Best way to spruce up my house for selling?

Question

I have repainted and recarpeted the entire house, and a new high-end furnace/central air combo.

These are the remaining problems:

1 - hideously 70s non-working 2nd bathroom
2 - unattractive and unsafe 70s kitchen (complete with holes in the wall)
3 - weed and dead-shrub infested yard
4 - 70s aluminum siding (the wide stuff) that is misaligned and pink
5 - cracked foundation
6 - unsafe balcony on roof with no railing

I've read some things that say that it's best not to remodel before selling because you won't get your money back. but I find it hard to believe that this would be true in all cases. For example, most of the things on this list would make me say, 'no way!' if I walked into my house, even if I had every intention of remodeling. If the house looks unsafe, or sloppy, then it makes you wonder what other problems are lurking that may not be as visible. That's only for the potential buyers who could get past the low 'curb appeal' of my house. Thanks for any input!

Answer 1

It seems like you have the right ideas to get top price for your home, but if you repainted and have new flooring, how can your 2nd bath be hideous, and you have holes in your kitchen walls?
Start from the top down and paint everything white or Swiss coffee, put in all new flooring, carpet is fine, even in the bathrooms. You can save money by putting indoor/outdoor type carpet in the kitchen and bath. It sells. Make sure everything works and the landscaping is green or colorful and you should get top price.
New, clean and habitable are the key words.
And, if you want to know how deal with an agent, email me. You offer them an extra commission, but only on your terms.

Answer 2

Kitchens are the biggest seller/deal breaker when it comes to selling your house. You will make about an average of around 110% of your money back when remodeling your kitchen, maybe more if it is in really bad shape. Bathrooms are also high on the list, so those are the two areas that you should concentrate on first.

The cracked slab will probably nix any deal because a mortgage company will seldom lend money to buy a house with that problem. The unsafe balcony would probably also be a deal killer with any lender.

Once you get the other problems taken care of, the outside can just be cleaned up to look nicer. You will still be able to sell with the misaligned siding, but you will not get as good of a price. Same with a dead yard.

Answer 3

The kitchen and bathrooms are the two biggest selling points of a house. Remodel them.

I just wrote in another post but I will write it here. Landscaping is highly important. If you spend $1,000 in landscaping it will raise the value of your home by $25,000.

Next would be the aluminum siding, change it to a neutral color.

I would also add the railing to the balcony on the roof. It would look much nicer.

As for the foundation, it depends on how cracked it is. I have seen shows in TV where they had a cracked foundation and it didn't make a difference in the sale.

Answer 4

Sounds like its pretty far gone. I would find a Cash buyer and sell it "as is" Why even bother doing one or two things, you will never get a return on your money if its in the condition you describe.
Updating a bath or kitchen for example, is not going to make people forget the home is pink with the siding falling off. Or vise verse
RE Agent,
Remax

Answer 5

Sure sounds like you have your work cut out for you. As an agent I would suggest contacting a reliable agent tell him that you are thinking of selling as A FIXER UPPER. You would probably not recap
the dollar amount you spent fixing it but there are people who love doing it if the price is right. Your just looking for options at this point- asking doesn't cost you anything. Call an agent

Answer 6

Major repairs that cost a lot of money are discouraged, but minor repairs and safety repairs are recommended. Talk to a responsible and honest real estate agent and get some advice after the person looks at the house. Most of the stuff you mentioned can be fixed cheap and quick....if you are handy.

Answer 7

For your house I would say sell it as is at low price.