The process of getting a property ready to place on the market can feel daunting enough. There’s clearing the clutter, endless amounts of cleaning, organizing and scrutinizing your home with a fine-tooth comb. What needs attention and what are you able to leave alone? Welcome to the new world of “fixing for selling.” Those days are gone of throwing it on the market and seeing what happens. Prepping for selling is a highly choreographed dance of repair along with a bit of renovation and presentation.
7 home fixes you must complete before selling
1. Structural and mechanical
It might not be glamorous, but buyers will be looking at big-ticket items like the age and condition of the roof, air conditioning and heating systems, water heater, electrical panel and pipes. Now, we are not saying all have to be replaced, but if any one of these components are on their last leg, you could possibly seriously need to consider replacing them since these items could factor into the type of financing the buyer is able to obtain in addition to insurability of the property. Appraisers are notorious for requiring a roof to be replaced, for example, as a condition of a loan when it comes to FHA and VA financing.
Replacing a roof that is at the end of its life before putting your home on the market should go a considerable ways to solidifying buyer confidence in deciding to make an offer.
The buyer (and you) won’t have to sweat what an inspector says, deal with a potential renegotiation before closing or face a price reduction. The last thing you want to be doing is putting on a brand new roof in the middle of trying to pack. Should you not have the budget to replace these items, get estimates for the cost involved to replace. You can always offer to help with the replacement cost by means of a credit to the buyer’s settlement costs and provide a home warranty that will provide some coverage should something fail or need repair.
2. Exterior
How exactly does the exterior of your home look? Is there any wood rot? Just when was the last time it was painted? Are there any stucco cracks that need attention? First impressions begin from the outside, and the exterior will show up in photos across a multitude of websites, etc. This is certainly an area worth spending your money.
3. Landscaping
While we’re talking about the exterior, how does your landscaping look? Are the plantings overgrown, worn and wilted? What about the ground cover? Are the planting beds needing some fresh mulch, pine straw, rock, etc.? Are there any overgrown tree limbs hanging above the house or blocking the home’s view? For a relatively inexpensive investment, it is possible to transform the way your exterior looks by trimming back and freshening things up with new plants and landscaping.
4. Cosmetic
Let’s face it: buyers buy using their eyes, therefore the time to go through the inside in detail. Do you have dents and dings on the walls, scratched moldings or worn paint? It is now time to fix up the inside with a fresh coat of paint.Pick light, neutral and on-trend colors. Choose a neutral palette that will transition well with any buyer’s furniture. Look at your lighting fixtures, ceiling fans and light switches – these are affordable things to update and replace, yet they go a long way toward creating value. The front door? This is certainly critical! Does it need to have a fresh coat of paint or new hardware? Consider adding a glass panel to produce light that evokes a sunny and warm space.
5. Kitchen
This area is always huge with buyers. Even if the buyers barely know how to boil water, they always envision themselves in the kitchen cooking and entertaining or possibly auditioning to be the next Food Network TV star surrounded by sleek appliances and cabinetry. Here’s where you really need to give them the look for less. Think new hardware on cabinets, adding or changing out a dated tile back-splash and updating appliances. Also, consider changing out counters – you might be able to find a reasonably price remnant of a granite slab.
6. Bathrooms
Simple and clean rules the day. Improving your bathrooms to sell could be as simple as having the grout on the existing tile steam cleaned or regrouting where needed. Caulking, new plumbing and light fixtures together with mirrors can create value.
7. Flooring
What you walk on creates value. When you can only afford to make an investment in a single significant section of your home, consider updating the flooring. You can find a ton of low-cost choices to choose from that include wood plank tiles and highly upgraded laminate flooring – think wide plank, light colored or hand-scraped styles. New flooring can totally transform the look of your space and give it the “wow” factor that buyers desire.
In undertaking the selling preparation, strike a delicate balance between what you should fix and just what to leave alone, but in the end, make the right improvements which will produce a faster sale for top dollar. Nick & Cindy Davis are here to assist you in the Tampa Bay and Surrounding Areas with selling your home. We can advise you of value of your home in the current condition as well as after making the repairs or upgrades. We are always just a click here or call to 813-300-7116 away.