When selling your home, you want to make as much money from the sale as possible. That being the case, it’s in your best interests to spruce up the property— but you don’t want to spend so much renovating that it eats into your profit margin. Therefore, savvy renovators have to ask themselves two questions:
- How much money is too much?
- Where should your limited resources be spent for maximum effect?
Don’t worry—you can make cost-effective repairs to your home and sell it for a high profit. Here are what repairs you need to make before selling your home:
#1. Increase Curbside Appeal
One of the first metrics by which any potential buyer will judge your home is its curbside appeal. This term refers to how your house looks when seen from the street for the first time. It’s basically real-estate-speak for “first impression value”. Without the wow factor when prospective buyers first park their cars outside, it doesn’t matter how much money you’ve spent on any other upgrades.
The Structure
Is your roof in good shape? What about your walls? If there are cracks or damaged areas, you’ll need to take care of them right away — since heat can easily leak in and out of these spots, reducing the energy efficiency of the home over time. Energy efficiency matters to buyers. They’re also just not very nice to look at, so make sure you aren’t trying to sell a house with any holes in it! The department of energy recommends air sealing your home for best results.
The Paint
Everyone loves a fresh coat of paint, so repainting is definitely something you should do prior to putting your house on the market. New paint makes your property stand out from the others on the block, which can easily attract buyers.
The Landscaping
A nice home still might not fetch much interest from buyers if it’s in the middle of a scraggly lawn, so pay attention to your grass and trees as well. If you want a lower-maintenance solution that will also improve energy efficiency for the property, consider using wood chips instead of grass to conserve water.
#2. Upgrade The Kitchens and Bathrooms
Where the inside of a home is concerned, there are two areas that renovators should consider essential: the kitchen and the bathroom. These are the two most popular areas for owners to repair before selling, and they’re also two of the most likely to provoke higher offers from buyers (although data suggests that kitchen repairs are more effective in this regard).
However, kitchen and bathroom renovations can also be expensive, and you need to make sure they add more to your selling price than they cost themselves. Fix major plumbing issues, spray the cabinets, and buy new handles — but stay short of brand new granite countertops and other high-cost jobs. Essential repairs and small aesthetic adjustments will be much more cost-effective.
#3. Invest in Smart Home Technology
The majority of millennial homebuyers say that energy efficiency influences their decision of whether or not to buy a house, and 44% of all consumers are already looking for greener products to use in their homes. Adding a few eco-friendly smart home features to your house before you sell it can give you an edge with a lot of buyers, so consider replacing any incandescent bulbs in your home with LEDs or putting in a smart thermostat.
#4. Hire a Home Inspector
Before you put your home on the market, it’s imperative that you hire an inspector to go through it and single out any areas that need to be fixed before selling. Only once you’ve taken care of these projects should you spend money on aesthetic features or extras.
Repairing and upgrading your home should be an important part of any seller’s preparations, but it’s not always easy to know where to focus. Use what you’ve learned here to make your long list of potential tasks somewhat shorter, and