Tag: Home repair

What Are Some Affordable Ways to Make Your Home More Attractive to Buyers?

This week’s column is inspired by an email I received from Brock Pardo of PunchListUSA. His company is in the business of helping sellers fix problems identified in buyers’ inspection objections. Toward that end, he also offers free pre-listing consultations and quotes. (I offer free consultations too, but I’m not a contractor, so I can’t give quotes, just refer you to my vendors for implementing suggested repairs or improvements.)

Being in that business, Brock’s email contained a “top ten” list of issues which could be addressed affordably prior to putting a home on the market, resulting perhaps in selling that home for more money.

Usually, when I get an unsolicited email with a top ten list, I find that it’s not the top ten items I would have selected, but this time I found that I agreed with all of them, so I’m going to publish his list, but with my own elaborations.

1) Fresh coat of paint. Brock cited a report that interior painting returns a 107% return-on-investment, and exterior painting a 50% ROI, but I’d add that it depends on condition. If your home has a faded pastel exterior color popular in the 1990s with or without peeling paint, I’d say that a fresh paint job in a more up-to-date color would make a huge difference in first impressions and the number of showings that are set and offers that you receive.

2) Landscaping improvements. These can be quite affordable and, again, make a huge difference in the first impression that your home makes. A couple months’ service by Lawn Doctor can make a big difference in your lawn’s appeal, as can a load of fresh cedar chips for your non-grassy areas.

3) Upgrading lighting fixtures. Those “brass and glass” chandeliers and sconces are so 1990s, and are inexpensive enough to replace with, for example, brushed nickel fixtures. And even if you don’t replace any fixtures, replace all your incandescent or CFL light bulbs with affordable LED bulbs. The best deal on those, I’ve found, are 8-packs of 60-watt equivalents for $2.75 (34¢ each) from Batteries+Bulbs. (Don’t put your CFLs in the trash. Take them to Home Depot for recycling, because they contain mercury.)

4) Minor kitchen updates. You don’t have to replace your Formica countertop unless it’s damaged or a really bad color, but replacing the faucet on your kitchen sink is an affordable upgrade. Also, I like to see knobs and pulls on kitchen cabinets, and you can get affordable ones, as Rita did, at Hobby Lobby, of all places. Maybe paint or repaint your kitchen cabinets — white is a good choice. Beyond this, I’m happy to bring my stager and consult with you on further upgrades, because kitchens can make a huge difference, and certain improvements are worth considering.

5) Bathroom upgrades. Replacing those 1990s plastic Delta faucets is a no-brainer! And you can find some affordable replacement vanities at home improvement stores.

6) Replace or clean wall-to-wall carpeting. Unless your carpet is shag or damaged, cleaning it professionally is sufficient and affordable. My preferred carpet cleaner is Bruce Ruser of New Look Dry Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning, 303-697-1584, who uses an environmentally friendly system that utilizes plant-based ingredients. The website www.hostdry.com explains his process.  We use Bruce ourselves.

7) Replace older appliances. These can be affordable. Look for Energy Star ratings, too. I had a 1990s listing with its original white kitchen appliances. It just sat on the market until the seller replaced them with new appliances.

8) Install new door and window hardware. Brock quotes a 2021 Zillow report claiming that updated hardware has up to an 80% ROI, but I’d like to see your current hardware before suggesting this update.

9) Declutter and organize. This is more about staging than repair of something. We provide a free staging consultation for all listings, and our report always recommends decluttering, thinning and organizing.

10) Deep clean your home. Again, this is a staging matter. And it’s a no-brainer! We can refer you.

That concludes my version of Brock Pardo’s “top ten” list. I’d add the following two items:

11) Wash your windows. You’ll need to remove screens when you wash your windows, so don’t reinstall them. Label and store them in your basement or garage. Removing window screens has a effect similar to washing your windows, greatly improving visibility. If any of the screens are damaged (including sun damage), most Ace Hardware stores can rescreen them affordably.

