Prepping a House for Sale

[selhars]

We updated our kitchens and bathrooms before we went on the market. Fresh paint and decluttering. Ours was a buyers market, with lots of houses sitting for half a year or more.


We sold the first week we listed.

But did you get more than you just spent? I hope it did.
Selling faster once listed…and selling for MORE to the point that you get your money back are two different things.

In my area, I highly doubt my house with a brand new 30K kitchen will sell for MORE than that 30K over what it would have. So while it might sell quicker……that doesn't mean I'll get all of that 30K right back.

I agree that people should be updating over the years as they own the home. To me if just makes no sense to to nothing while you're in the house and can enjoy it. And undertake re-doing bathrooms and kitchen just to sell to someone else.

While my house is not staged and certainly would need to be de-cluttered. It certainly needs to major remodeling. I just don't think you get your money back dollar for dollar when you do that.

700k is alot of money to me, so I would expect to find it in great condition.

In the Northern VA/DC suburbs that's not THAT high. And the HOUSE is in great condition. It's just not updated. In my head that's two different things.
Bones and updated style are not the same.

It;s just a shame that because my friend cut corners with her more recent kitchen update, just 10 years ago…that's she's got to do it again.

If they all have granite then they need to update

Granite is still the countertop of choice where I am. If my friend had done granite when she did her update, she would NOT need to update now.
I was surprised because the realtor told her the cabinets were what stuck out, NOT the formica counter top. I'm think ing it's not so much the cabinets. but the DOOR STYLE and the pickling finish.

I really think my friend made a mistake by showing the realtor the house before it was prepped. With all the grand kids stuff all over. Before it's painted and decluttered, etc. So the realtor saw a house before it was ready for sale. Let's just say that subconsciously I think the realtor saw more to be done that she otherwise would have if the house had been more "presentable" when she first saw it.

I told my friend she and her husband will just have to decide how much they're willing to do, and won't their NOT willing to spend.
So far she's said the will do new carpeting, the whole house interior paint job, and they're going to try to match the wood stain themselves (the LR and FR abut with different wood and wood stains.

There's no way I'd remodel the kitchen. I'd set an amount of money and time I'm willing to invest in it…PRICE it accordingly and that's it.
But she's "thinking about" what they might do in the kitchen…she's been pricing refacing. UGH.

Unless the appliances are over 15 years old, I'd either put an allowance in the listing or replace them. Most often folks would rather pick out their own appliances and get the warranty in their name. If the agent doesn't agree with this, find another agent. Business is far too good to have a dimwit realtor spend your money so they can make a quick buck.

Personally I'd be more forceful with the agent also. But my friend is thinking "well the agent knows what we need to do to sell….."
It's not for me to get any more involved. I've told her it's for her and her husband to decide what they'll do. If they get talked into redoing the kitchen…oh well.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by kab0906

Home buyers can be spoiled. Not many want to take on a remodel, like a kitchen, so they will pass on a good house for something more move in ready. This is especially true in a buyers market.

We updated our kitchens and bathrooms before we went on the market. Fresh paint and decluttering. Ours was a buyers market, with lots of houses sitting for half a year or more.


We sold the first week we listed.

And ours was a seller's market, in a highly desirable neighborhood, apparently. We did some painting, decluttering, made sure everything was fixed. But no updating or modeling, or replacing the carpet which admittedly needed replacing. We did not stage, and some of the rooms still had my husband's junque in them. Nevertheless, we got three offers the first day it went on the market, and we accepted one for the asking price.

[GiveMeCoffee]

When we sold, I:

Decluttered
Cleaned! My house was generally clean but I made that place sparkle
Small repairs (changed out some mismatched molding, caulked the bathtub)
Neutralized paint colors (and waved goodbye to my chili pepper red kitchen)

It was a seller's market but other comparable houses sat on MLS for awhile. We had an offer in 4 days.

[Amanda333]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

Statistically, any money put wisely into home improvements will more than pay for themselves when selling a house, either in a higher price, less time on the market, or both. It makes good financial sense in most cases.

It's the opposite, actually. Google cost vs. value report 2015. I was surprised at the data.

The sole renovation that "statistically" returns over 100% in my area is replacing the entry door!

