How to Think About Renovations if You Are Reselling
Should you renovate your home before you resell it? Which upgrades will make the most difference and increase the value of your property? How should you budget for the renovation? Read about all this and more below.
To Renovate or Not to Renovate, That Is the Question
When discussing the sale of your property with your agent, the topic of renovation has probably come up. If you’re still unsure whether to renovate your home before listing it, the following factors might make this decision a bit easier.
Understanding the Local Market
Knowing your ideal customer will certainly help you decide whether to renovate the property or not. Some buyers are looking for homes that are ready to live in, while others want to customize their space and renovate on their own. Think about which ones you’d like to attract and make the decision based on that.
Understanding The Features of Your Property
Next, think about your property’s key features. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of buying that property from the buyer’s perspective. Once you’ve identified all the weak and strong points, focus on what you can do to improve what doesn’t work to make the place more functional.
The Planning Stage
After the analysis comes the planning stage for the renovation.
The Timeline
For a renovation to be successful, you need to create a schedule and a timeline for the process. To do this, first determine the scale of the renovation and list all the consultants and workers that you’ll need to hire. You can start by renovating the floors and ceilings, as well as changing the doors and windows if that’s part of your budget. Then, you can move on to swapping out outdated appliances and ordering new cabinets in the kitchen if needed. Finally, you can order new furniture and focus on decorating.
The Budget
After this, discuss the costs for the renovation with your contractor and see if it fits your budget. It’s a good idea to subtract the renovation cost from the property’s selling price and see whether the final cost would increase the value of your home. Think about whether you’ll need a loan or you have a previously saved budget. If you need help with estimating how much the whole renovation will cost, take a look at our budget estimator.
The Must-Do House Refurbishment
Even if your property is in good shape and doesn’t need a full renovation, there are some improvements you should make before showing it.
- Deep clean the property, and don’t forget about the backyard if you have one (every nook and cranny in your home should be spotless when it comes time to show it to potential buyers)
- Do minor repairs around the home (maybe there’s a squeaky door, a cabinet door that needs fixing, or a light that needs to be changed)
- Make the home feel cozier by adding decorations (carefully positioned decorations can make the house look more put together and aesthetically pleasing)
- Accentuate the property’s key features (if the property has some special feature, such as a great view towards the mountains, make sure that it’s a focal point on the potential buyer's tour)
Other Things to Consider When Reselling
Apart from the essential points we mentioned above, there are a few additional things to consider if you’re thinking about renovating a property you’re reselling.
Move-In-Ready Homes vs Unrenovated Instantly-Sold Homes
You can sell your property either as is or after renovating it. The benefit of selling it unrenovated is that you won’t be spending any money or time, however, if you do renovate it, you’ll get a higher selling price. In the end, you can let the timeline of how quickly you want to sell the property be the deciding factor. And here’s how you can do that.
Consider the Timeline
Depending on the state of your home, you can opt for shorter renovation projects and longer renovation projects.
Shorter renovations can be done in a few weeks and can give your home a fast refresh. Some of the renovations you may want to consider include:
- Improving the landscaping
- Painting the interior and the exterior
- Painting the kitchen cabinets
- Updating the light fixtures
- Adding new kitchen appliances
Longer renovations will make the most impact on your property and significantly increase the selling price. They take several weeks or months, and include:
- Replacing the wiring and plumbing
- Replacing the roof
- Adding or upgrading the deck
- Remodeling the basement
- Remodeling the kitchen
- Remodeling the bathroom
- Installing custom cabinets
Of course, apart from the time required for the renovations, the budget will also play a big role when deciding if and what renovations to do.
The Importance of DIYs
Sometimes, you don’t need to spend a ridiculous amount of money to increase the value of a property, but you need to put in your time to do it. Some DIY projects that can immediately increase the value of your property include:
- Planting a garden in your backyard
- Updating the cabinets (repaint, reseal, and give your old cabinets a new life)
- Repainting the windows if they’re made out of wood
- Installing ceiling fans
- Installing crown molding
- Repainting the walls
- Refinishing the hardwood floors
- Updating the bathroom and kitchen fixtures
- Cleaning the fireplace
- Installing a new front door
- Updating the doorknobs
- Changing the light fixtures and making sure that you have different types of reading and under-cabinet lights
- Changing the curtains
Final Thoughts
As you can see, selling a home comes with some planning and work, but if you fix it up, you’re more likely to attract the right buyers. The final step is hiring professionals to stage the property or doing it yourself. This will help the potential buyers to imagine themselves living in the property and will take you one step closer to selling it.