What are the major things you should concentrate on remodeling when selling your house?

Question

We have done so much, but only have a few cosmetic things left, but our house won't sell.

Answer 1

I'm in the same boat. I have a beautiful, pristine, clean, updated house on the market for 2 months now, and no takers. Lots of lookers, lots of great feedback, but no offers. It's a tough market right now. If you want to sell badly enough, unfortunately you'll have to lower the price. We aren't ready or willing to do that yet, so we just have to wait for the right buyer to come along. Good luck. It's really hard right now, and I feel your pain!

Oh, to answer the question: kitchen, bathrooms, and make sure you have great curb appeal out front. Also keep the house very clean and free of clutter for showings.

Answer 2

If I were a buyer I would look at these inside-outside things: (1) roof-are the shingles on well? (2) How are the floors throughout the house? (3) What type foundation does it have and, based from the surface on the walls (any structure cracks in them?), how well is the foundation holding up? A pier-and-beam foundation, with steel reinforcement, if taken care of by occasionally watering around the foundation even in the winter, will generally hold up longer and the cracks in your walls and ceiling will be slower coming than with a slab foundation. A slab foundation is pure concrete--there is no underlying reinforcement. (3) Replace anything that needs fixing in kitchen or bathroom things (ie: sinks, tubs, toilets, etc.). If you can't afford to do so, try replacing only the screws, faucets etc. (4) Shape the landscape. There's nothing more un-becoming than a garage door that needs paint or trees that need cutting. You want your sold property to pass code. If you can't afford major renovations and you know it would make your property sell better, consider lease purchase. You are responsible for the upkeep of the property until the house is paid for. If you're selling a house that's paid for, set an asking price plus 1/2 to 1/3 of the total of the equity (my idea). That way, if you don't get what you're asking (going through another realator can be time consuming and costly and there are no guarantees that, under the same situation as the one your present realator is working under, the new co. sales techniques will be better), you'll probably at least break even. Good luck!

Answer 3

Make sure everything is in working order. The yard is clean and neat. And all the rooms are painted in neutral colors (no real dark colors),also no big holes in the walls. the bathroom is clean with no stains in the sink, tub or toilet. If there is carpet on the floor it should be clean also. If you wanted to spend money on the house you can remodel the kitchen or get weatherproof windows (I'm in Michigan where it gets cold).
P.S: These are a few of the things I as a buyer would look at (that the seller as control over). Other things Buyers look at is how the neighbors take care of their house, and what businesses are close by.

Answer 4

Kitchens and bathrooms are very popular remodel rooms right now.

The reason your house is not selling is most likely due to the slow real estate market and an over supply of homes for sale and not the house itself. Are there a lot of homes in your neighborhood on the market right now? If so you, must make your house stand out.

I did see a thing on the TV the other day about selling your house some things you can to is to have good curb appeal, (nice clean lawn, no toys, clean your driveway of oil spots, plant flowers.), declutter the inside, remove personal items (you want potential buyers to see them selves in your house, not you in your house), brighten up rooms by removing heavy window treatments etc, bake cookies when you have an open house (smell can be a powerful factor in selling). Also clean organized closets and cabinets will help you sell...and people do look in them.

Good luck.

Answer 5

The kitchen is the first thing looked at but also the most costly to remodel. The bathrooms are second and can easily and cheaply be redecorated. Is your house missing something that the neighboring houses all have? You can add a ventless gas fireplace for under $1,000 or update the landscaping cheaply as well. Remove most of the family pictures - the people need to envision their family living there - not yours. Declutter everything!

Answer 6

Kitchens, baths and lower level are what most buyers are looking for now. Unless you live in an area where there aren't any basements. Fixtures should be replaced. Cabinet refacing is good if the cabinets are old. Or professionaly painted cabinets.
We looked at a house listed for $800,000. It was 60 yrs. old.
Brand new kitchen, fairly new baths and everything else was 60 yrs. old. Basement was not finished at all. No way. Then we looked at a house that was 40 yrs. old where they had turned the garage into extra bedrooms and baths. But... it didn't match the rest of the house. This one was 750,000. Looked really goofy.
I could go on but I won't. Get a decorator in there. For about $75.00, he/she will give you an hour that will be worth your time.
What did your agent say? Are you trying to sell by owner? That could be part of the problem. We tried to sell our lakehouse ourselves. Plenty of people looked but no one bought. We made no changes to the house, it was gorgeous, but as soon as we listed with an agent, the first looker bought it. Good luck but the market is really tough right now. No one wants to come down on their price and because of that houses are staying on the market longer. Our friends are trying to sell their house, which is really beautiful but they are not willing to come down one penny. It's been on the market for nine months.

Answer 7

The best way to get your money out of a remodel is to stick to bathrooms and kitchens. Make sure you have a new paint job inside and out before putting your house on the market. Staging helps, there are people who will move your furniture around and help you make your house look the best. Good luck to you. By the way, I was in real estate for 15 years so I know where best to put the money.

Answer 8

-Solid surface counters: Specifically the engineered stone like Silestone and Zodiac. I'd choose the Silestone because of the microban. Go with the 3cm and get an undermount sink. Don't get granite, too much maintaince involved.

- do not get new cabinets, just resurface and replace the hardware.....unless you are planning on "opening up the kitchen" to have a great room that encompasses the family room/den, kitchen and dinning. Then you'll have to get new, but that may be a bit too much. I'd think about doing one or the other but most likely not both, unless your floor plan is 15 years or older.

- Floors: 18" tile and wardwoods

- Bathrooms. Go for neutral and put stone in their too, if you're going to have a vanity, otherwise, a modern looking pedastal sink

- Fresh, neutral paint everywhere. Think "cheery"

- Landscaping. Buyers need to go "wow" right when they drive up. No need to get fancy, just make sure you can do all you can do under the weather conditions.

- And this is the most important: Take everything personal out of plain view and eliminate the clutter completely. Furniture takes up space, you want as little as necessary in the home to make it appear bigger. Arrange furniture to maximize this effect WITHOUT putting all on the walls. Pack up everything you can, and put it in storage.

- In your closets, if you are like most folks, you only consistently wear about 15-25% of your wardrobe. Remove the rest, and viola, your closets are very spacious. Keep only what you need in there.

CLUTTER BAD.

Answer 9

Is the grass green? Brownish grass can be a trun off. Look for cracks in the wall, are all of teh appliances good and working like they were new? Make sure EVERYTHING is up to code. Put some floral aggarngments in teh front tard and back,(if any), it gives a nice appeal and maybe could bring up the value. Painting is essential. Maybe do light colors, pastels or a red color for the master, you don't want to have chipping paint. If you have carpet, use a cleaners to get it steamed so it looks new, and smells new. If you have shutters, maybe repaint them too. Blinds, replace any broken ones. Curatins, wash them! use febreeze, I use it for my room and it smells lovely every time I come back from school. Day before selling, clean like the wind! Make sure everything that you aren't taking is in place, noting you want to take is left behind. And that not a speck of dust can be found in any room of the house.

Hope I helped.

Answer 10

Watching those Discovery shows.. The Realtors always say.. The Kitchen and the Bathroom are the high seller points of a house.. Lots of high end appliances and clean open spaces.. I believe the landscape is very important.. We where looking for houses a while back and I checked hundreds of listings in the computer.. We only payed attention to those that looked nice and had lots of pictures to interest you.. People will come to see the inside if only looks nice in the outside... Good luck in selling!!