I'm sure there are exceptions - primarily if the homeowner him/herself is able to do renovations himself (and statistics are just that) - but the data is compelling. It's even worse in my (very high COL) area, as renovations are extremely expensive, and buyers wealthy enough they don't hesitate to spend to redo their home. (The data in that report as to cost of renovations is far lower than what it costs here, making the return upon sale even further negative.)

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Amanda333

It's the opposite, actually. Google cost vs. value report 2015. I was surprised at the data.

The sole renovation that "statistically" returns over 100% in my area is replacing the entry door!

I'm sure there are exceptions - primarily if the homeowner him/herself is able to do renovations himself (and statistics are just that) - but the data is compelling. It's even worse in my (very high COL) area, as renovations are extremely expensive, and buyers wealthy enough they don't hesitate to spend to redo their home. (The data in that report as to cost of renovations is far lower than what it costs here, making the return upon sale even further negative.)

Yeah, but the "data" you're looking at is really faulty. I've looked at lots of those online calculators myself, and the cost estimates of the "average" remodel/repair don't correlate to the "average" or "median" house. In my area, a "median" house is a pretty small, standard stucco box & it costs about $225k. A "budget" or "economy" kitchen remodel from those online calculators often claims you'll spend $50k - and while you most certainly could spend that much, you can also do a pretty nice remodel including granite & stainless appliances for $15k or just replace old "builder grade" with new "builder grade" for maybe $5k.

In one of my rentals a few years ago I replaced: both bathrooms (including the tubs, new cultured marble surrounds, new vanities with granite tops, new faucets, new toilets), the kitchen (cabinets, counters, faucet, sink, appliances, light fixtures), all the flooring(800 sq feet of tile, 300 sq ft of carpet & pad), all new switches, outlets, water shutoffs, baseboards, fireplace mantle, hired a crew to haul off 40 tons of landscaping rock & lay down 24 tons of new rock, replaced the irrigation system, new plantings, repaired the a/c, hired a tree surgeon, I even installed a pretty trick "California closet" type setup in the master bedroom closet. The cost? Under $20k.

I did most of the painting & demo work, but most everything else was done by hired help. According to the online calculators, what I did was completely impossible for the $$$. Yet I've done it multiple times.

[selhars]

I certainly get your point. But Did you sell that house? or just do that work on a rental which is two different things. And what grade of materials did you chose? Also by chance to you use the same contractor for all your work over the years so you might have gotten a break on the labor costs? And was any of the work at all done by, shall I say, people who might not have the same labor documentation as others who might have cost more? And personally I'd have to see the quality of the work and the materials to decide if the job was well done. (which as a buyer I'd be asked to pay for)

I'd have to agree that if a seller does a remodel just to sell, they may not get the dollar for dollar amount back.
If they do a 15K kitchen update, or a 7,500 bathroom update that house may not sell for 15K more or 7,500 more than it would have without that remodel. That's all I'm saying. And selling QUICKER, is not the same thing as selling for enough more money to get that remodel money back.
Sure you may have put in a 15K kitchen that doesn't mean you can ask 15K more for the house than you would have…so no, you may NOT get all that money back, if any. The passing of time that allows for value/equity/appreciation is what helps you get your money back. Not doing a remodel one week and selling the next.

I'm sure all of us have seen it all…
-- the seller who does a remodel with all builder grade or the cheapest materials, and yet wants to raise the price of the house because they did a remodel…a BAD one, but they still want to get that money back.

But as they say..you only need to find that one buyer for that one house. I personally wouldn't pay a premium for a remodel that wasn't what I like, JUST BECAUSE the sellers threw together an update because they thought a remodeled kitchen "would sell the house."

My friend that I referenced did an inexpensive remodel -- just 10 years ago -- trying to keep costs down, made some decor and color choices that she liked (for the money she was willing to spend) -- and now her realtor is telling her to do it all over again. Whereas:
-- IF she'd chosen granite back then (which she didn't want to spend the money on) -- instead of formica (which was dated even then)
-- if she'd changed out or refaced the cabinets then (which she thought wasn't worth the money) -- instead of pickling them white
-- if she'd picked a different floor (instead of some laminate tile)….
...maybe her realtor wouldn't be telling her to do ANOTHER kitchen remodel to redo everything she did. PLUS of course the appliances.
I think she spent 8K on what she did..where as if she'd spent just 4-5 more, she wouldn't be looking at spending another 10K now. The realtor wants her to replace the cabinets, the floor, (oddly enough she said the counter was OK…go figure)

also MAYBE -- if they'd hired a painter, instead of her husband doing the last paint job, the realtor wouldn't be telling them get another paint job, and if they matched the stain on the new family room hard wood floor -- to the LR it's right next to when they did it a few years ago, the realtor wouldn't be telling them now to match the stain.

