I am selling my house. What should I renovate and what should I leave "as is"?

Question

I will be selling my home next month and I am trying to decide what I should spend money on fixing up or renovating, and what is not worth it?

My house is a newer house, 9 years old. The hardwood floors throughout it have never been refinished. They look decent, but have no coating left on them at all and have some minor scuffs and scraps in them. The kitchen appliances are all originals, in working order. The walls need to be painted badly. They contain dings and marks throughout, the bedrooms were painted poorly by myself (dark colors, paint on ceiling). The front deck needs to be revinyled (couple of rips, fading, rust stains, etc.) and the garage also needs to be painted and have some big holes filled in (car ran into the front of it from old owner).

My question is, what to do, and what do I leave? I want to invest money that I will get back out of it. Would putting in $2,000 worth of new stainless steel appliances be worth it? Or not? Should I repaint the house, redo floors?

Answer 1

the main selling points are the kitchen and bathrooms. thats what most people look at first. make sure they are up to date. i would re paint the walls cause that can stand out if they arent painted freshly. also the flooring is also a big issue. the paint on the walls isnt as big an issue cause people can easily repaint the walls. redoing the kitchen, bathrooms, and putting in new flooring are the oricier aspects, so if those three areas are up to date then the home will have a better chance of selling quicker.

*update kitchen(appliances, cabinetry, countertops)
*update bathrooms(cabinets, appliances, lighting, counters)
*update flooring in all the rooms if needed
=a quickly sold house for as much as the asking price

Answer 2

Defiantly repaint the house in a neutral color. Oatmeal is very popular right now, it's not as stark hospital like as white, but still neutral. We always paint the homes we flip that color. Fill in all holes.

Clean the floor with some Murphy's oil soap. If it's still bad consider either waxing or another alternative to making them look good without stripping and refinishing. Don't bother with high end appliances. If they are in good working order clean them or replace them with medium grade appliances. The front deck is important as it's the first thing people see. Make sure this is in tip top shape.

If your home is clean, freshly painted and maintenance up you will get a higher dollar amount for your home. You will get higher offers and can ask more money. Consider having several agents come look at your home and make suggestions on what changes you will get the most money back from.

Also make sure your counters are clear and your home is clutter free.

Answer 3

Here are some statistics from a HomeGain Survey that shows what brings in the best return on your money when decorating and renovating to sell:

Home Staging: 169% return on investment
Update & change lighting: 769% return on investment
Clean, repair & declutter: 594% return on investment
Plumbing & electricity: 196% return on investment
Updating grounds & garden: 266% return on investment
Renovate kitchen & bath: 138% return on investment
Repair floors: 50% return on investment
Painting interior & exterior: 34% return on investment
Replacing carpets: 39% return on investment

The most important rooms to take care of are the kitchen and bath as these are the most expensive to renovate. People want nice kitchens and bathrooms.

The return on the investment of repairing your floors may not seem high to you, but yucky floors will take off a major chunk of money offers from potential buyers. People hate to have to redo floors because it is time consuming, messy and smelly and you can't stay in the house when doing it.

Appliances are not a good investment as most people who can afford to buy a home will already have their own and might not like what you choose.

You would be better off getting rid of the problems (holes, scuffs, dings, etc.) Paint the whole house monochromatic. Use a neutral color like taupe and use it in 3 or 4 different shades around the house. This will make the home seem larger and airy and everything will flow.

Take out any personal items such as religious artifacts, personal photos, trophies, etc. People can see themselves living in your home with all your personal stuff about.

People are always looking for more storage. You need to make the house appear as if it has lots of storage. Do this by taking your out of season clothes out of the closets. Leave only the right season clothes in there. Reduce everything. That means you usually take everything out of a room and only put back 50% of what you took out.

Clean and wash your floor completely. Once you have done this, you can buy a varnish that can be sponge mopped onto them easily and without sanding the floors. It won't work like redoing the floors, but it'll do to sell. The floors will be shiny again.

Good luck...!

Answer 4

Skip the stainless steel appliances, put that money into repairing the damage. You can easily re do the wood floors yourself and repaint, choose light, neutral colors. Rip out the damaged boards on the deck, replace with pressure treated and paint the deck. You can probably do this work yourself for the cost of the appliances. Have some friends or relatives help, when it comes time for painting, have a "painting party" supply food and drink.

Answer 5

No on the appliances. Use the money to refinish the floors, and paint. If you have enough left over, do something to the porch. Most people when looking for homes, want the clean feel inside. Your curb appeal will be important too, to "get them in the door". If the appliances are only 9 years old, they are still considered new. You already know the answer to your question!

Answer 6

Ask yourself 3 questions:

1) Will redoing this cost more than what the house is worth?
2) How much will it bring up the price of the house?
3) Does it make the house more attractive to buyers?

Then if you can't answer them, do the following:

1) touch-ups if there are dents, don't repaint, because the new owners may repaint the color of their choice.
2) mow the lawn, neatness makes it attractive.
3) don't spend more than $2000 on the house, because you may not be able to get the money back in the sale, because home prices are dropping.

Good luck!

Answer 7

painting is not expensive. paint everything you can, of course, a neutral.
fix the garage
buff the floors
this could get you thousands more than what you paid.it will be worth your effort. when you are working on your house think of it as a contract and you will be getting paid top dollar.

Answer 8

paint the walls neutral and Polish the hardwood floors and don't paint dark colors, and renovate the Garage. that is all clean the rest ,

Answer 9

PATCH THOSE HOLES AND PAINT YOUR WALLS. KEEP IT A NEUTRAL COLOR. ALSO WAX YOUR HARDWOOD FLOORS AND BUFF THEM. ORANGE GLO HAS A PRODUCT OUT THAT CLEANS AND ADDS A GLOW TO THE FLOOR JUST BY RUBBING IN ORANGE OIL. I'VE USED IT WHILE WAITING TO GET MY FLOORS RE-DONE, IT WORKS WELL.

Answer 10

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