owner's clean, new selections until they get around to remodeling. I'd be reluctant to buy a house that I have to immediately remodel/update. It's stressful to manage on top of moving, especially if it's a new area.

The odds are that if you spend $3K in upgrades, you probably won't get $3K more on the sale price -- BUT you will sell a lot faster.

[Love2Swim]

We were house hunting for awhile, and a big turn off for us was cheap looking laminate flooring. Just saying.

[Love2Swim]

An updated house will almost always sell faster than an identical model that has ground down carpeting and is in need of painting. Even if buyers would have chosen a different countertop or flooring themselves, they can usually live with the previous owner's clean, new selections until they get around to remodeling. I'd be reluctant to buy a house that I have to immediately remodel/update. It's stressful to manage on top of moving, especially if it's a new area.

The odds are that if you spend $3K in upgrades, you probably won't get $3K more on the sale price -- BUT you will sell a lot faster.

I agree.

[graciegirl]

We were house hunting for awhile, and a big turn off for us was cheap looking laminate flooring. Just saying.

Tile that looks like wood is a better choice IMHO

Watch renovations on HGTV.

Light Fixtures get out of date in about 10-15 years.

Our agent told us to take all pet bowls and the litter box OUT of the house when we had a showing. AND take the cats too.

[Mrs. Robinson]

If the carpet you have in the bedroom is in good condition, leave it.
Otherwise, replace it with a similar color which I assume matches what is in your other bedrooms.
A million different floorings in a house is a no-no.

If the house needs painting inside, do-it.

Remove everything personal.
That includes photos, religious items (including those little white crosses on your lawn, if you have one), and anything on your refrigerator!
Only leave necessary items on your counter tops in the kitchen and baths.

If you have pets, be aware you may have pet odors in the house.
Ask a neighbor to come in and give it the sniff test.
If you have any odors, shampoo all your carpets, wash all the pet beds and blankets regularly and remember to remove or confine pets when you show the house.

Make sure your landscaping is maintained and plant some fall annuals for color.
Pressure clean your driveway and walkway if it needs it. Curb appeal is important.

Make sure the inside of your washer is clean.
If you've already packed some boxes, if it's more than a few, store them for the time being.
Turn on all your lights and lamps when showing your house.
Bake cookies when you know the house is being shown or simmer cinnamon sticks on your range; those smells are inviting.

Good luck! :wave:

[dewilson58]

Remove your teeth from the nightstand and put a sign out front.

[Enjoying Life]

I just sold my home FSBO, and something that has not been mentioned here, I totally cleaned out the garage and painted the walls and flooring. This made the garage look huge and my buyer mentioned several times that they had never seen such a clean garage. Cost was minimal to me but was impressive to the buyer.
I will add that many upgrades had been made to my home before I purchased it and that was a big factor when I bought. I wanted to come to The Villages to PLAY not to take my time remodeling my new to me home. Good luck and don't get discouraged.

[asianthree]

Definitely make the changes. Some prospective purchasers have no imagination.
Your house should look uncluttered and clean (turn on all the lights and open the blinds).
Soft music playing in the background during showings.
Your house should smell good, preferably fresh-baked cookies that you can offer to prospective purchasers.
But at least cinnamon simmering on the back burner.


Be extremely careful using cinnamon. Believe it or not there are Many people that are allergic. I have two friends that are anaphylactic and my middle child requires an EpiPen when she smells cinnamon.

[graciegirl]

Remove your teeth from the nightstand and put a sign out front.

Extremely wise. :evil6:

[vintageogauge]

We are in the process of making this same decision on our home up north to sell this coming spring. We have found that in our neighborhood (20 years old) most buyers are younger executives and as we have watched our neighbors homes being sold, with the exception of one, they completely remodeled these homes before moving in. There was one that was totally re-done before listing and it went for the lowest price of all of the recently sold units. We don't know what to do, all of our woodwork is natural stained and today everyone seems to want white woodwork which I don't agree with as you can never bring it back. Since we already have granite and mostly hardwood floors in the living area I think we are just going to go the touch up and heavy cleaning route, price it a little below competition and see what happens.

[graciegirl]

We are in the process of making this same decision on our home up north to sell this coming spring. We have found that in our neighborhood (20 years old) most buyers are younger executives and as we have watched our neighbors homes being sold, with the exception of one, they completely remodeled these homes before moving in. There was one that was totally re-done before listing and it went for the lowest price of all of the recently sold units. We don't know what to do, all of our woodwork is natural stained and today everyone seems to want white woodwork which I don't agree with as you can never bring it back. Since we already have granite and mostly hardwood floors in the living area I think we are just going to go the touch up and heavy cleaning route, price it a little below competition and see what happens.

