Should You Renovate To Sell?

Many sellers ask if they should make changes to their property prior to listing it

for sale. I almost never recommend major renovations when I meet with sellers

because it usually isn’t cost effect. With the price of construction materials,

supplies and labor steadily increasing it is very difficult to recoup the cost.

The most expensive room to remodel is typically the kitchen. The national

average for a mid-range kitchen remodel is over $75,000!

I never say never, but I would not recommend doing a full kitchen remodel in your

house just to turn around and sell it. Now you may be thinking what if you have a

very high-end house, then would it be worth it. Well, the challenge with that

hypothetical is, you almost never have a house that is completely renovated,

except one room that is so bad you need to give it a complete overhaul. Usually,

the house has a similar overall style. However, if you have been slowly working on

remodeling your home and the last room to finish is the kitchen, well then, I’ll

give you a maybe. I’d have to see it.

Homeowners are pleasantly surprised when I recommend, they do the minimum

amount of changes that allow buyers to see the space and potential. Any features

that draw your attention, like a bright blue countertop, wall to wall maroon

carpeting, lime green paint or a pink bathtub are probably worth changing.

Although a neutral shower curtain goes a long way to offset a unique tub/shower

color.

When a buyer looks at the space if all they see is the maroon carpeting, then they

are missing the good features and are not picturing themselves in the space.

Which means they are not considering an offer. And if you’re selling your house,

an offer is your goal.

Installing a neutral color carpet that buyer’s will never notice, will allow them to

see the natural light, to notice where their couch would fit perfectly and how

their dog would curl up in the corner near the window. We want them to be

moving in in their minds. That creates an emotional attachment and buying

residential real estate is an emotional decision. Learn more in my blog post “Is it

Love at First Sight?”

When it comes to preparing your space for the most buyers to see themselves

there, paint is your best friend.

The obvious use is walls and believe me, the transformation it can make there is

incredible. But, with the right product you can paint so many things, cabinets,

appliances, countertops, even bathtubs! The first house my husband and I bought

had an avocado green stove. But it worked and we could not afford a new one.

White appliance paint to the rescue.

This house is a great example of when it doesn’t make sense to update just one

thing. The house we bought had shag carpet that was old and disgusting. The

walls were all bright colors, but none were the same. The avocado appliance was

the least startling feature of the whole place. It would not have made any sense

for that seller to just paint the stove. There were just so many other distractions it

didn’t even matter.

But when we went to sell it a few years later, the walls had been repainted

neutral colors and we had installed new carpet. Nothing was high-end or fancy,

but it no longer assaulted your senses when you walked in. If we had left the

stove green, it would have stood out and the buyer’s attention would have been

on that, instead of all the nice, welcoming spaces we had created.

If you are making renovations to your home because you intend to live there for

awhile, you should make them how you want them. But if you are planning to sell,

then you want to make sure you don’t spend more money than you’ll get back.

This is why I’m always happy when a homeowner calls me when they’re just

thinking of selling. It’s never too early for me to take a look and hopefully save

you some time and money.