Are you considering listing your home for sale? If so, the low inventory and high demand make it an excellent time to do so. With this said, it is always very important to have your property represented in the best light in order to obtain top dollar. We discuss a few important items to consider addressing prior to listing your house for sale.
Simple repairs with a good ROI
The key to any repairs prior to listing your home for sale is to ensure that they are economical, so that you don’t end up losing money on your investment. We discuss a few cost-effective repairs below:
- Resuscitate the lawn: As the old saying goes: “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” This could not be more true than when it comes to the front lawn. We have actually represented buyers that upon pulling up to a home, have decided to not go in for the showing based on the exterior conditions. The good news is that some simple fertilizing and manicuring will go a long way in rehabilitating a less than desirable lawn.
- Revive an outdated kitchen: Arguably the most important interior room of a home, the kitchen is the typically the gathering place for most families. With this said, you will want to pay particularly close attention to this room as a seller. Although a full $65,000 kitchen renovation will not be recouped at the time of sale, there are some minor updates that will maximize your return on investment. For example, painting wood cabinets, updating hardware, or installing new counter tops or appliances should be enough to transform this important room.
- Fresh neutral tones throughout the house: It is often underestimated how much of a difference a simple, fresh coat of paint can make. When preparing your home for sale, keep in mind that you will want to go with light, neutral tones for the interior of the home. Although purple may be your favorite color for your bedroom, you need to remember that most prospective buyers will not share your same enthusiasm for this choice. Furthermore, the lighter the tones, the larger the home’s interior will feel to prospective buyers.
- Fix water stains: We can not tell you how many times we have shown properties to buyer clients and the dreaded water stain has been encountered. Oftentimes, this stain is the remnants of an old roof or plumbing leak that has since been repaired. The problem is that the prospective buyers immediately assume the worst and believe that a costly re-roof will be likely for the property. This may result in them eliminating this property from consideration.
- Repair/replace damaged flooring: Perhaps one of the most noticeable items during home showings is damaged flooring. In particular, worn-out carpeting or scratched up wood flooring are areas of concern for buyers. The good news is that even replacing carpet or laminate wood flooring is not very expensive at all. According to the “National Association of Realtors® Remodeling Impact Report”, you should be able to recoup 100% of this investment.
Summary
A common trap that many sellers fall into during a seller’s market like the one we are in now, is that they feel that they do not need to do anything to prepare their home to sell. While it is likely that an unprepared home will still garner some interest and possibly even some offers, the intent of preparing the home is to garner top dollar. It is important to note that most home buyers do not want to purchase a project property that will require a lot of work. If sellers keep this in mind, their property will appeal to the majority of buyers in the market. In the end, sellers should always want to increase the odds for obtaining the maximum return on their investment at resale.
At Live South Florida Realty, Inc., our properties have consistently sold quicker and for a higher sales price than the market averages. Are you ready to sell your South Florida home? Contact us today for a free consultation.