I love this whole subject. (no accounting for people's interests) I think an empty, perfectly clean home with updated light fixtures and neutral* wall colors is better than a home with outdated furniture. (GRAY* is very popular right now)

Pricing it competitively is key. Our agent said that your best chance is in the first ten days it is on the market. Ours had three offers that drove the price up.

Disclaimer. I don't sell real estate and never have. Sold our own home without agents a couple of times.

[NotGolfer]

We've bought and sold many homes in our lives together! The "up north" home was our last sale. A realtor friend told me I "had to" repaint it to neutral colors and stage. I told her I've never done any of that before and homes went just fine. I did try to lose as many "personal" items as possible and always kept things neat and clean.

My opinion is....it's as someone else said here...folks will move in and change everything to their taste so I'd leave it. Make repairs where possible, keep it uncluttered and clean and you should be fine.

[Investment Painting Contractors]

We had three offers and a bidding war on home in Ohio before we moved here. Took our agents advice;

Removed and stored excess furniture. Had carpets cleaned professionally. Had neutral paint on all walls.

Cleaned and cleaned again. Removed all personal photographs and all clutter. Had exterior bushes trimmed a LOT. Replaced tired looking outdoor furniture covers. We had granite. and hardwood.

Trusted our agent, a long time friend to price the home.

21 Staging tips for selling your home fast | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/real-estate/2012/07/29/21-staging-tips-for-selling-your-home-fast.html)

Here is a list that might help.
Gracie you're on the money with your advice, also always paint the front door. Len

[bluedivergirl]

For us, we would rather get the money off the selling price because we will be replacing everything anyway. Some people need to put the money into the house when they are leaving. For the life of me I don't understand that. Why wouldn't you improve the property several years before you sell it so you can enjoy the new countertop, toilets, showers, paint job etc before you hand it over to a buyer?? Keep the money in your pocket on the big item's just clean it within an inch of its life and never replace carpet with carpet. Hardwood or laminate is better depending on the house price if you must. Sunny send me a PM and maybe you will have a sold house today or tomorrow.

There are two schools of thought no doubt. You wouldn't believe some of the houses we have bought site unseen. They were bombs but we made money. Good Luck to you either way you go.

That is exactly what we did up north. Remodeled the kitchen with hardwood, granite, and better appliances about 5 years before we planned to sell.

Removed unfortunate carpet choice (80's pink!) and replaced with a neutral.

Removed popcorn ceilings and repainted about 2 years ahead.

Final touch: replaced brass lighting and cupboard knobs.

Clean, clean and check it again.

We had an over-asking offer in 3 days.

[Chatbrat]

When we sold our house in NJ, the $$ was for the property, the house was an extra--sold in 10 days , the new buyer bulldozed it and build a 10000 sq ft mcmansion

[sunny46]

Thanks to everyone's suggestions.

[rjm1cc]

I agree with the realtor. But put the home up for sale now, get feedback on why people pass on the home, and if it does not sell then use the feed back and make some improvements.

[CFrance]

Remove your teeth from the nightstand and put a sign out front.
OH my God. I'm laughing so hard!

[CFrance]

We are in the process of making this same decision on our home up north to sell this coming spring. We have found that in our neighborhood (20 years old) most buyers are younger executives and as we have watched our neighbors homes being sold, with the exception of one, they completely remodeled these homes before moving in. There was one that was totally re-done before listing and it went for the lowest price of all of the recently sold units. We don't know what to do, all of our woodwork is natural stained and today everyone seems to want white woodwork which I don't agree with as you can never bring it back. Since we already have granite and mostly hardwood floors in the living area I think we are just going to go the touch up and heavy cleaning route, price it a little below competition and see what happens.
I agree with you.

Location is key as well. Our kids bought low in a terrific school district, did very little but had a big yard. First open house, five over- price offers, sold in a day.

We kept our Michigan condo updated except for the oak kitchen cabs. Cleaned and decluttered extensively, but kept the eclectic wall colors. First person through bought it.

It was on water. So consider the popularity of your location as well. Other than decluttering, you may not have to do as much as you think.

[Toymeister]

Look at homes that are on the market in your price range -that is what buyers do. Be objective, is your home attractive, up to date? Or is it less than that? Based on that analysis do what is necessary to make it the best in your price category, or expect it to be on market for a while.

[gap2415]

I understand not wanting to paint the natural wood cabinets. Things go in and out of fashion but to me 'real" anything especially solid oak, maple etc. is much better than painted, laminated or worse plastic resembling something real. The pendulum swings back and forth but you are correct, it's much easier to paint something than try to bring back the real stuff underneath.

