Need a change?
“Memory Lane” - what a place to live! If you are living in your home and not planning to sell soon, then “Memory Lane” is fine because it will help you “feel” comfortable and cozy; however, if your intention is to sell now or soon, then carpet, wallboard, wide vinyl clapboard siding, slider windows, oak cupboards, and more will severely lower your listing price and “sold” price! Usually with home purchases, the interior and exterior of most properties remain the same for many years. Some properties are never renovated at all and therefore, the owners never get the “maximum” value out of the property when the property is listed for sale!
The best way to remedy this situation is to renovate with the latest trends every 3-5 years. Keep the latest “likes” inside the home and where you can, do the same with outside of the home as well. It will cost to maintain the home in this way, but it will be worth it long term. In my real estate experience, I have seen that when renovations are not kept current in the property, then owners who are selling very rarely have the money or want to spend the money on renovations for the purchaser.
New owners can’t seem to “see” past what must be renovated or changed! If it’s just carpet that needs to be removed, they don’t know what they will find under it. If it’s wallboard or the old ceiling tile or stucco on walls or ceiling, the potential buyer won’t know the cost of removal until they start the removal process. There is no way for the new owner to project costs of the renovation project reasonably, so it scares them to undertake the job, so the home purchase is usually a “no”.
To prepare for this “listing” day, the present homeowner has to decide whether or not to renovate the home to try and maximize the “sale” price. If it must be completed at one time, it probably won’t be started by the present owner. My clients usually decide to renovate a little of the home before it’s listed, just enough to increase their return to a level they are satisfied with, but if they do this, they are still leaving money on the table.
There is only one way to minimize the shock of renovation costs and to maximize the “sale” price of a listed property, and that is to “renovate” the home every 3-5 years to make its interior and exterior current.
By Hal Butler, BA, Bed, Realtor