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A couple years before we knew we would sell we spent about $20k in updates to the kitchen and 2.5 baths. Replaced cheap vinyl floors with tile, upgraded cheap laminate counters with granite, replaced a few fixtures. We had time to enjoy the upgrades before we moved so it was worth it.
We were thinking about doing upgrades way in advance but the family has so much stuffs around the house. Plus with kid, it's impossible to get anything done. Once things are moved, kid on vacation, I knock off everything in a month
About $4000 on a $285,000 sale, most of which I would not do again.
This was our first sale and at the urging of the listing agent. Our house was structurally solid, newer roof and furnace and kept maintained and clean. Aside from the garage door - which was seemingly fine until we listed and at that point started falling apart and had to be replaced - the rest of it was cosmetic stuff. Frankly, if I were the buyer, I would have rather picked my own stuff for the cosmetic stuff we replaced at the request of our agent.
In many cases it's not about how much the value will increase, in a buyer's market it's whether the property will sell at all. If you are forced to sell you really don't have much choice but to spend the money to update.
In many cases it's not about how much the value will increase, in a buyer's market it's whether the property will sell at all. If you are forced to sell you really don't have much choice but to spend the money to update.
Agree. There is no way to tell how much exactly the value increased. We had 2 agents coming to evaluate verbally BEFORE and AFTER and they said it bumped up $20K value.
BUT the remodel did make the photos come out perfectly and got tons of views. We got multiple offers and it was relatively quick (vs. our competitors around).
So my conclusion is that the remodel helped the sales faster and it's more obvious than the hard number it increased.
I spent way too much in cheapskate Buffalo. I removed the wallpaper, painted the upstairs, downstairs and hallway. Replaced the stove with a new Samsung ceramic top, fixed the steps and landscaped. Prior to that, I insulated the walls, attic and roof in the family room. Replaced the flat roof with a 1 piece membrane, premium vinyl siding, gutters, roof vents, upgraded the electric to 150 amp from 100, installed a new electric panel with breakers, replaced the HVAC and hot water tank with high efficiency units, glass blocks in the basement, new garage door and opener, refinished the hardwood floors, redid the kitchen with new cabinets, tile back splash, dishwasher, disposal, microwave hood, granite counter tops, floors and replaced the windows with low-E architecturally correct ones. It still took 10 months in the "hottest house market in decades in Buffalo" and I barely broke even after 10 years there. If I had sold in a few years earlier I would have lost a fortune. I bought it for 180k put in at least 50k and got 240k. The property taxes were 8400.
I spent way too much in cheapskate Buffalo. <snip>Prior to that, I insulated the walls, attic and roof in the family room. Replaced the flat roof with a 1 piece membrane, premium vinyl siding, gutters, roof vents, upgraded the electric to 150 amp from 100, installed a new electric panel with breakers, replaced the HVAC and hot water tank with high efficiency units, glass blocks in the basement...<snip> It still took 10 months in the "hottest house market in decades in Buffalo" and I barely broke even after 10 years there. I bought it for 180k put in at least 50k and got 240k.
Wow- you win. Sadly, from my experience, the items I left in your quote above are things the HGTV crowd doesn't care about. And you'll never see them being done on house flipping shows unless a disaster requires it- e,g, they open up a wall and find knob-and-tube wiring or a code violation.
DH and I did plenty of upgrades in the 12 years we were in our house- bamboo floors, enclosing the back deck to make a 3-season room, removing ugly wallpaper, adding insulation in the attic, granite countertops and a gas cooktop. Fortunately we enjoyed them for years before selling, because we barely got back what we put into the place (sold in a KC suburb in 2015). And nobody asked about the utility bills.
Depends on your market but in some places, listing it "as is" can be code for "needs a LOT of work" so you may also be limiting your buying pool. Besides, in many places, technically all sales are "as is" anyway, and you can always say no if they ask for work to be done or a price adjustment.
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Sadly, from my experience, the items I left in your quote above are things the HGTV crowd doesn't care about. And you'll never see them being done on house flipping shows unless a disaster requires it- e,g, they open up a wall and find knob-and-tube wiring or a code violation.