[Barefoot]

Be extremely careful using cinnamon. Believe it or not there are Many people that are allergic. I have two friends that are anaphylactic and my middle child requires an EpiPen when she smells cinnamon.
A Real Estate agent suggested to me that we simmer cinnamon on the burner because it makes the house smell inviting.
I thought it was a good idea. I'm horrified to learn that people have severe allergies to cinnamon. Thanks for making an excellent point!

[TNLAKEPANDA]

You know what they say about First Impressions!

[autumnspring]

We are going to sell our home by owner and wanted some ideas from the members. There are a couple of improvements we can make such as replacing countertops in kitchen and carpet in bedrooms. A local realtor told us it is better to leave them alone because no matter what you choose, the buyer will probably want something different. What do you think we should do?

We do not know where your home is. What condition it is in or what you are asking for it.

For MY opinion-most people shop with a realtor. The reason is that people looking to buy will not be honest with the seller. Do you have the ability to put up with people who simply want to tour homes with no intention or ABILITY TO BUY?

I am not a realtor nor have I ever been one BUT, people trying a for sale by owner OFTEN think they are saving the realtors commission. What you may not realize is buyers shopping without a broker are thinking the same so they will expect to pay less

I spent most of my working life as a salesman and yet, we hired a broker-saleslady to market and sell our previous home.

Like you, we wondered about whether to do things such as bathroom remodel our previous home sorely needed bathroom updates. Done to my standards a bathroom update would cost roughly 10,000-15,000. Our agent suggested a guy she regularly uses. A lot of elbow grease,
some paint and we put the place up for sale. WHO KNOWS?

The first week, we had about 30 people look at the house.
The second week we had two written offers and we took the one that was full price AND ALL CASH.

I know from former neighbors that the people who bought our former home ripped out the bathroom that I would have spent 10-15,000 to redo and they made it a second floor laundry room.

As to the right answers to YOUR QUESTIONS clearly there is no shortage of OPINIONS.

[autumnspring]

A Real Estate agent suggested to me that we simmer cinnamon on the burner because it makes the house smell inviting.
I thought it was a good idea. I'm horrified to learn that people have severe allergies to cinnamon. Thanks for making an excellent point!

That idea is stolen from a very old real estate book from ?????? the 1960's.

There are many CONFLICTING ideas. Among others, do you prefer to see a house empty or furnished?

[Boomer]

Whether you go FSBO or list with a realtor, evaluate the pictures, ruthlessly.

Do the rooms look their absolute best?

Are the beds made perfectly?

Is the lighting bright enough?

Do not let personal items like photographs of people, degrees and awards, and collections, no matter how treasured, claim space. Such things are a distraction and can somehow even feel intrusive to potential buyers who are trying to see themselves in the home.

If you do list with a realtor, make sure you approve the pictures before they are posted. A good realtor will welcome suggestions and pictures you have taken, too. Together you can arrive at the best way to present your house online.

I do not understand why we see so many pictures of toilets -- even with the lid open. Aaaaaaaaugh!!! I find such pictures not only excruciatingly tacky but also unprofessional. Surely a home for sale has more to offer than toilets. (But on the other hand, a pocket-door part way closed, discreetly hiding the toilet, looks rather nice. (Yeah. I know. I sound a little nuts.) :)

[Villageswimmer]

Whether you go FSBO or list with a realtor, evaluate the pictures, ruthlessly.

Do the rooms look their absolute best?

Are the beds made perfectly?

Is the lighting bright enough?

Do not let personal items like photographs of people, degrees and awards, and collections, no matter how treasured, claim space. Such things are a distraction and can somehow even feel intrusive to potential buyers who are trying to see themselves in the home.

If you do list with a realtor, make sure you approve the pictures before they are posted. A good realtor will welcome suggestions and pictures you have taken, too. Together you can arrive at the best way to present your house online.

I do not understand why we see so many pictures of toilets -- even with the lid open. Aaaaaaaaugh!!! I find such pictures not only excruciatingly tacky but also unprofessional. Surely a home for sale has more to offer than toilets. (But on the other hand, a pocket-door part way closed, discreetly hiding the toilet, looks rather nice. (Yeah. I know. I sound a little nuts.) :)


I so agree. I cringe when I see photos of toilets and shower curtains. If you don’t have something attractive in the bath like granite tops and updated faucets to photograph, skip it!

[graciegirl]

If you are going to sell your home without a realtor here in The Villages, talk to McLin Burnsed Law Firm, that handles all of the closings for The Villages, Inc.

We sold our home on our own here six years ago and for $750 they handled the entire closing. They arranged the necessary title searches and property line stuff. (Title search is not part of the cost of closing).

Both of us, the buyer and seller were in different States, neither Florida, at the time and the closing was set up and handled by mail. We both were here for the closing but that was because we both had tasks to do; us to buy a house and them to move in.

It was easy peasy. Arguably McLin Burnsed probably handles more closings than any other law firm.