To Renovate or Not: Options for Sellers

When you bought your house, it was probably cutting edge, but over time, just like fashion, style changes. I’m still hoping polyester comes back, but it probably won’t, so most of your potential buyers are going to look at your house and want to update it.

When It Comes to Doing Renovations There are Three Options and Prices to Present

Option 1: Do No Renovations

Without so much as lifting a hammer or a paintbrush, this is the amount you could list your home for today and sell. Sure, you won’t get as much money, but it’s listed, and it will likely sell in this market and you don’t have to pour time, money, and effort into it.

Option 2: Make Minor Improvements

In this option, you can take 2 or 3 weeks and spend maybe $5000 and make some minor improvements to the home, like a fresh coat of paint throughout, updating fixtures and maybe some new flooring. The house would take a little longer to get listed and sell, but they would net more money from the sale.

Option 3: Overhaul the Home

This is the option where you take 2 to 6 months to do some serious rehabilitation and make a lot of renovations to update the home. It would cost a lot more money, and it would take more time to get it up on the market, but you would be able to sell for a lot more.

The Risks

There are some risks — there’s the time factor. With Option 1, you don’t have to spend any money. You will net less, but it’ll be on the market and probably sold fairly quickly The second price option may be more like a three-to-four-month long scenario where you wind up moving out before it sells, but make a few dollars more. Or, they can spend $$$ and not list for a while during the remodeling time. You would certainly get more money, but it would take a lot longer to get it on the market.

The danger in delaying is – what happens if the market changes in that time? History has proven to us that in real estate, what goes up must come down. We don’t know what’s going to happen this year. You have to decide what your timeline is and what is more important to you. Then we stay informed and keep on top of the market. But first, make a plan. Call me and we’ll get started!

Karen Daugerdas, Coldwell Banker REALTOR^®, 847.494.1102.