Most home sellers believe that renovating their home before placing it on the market will increase the overall value and, therefore, the sale price. However, completing all imagined renovations can quickly become time-consuming and costly, and some may not even pay off come closing time. Should you decide to complete a few projects on your home before you list it, it is in your best interest to focus on cost-effective upgrades that do not take much time or money.
Your renovations need not be revolutionary, as many homebuyers will complete their projects once they get into the home. Your job as the seller is to ensure everything is up to standard. Completing repairs and necessary upgrades that improve the functionality of your space matters more to a homebuyer than the paint color on a bedroom wall. However, if you’re simply in the cosmetic renovations phase of your selling process and looking for a few ways to spruce up your home, keep reading to learn about efficient renovation tips. A few small changes could increase your curb appeal!
Improve the outdoor view
Even though you live inside the home, sellers should consider making renovations to the outside of their home. The outside space is the first thing a potential buyer sees when arriving at your home, and it should display a picturesque image. The following tips can improve your outside environment.
Repaint or replace the front door
A new or nicely painted front door draws eyes, and for a good reason. As the focal point of the entryway, the potential buyer and their guests will look at the front door time and time again. If your current front door lacks luster, upgrading it will prove one of the most cost-effective renovations you can make. Should you decide to change the color, we recommend going with something cohesive to the exterior of your home. If you have close-by neighbors, consider what colors they have and perhaps play off of those to complete a cohesive neighborhood look.
Complete minor landscaping
While the weather and local environment influence the landscaping you may do on your home, you should generally have a well-kept entryway that appears welcoming and inviting to potential buyers. You may purchase a few plants and flowerbeds to liven up the area and add more green to the picture, and you should give everything a fresh cutting if you’re selling in the warmer months.
You could hire a professional landscaper or local worker to complete this process. Still, most parts of this renovation should be relatively simple, and you can likely complete many small projects on your own by taking a nice sunny day to get everything in order.
Refresh the exterior of the home
Your exterior may need a fresh coat of paint, a powerwash, or a complete replacement if it’s aged. Tending to your home’s exterior in either of these manners will give your home an upgrade that shines across the block. Most homeowners will need to wash the siding, do a few paint touch-ups, and possibly replace a panel or two. Take time to investigate areas of your home that need more attention.
Fix the roof
If your roof is not up to par, you will want to address this and get ahead of the problem before it’s time to close. Failure to make repairs to your roof will likely show up during a home inspection, and you will then have to face costs and unexpected added time.
While repairing a roof may cost a large amount of money at the moment, that is money you would likely have to spend after an inspection. If you have the budget to complete repairs before listing, it is better to get ahead of the cost so it does not sneak up on you. A structural component as integral to a homeowner’s experience as a roof should not be left to continue withering away and should get taken care of as soon as possible.
Focus on appliance and feature-heavy rooms
Rooms like the kitchen and bathrooms are popular spots homeowners evaluate when viewing your property. Invest in upgrading some aspects of both styles of room to ensure you can get the best deal when you go to sell.
Upgrade to energy-efficient appliances
If your kitchen has out-of-date appliances and you have already considered upgrading them, look further into energy-efficient appliances. These fixtures continue to grow in popularity as they serve all the essential purposes of the device while cutting down on electricity, saving money down the line for the new homeowner.
However, you should remain fiscally responsible and not splurge on overindulgent appliances if they are not affordable or do not fit within your budget. A state-of-the-art appliance will not drastically increase the amount of money you can receive upon the sale, but upgrading all appliances to a current satisfactory level may. The key here is to make renovations where they seem necessary and like they will significantly improve the quality of the home.
Complete cosmetic upgrades in the bathroom
Homebuyers love to view a clean and sophisticated bathroom. You can quickly and often make small enhancements to this type of room. To upgrade the bathroom’s overall appearance, you can upgrade the vanity, tub, and hardware features like the faucet, toilet handle, towel racks, or shower head.
Additional upgrades to your bathroom include re-calking the tub or installing new tiles on the floor or walls. Since the bathrooms are usually small rooms, it will not take too much time or money to replace the tiling here. Upgrading the tiling can bring a bathroom into the current design trends, or you can give it a neutral makeover that will appeal to most buyers.
Create a cohesive image
When upgrading different parts of your kitchen or bathroom, you should decide which items you will upgrade and how they will look compared to the non-upgraded areas. For example, if you bring in the newest and most attractive appliances but do not update the old counters, those counters will pale in comparison and stand out more than before. Suppose you’re going to upgrade one part of a room dramatically. In that case, it may be more cost-effective in the long run to decrease the budget for that specific items or items and then improve the overall quality of more features.
Spruce up the walls
If your current walls are dirty, discolored, or simply outdated, repainting is one of the least expensive ways to brighten up your home and make it appealing to homebuyers. Stick to a neutral color like a shade of white, gray, or taupe to create a blank slate. While you may be prone to choosing adventurous colors for your space, it is best to keep things simple if your goal is to attract a buyer. Should they decide to repaint a more exciting color later on, that will be their decision, and you do not have to predict their design style.
Avoid making unnecessary renovations
There are many types of repairs you can complete that dramatically improve the quality of your home and increase your sale price, but there are also renovations that likely will not pay off in the long run.
Replacing an entire floor is not always beneficial
Even though buyers care a lot about the flooring and hardwood floors draw appeal, replacing an entire floor adds up quickly. Replacing the floor in a whole room or series of rooms could decrease your return on your investment as buyers may not appreciate the cost you spent to increase the value. If there are specific areas of the floor with weakened floorboards, spots that are hazardous for walking, or have other concerns, it is worth fixing that single area so as not to compromise the quality of the entire floor.
If your floors are old but in walkable condition, you can also consider adding some carpets that go with the rest of the furniture and decorations to complete a cohesive look for the room. If a homebuyer has an issue with the flooring, they can replace them when they move into the home.
However, if your floors have carpet and you believe that the hardwood underneath them is in good condition, removing the carpet and revealing the actual flooring may be a good idea. If you think your carpet is in good condition, or the floors are not, then invest in cleaning the carpets to ensure they present themselves in the best condition.
Bedroom renovations are not worthwhile
Bedrooms are a private part of the home, and most homeowners will still go in and change features to these rooms even if you complete renovations on your end. If you’re concerned about how your bedroom appears to potential buyers, consider spending money on furniture staging to help paint an image of how the room can look.
It is not the time to add new features
The urge may present itself to add a new and exciting feature before selling, but this could quickly eat into your return on investment, and you likely will not even get to enjoy the feature. Items like a pool, deck, patio, etc., are appealing to homebuyers, but the cost you will spend upfront will typically not pay off when it comes time to sell. Additionally, these upgrades can take a while to complete, delaying the date you put your home on the market.
Renovations should increase the value of what already exists. Adding things on will leave you stressed and with less cash.
Conclusion
Selling your home is a personal and significant decision that requires planning, time, and money. By working on cost-effective upgrades and renovations before putting your home on the market, you can increase your sale price down the line and ensure that you bring your home to the market at the intended date. Keep in mind that most renovations take longer than you think, and you should create a flexible timeline in case things do not go according to plan.