12) Update your moldings. At a recent open house, a would-be buyer objected to the older stained wood moldings on the walls. She said they should be white, and I realized that she’s right. You could paint them white (priming first with Kilz), or replace them all with plain white moldings from a home improvement store.

Do you have your own suggestions of additional items? Let me know, and maybe I’ll feature them in a future column or on our blog.

What Should You Fix or Improve Before Putting Your Home on the Market?

One of the most common questions we are asked during our first meetings with prospective sellers is, “What should I fix or improve before I put my home on the market?” I’ve written about this topic before, but the subject is worth revisiting, given the current market.

My advice has always been that you should only fix the “eyesores” and not make many of the repairs or improvements that you might make in a more balanced market.

So, what’s an eyesore? Simply put, an eyesore is something that draws negative attention from a buyer. But some eyesores are more important than others — specifically ones which help form a buyer’s first impression of your home.

In other words, your front yard, the front façade, your porch, front door and the first few rooms a buyer sees are more important than the condition of inner rooms or the basement. By the time buyers are deep inside your house, they either love it or they don’t, and if they love it, they’ll be more forgiving about a stain on the carpet or a loose railing that they see later in their visit. So definitely work on cleaning up your front yard, staining or repairing your front porch and front door (if it needs it), and address any eyesores inside the front door. If the paint on your siding or trim visible from the street is aged, dirty, or peeling, you’ll want to take care of that, too.

Further inside the house, fixing eyesores is still important, just not as important. New wall-to-wall carpeting is more affordable than refinishing hardwood flooring, but a wood floor that is in dire need of refinishing is definitely an eyesore. If a hardwood floor could use refinishing, but isn’t in dire need of it, I don’t recommend it. Re-staining a wood deck is an affordable task that eliminates the eyesore of a deck which sorely needs it.

Should you replace a Formica kitchen counter with slab granite, quartz or Corian? Not if the Formica is in good shape and is not hot pink. If it has peeling edges or burn scars, yes, replace it.

One of the smartest things you should do before putting your home on the market is to wash the windows inside and out. Since that requires removing window screens, I recommend washing and labeling your window screens and putting them in your garage or store room. The window screens can be reinstalled after you’re under contract and prior to inspection, because missing screens will definitely be an inspection issue.

When you invite one of us to see your home, you’ll want to know what fixes or improvements we suggest, and we will usually come down on the side of not making any repairs or improvements which aren’t necessary to get your home under contract.

The reason you don’t want to make unnecessary repairs or improvements — for example, replacing a 20-year-old furnace that works fine, or mitigating radon if a home test reveals it is needed — is that you need to retain those as bargaining chips.

Let’s say, for example, that your buyer’s inspection objection lists a dozen items including replacing the furnace and mitigating radon. You could agree to doing those two repairs but not the other ten items, and that would probably satisfy the buyer. If you’ve already replaced your furnace and mitigated radon, you don’t have those as bargaining chips and would have to address those other items.

Interior painting is another common issue. Let’s say your son painted his bedroom ceiling black, or your daughter has a cute mural with giraffes and trees covering one or two walls in her bedroom. Should your repaint those rooms? Maybe the black ceiling, but leave the mural — assuming it’s well done, of course!

These are merely general guidelines, and every house is different. My broker associates (below) and I are happy, of course, to meet with you in your home to discuss what to fix or not fix.

The best thing you can do before putting your home on the market is neither a fix nor an improvement. It’s decluttering. We all have too much stuff, don’t we? Some of it should be taken to Goodwill or the Salvation Army (using our free truck, of course!). Other items should be put in storage, and we can usually get our clients the first month free at a local mini-storage facility.

Once we’ve agreed on what to do, you may be concerned about how to pay for it. Our clients have access to our handyman at the client-only rate of $25/hour. For bigger repairs, we can help you with obtaining financing that could be paid off from your proceeds at closing. Ask one of our broker associates or me for details.