Will my house sell better with updates?

Question

I plan to move in the next year, my house is 30 yrs old. Needs new carpet, new paint, kitchen is outdated ect. Would I benefit more by making these updates or sell as is and hope they like what I choose? Im unable to do minor repairs, so I would have to take out a loan and hire for repairs.

Answer 1

You can either have someone do the updates and adjust the price of your house accordingly or sell as is, but you wont get as much money if you sell it as is. Most people that are looking at a house will subtract the amount that they will have to put into the house from the amount you are asking. So you might want to list it a little higher and expect an offer of less.

Answer 2

Some updates would be beneficial and others might not be. Most people change carpets soon after moving in but I would paint the rooms that are bad with a regular white. Redoing the kitchen is not always a good idea as you might not get all of your money back from that. I would just want to see a clean house when I am looking because I feel if the owners couldn't keep the house clean then they couldn't maintain it very well either. Remodeling magazine comes out with a cost vs value report every year that would be good for you to read if you can find it.

Answer 3

Hi there! I'm a Realtor and have personally been in the same boat. Although making improvements may cause your home to sell faster - Statistics show that you almost never get out of it what you put into it. I can also vouch for that personally. When my husband and I decided to sell our condo, we thought that having the kitchen redone would be a good investment and we'd get more for the place. We were wrong. It simply depends on individual buyers and the current market. Many people are extremely well-informed in this day and age and want to do their own thing. My advice - make it as attractive as possible by doing inexpensive things and offer an allowance for other improvements. An allowance would be an amount the seller gives the buyer at closing. Also - check with your city clerk's office to ensure that none of the improvements you're planning to make require a permit. If they do - it is worth it to get one! Buyers and buyer's agents will check to see if they have been obtained. Take care and good luck!

Elsa

Answer 4

Tough question. The real estate market isn't doing to good in my area. I'd get the house appraised as is, and get suggestions for improvements based on the market in your area. Do your own research too. Attend some open houses and see what other houses for sale in your area look like. If you paint and re-carpet, go with neutral colors. A kitchen update can be VERY expensive. It might not pay off when you do sell.

Answer 5

Hi

I've not been involved in selling properties yet but I've done some updates on my rental properties. Boy, the increment for rental was more than 25% in revenue.

My suggestion:
1. List all the things that needs to be done
2. Look through which one of them can be done by yourself or hire one worker and you just need to monitor (it may be cheaper that way, as it was for me - I'm in Singapore, BTW)
3. Calculate what's the cost. Pro and cons if you are doing yourself versus do everything by the professional. If it's really cheaper by the pro, than may be you should opt for that as you'll save yourself hell lots of time
4. Ask around how much will your property be valued at when it's renovated and fixed. And compare if if you are selling it as it is .... see which number makes more sense and don't forget to consider your time, effort, etc

Once you got the figure right, though this little exercise may take few days of your time, but you'll see the real money clearly before you are wasting too much of your time on it.

Hope this helps. And hope you gain a handsome profit whichever way you choose. :-)

Answer 6

Talk with your selling agent. Try to determine (estimate) what the cost of repairs would be and balance that against the increase in selling price.

As a rule, updating a kitchen or bathroom will return 150% of the cost involved. This may be different in your area.

Rely on the advice given by a REPUTABLE broker.

Answer 7

Depending on what part of the world you live in, central heating or air conditioning will probably increase the value above what they cost. A new kitchen, new carpets and a paint job will also make a difference, PROVIDED you adopt a suitably neutral design and colour scheme. By that I mean pastel coloured carpets, magnolia-coloured walls etc. Do not, for example decide to paint your front room dark red, or fit a stainless-steel bathroom suite, because this is unlikely to have the broad appeal that you need to make a sale.

Answer 8

The biggest return for your money now is an updated kitchen and master bath. Carpet and paint are important but your realtor should be able to tell you what to do there after seeing the property. If you do recarpet and paint, choose neutral colors that anyone could see their furniture fit into.

Answer 9

The best you can offer is to really make it glow. Make your yard look good (adding some color), clean your carpet, windows, add new bright light bulbs and get rid of all of your junk. Really make it shine and remember what triggered the sale for you.

If you can't remodel yourself don't take out a loan. Let the buyers spend their money and effort on remodeling to fit their taste and budget. But remember, the asking price will need to be commiserate.

Remember - Curb Appeal!

Answer 10

Unless it's hideous and dirty you should probably leave it, you think it looks worse than it does because you live there. But someone that has never been in your house may think it's great or they may be wanting to fix it up anyway. The money you would spend on the fix up may just be another gamble. Kitchens and baths are the two areas you may get your money back, but in a weak market it may be more of a loss for you.