Make Improvements in Home before Sale
 

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?

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.

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

Here is a list that might help.

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.

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.

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

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.

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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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.

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

I agree.

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.