I used to think it was home remodeling and house hunter type shows the skewed people's expectations. Now I'll had house FLIPPING shows as well. Only time will tell -- and the bottom line after they sell will determine -- whether they get back dollar for dollar -- whatever amount they choose to spend now. As an aside my friend is SHOCKED by the cost of appliances these days… As I guess you would be if you haven't bought one in 20 years

Oh and as an aside….how much of a thought, turn off, or disappointment would it be if a 700K house didn't come with a microwave or have a built-in microwave?

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by selhars

I certainly get your point. But Did you sell that house? or just do that work on a rental which is two different things. And what grade of materials did you chose? Also by chance to you use the same contractor for all your work over the years so you might have gotten a break on the labor costs? And was any of the work at all done by, shall I say, people who might not have the same labor documentation as others who might have cost more? And personally I'd have to see the quality of the work and the materials to decide if the job was well done. (which as a buyer I'd be asked to pay for)

I'd have to agree that if a seller does a remodel just to sell, they may not get the dollar for dollar amount back.
If they do a 15K kitchen update, or a 7,500 bathroom update that house may not sell for 15K more or 7,500 more than it would have without that remodel. That's all I'm saying. And selling QUICKER, is not the same thing as selling for enough more money to get that remodel money back.
Sure you may have put in a 15K kitchen that doesn't mean you can ask 15K more for the house than you would have…so no, you may NOT get all that money back, if any. The passing of time that allows for value/equity/appreciation is what helps you get your money back. Not doing a remodel one week and selling the next.

I'm sure all of us have seen it all…
-- the seller who does a remodel with all builder grade or the cheapest materials, and yet wants to raise the price of the house because they did a remodel…a BAD one, but they still want to get that money back.

But as they say..you only need to find that one buyer for that one house. I personally wouldn't pay a premium for a remodel that wasn't what I like, JUST BECAUSE the sellers threw together an update because they thought a remodeled kitchen "would sell the house."

My friend that I referenced did an inexpensive remodel -- just 10 years ago -- trying to keep costs down, made some decor and color choices that she liked (for the money she was willing to spend) -- and now her realtor is telling her to do it all over again. Whereas:
-- IF she'd chosen granite back then (which she didn't want to spend the money on) -- instead of formica (which was dated even then)
-- if she'd changed out or refaced the cabinets then (which she thought wasn't worth the money) -- instead of pickling them white
-- if she'd picked a different floor (instead of some laminate tile)….
...maybe her realtor wouldn't be telling her to do ANOTHER kitchen remodel to redo everything she did. PLUS of course the appliances.
I think she spent 8K on what she did..where as if she'd spent just 4-5 more, she wouldn't be looking at spending another 10K now. The realtor wants her to replace the cabinets, the floor, (oddly enough she said the counter was OK…go figure)

also MAYBE -- if they'd hired a painter, instead of her husband doing the last paint job, the realtor wouldn't be telling them get another paint job, and if they matched the stain on the new family room hard wood floor -- to the LR it's right next to when they did it a few years ago, the realtor wouldn't be telling them now to match the stain.

I used to think it was home remodeling and house hunter type shows the skewed people's expectations. Now I'll had house FLIPPING shows as well. Only time will tell -- and the bottom line after they sell will determine -- whether they get back dollar for dollar -- whatever amount they choose to spend now. As an aside my friend is SHOCKED by the cost of appliances these days… As I guess you would be if you haven't bought one in 20 years

Oh and as an aside….how much of a thought, turn off, or disappointment would it be if a 700K house didn't come with a microwave or have a built-in microwave?

It's all relative... when the median area home price is 1.3M a 700K home would be expected to fall short... at a price almost half the median.

Not everyone want or desires trendy... and it only takes one buyer to make a transaction.

I prefer to buy right and make my own improvements... also helps keep the tax bill in check.

Realtors are entitled to opinions just as much as anyone.

I was naive once... had a home where I was going to refinish the hardwood floors... the Realtor told me I needed to go with white wall to wall carpet... something I would never ever buy... but I did.

The first thing the buyer did was pull up all the brand new carpet... all of it.