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I am in the process of getting ready to sell our house. We've had a couple realtors come out so we could get a good idea of current prices and to get some feedback on what we will need to do before putting the house on the market. Our problem is that we really don't have a lot of money to put into updates, so we need to prioritize. Some of the things the agents mentioned included:
1) Replace carpet - I agree with this, our carpet is in really bad condition. We can probably get away with not replacing carpet in the bedrooms but the rest of the house definitely needs it. I'm not sure if we should go with carpet or laminate, the cost seems fairly equal.
2) Replace blinds - We have some dated vertical blinds that have been damaged by the pets. I agree they need to go, but the agents seemed conflicted if we should replace them or just remove them and show the house without blinds.
3) Mismatched appliances - Since we moved in two appliances needed to be replaced, the fridge and the dryer. All of the other appliances are white Kenmore, the new dryer is white Samsung, and the fridge is stainless LG. One of the agents said having mismatched appliances will be a problem, but I really can't justify the expense of replacing working appliances.
4) Painting - Fresh coat of neutral paint throughout the house
5) Driveway resurfacing - There are some noticeable cracks across the driveway. Not a tripping hazard, and no problem driving over them, but they are visible.
6) Wood paneling in family room - One of our rooms has wood paneling which the agents all said was "dated" and would like to see it replaced or at least painted over.
7) Spackle over nail holes - This would probably be covered when painting.
There are a couple of other smaller things (broken exterior light fixture, bathroom vent/fan) but these seemed like the most expensive issues.
My current thoughts are to just remove the blinds, do the repainting and new carpet/laminate, and ignore the rest. Current quotes put us at about $5000-$6000 for the painting and carpet, and that's about our limit as to what we can afford. Is there anything else that we really should do?
Depends on the condition of the carpet, cheap laminate will turn off more buyers that trashed carpet. I hate the plastic sound of cheap laminate flooring under my shoes.
Go to Walmart and get cheap vertical slats for the blinds.
Appliances like that don't matter because they rarely stay as the range, dishwasher, mounted microwave are all that matter.
If its ugly then repaint white.
Depends on the extent of the damage to the driveway.
Get your painter to quote to texture and paint the area. If its too much then Google how to give it a facelift you may find something more cost effective.
I am in the process of getting ready to sell our house. We've had a couple realtors come out so we could get a good idea of current prices and to get some feedback on what we will need to do before putting the house on the market. Our problem is that we really don't have a lot of money to put into updates, so we need to prioritize. Some of the things the agents mentioned included:
1) Replace carpet - I agree with this, our carpet is in really bad condition. We can probably get away with not replacing carpet in the bedrooms but the rest of the house definitely needs it. I'm not sure if we should go with carpet or laminate, the cost seems fairly equal.
2) Replace blinds - We have some dated vertical blinds that have been damaged by the pets. I agree they need to go, but the agents seemed conflicted if we should replace them or just remove them and show the house without blinds.
3) Mismatched appliances - Since we moved in two appliances needed to be replaced, the fridge and the dryer. All of the other appliances are white Kenmore, the new dryer is white Samsung, and the fridge is stainless LG. One of the agents said having mismatched appliances will be a problem, but I really can't justify the expense of replacing working appliances.
4) Painting - Fresh coat of neutral paint throughout the house
5) Driveway resurfacing - There are some noticeable cracks across the driveway. Not a tripping hazard, and no problem driving over them, but they are visible.
6) Wood paneling in family room - One of our rooms has wood paneling which the agents all said was "dated" and would like to see it replaced or at least painted over.
7) Spackle over nail holes - This would probably be covered when painting.
There are a couple of other smaller things (broken exterior light fixture, bathroom vent/fan) but these seemed like the most expensive issues.
My current thoughts are to just remove the blinds, do the repainting and new carpet/laminate, and ignore the rest. Current quotes put us at about $5000-$6000 for the painting and carpet, and that's about our limit as to what we can afford. Is there anything else that we really should do?
1 -- No. And here's why: let the buyer decide what carpet he or she wants. The first townhome I ever bought had carpet that was in TERRIBLE shape. The seller said he was going to replace it with white shag. I turned around and began to walk out, and their real estate agent properly said to let the buyer replace the carpet with what they want...drop your price accordingly.
2 -- I would say replace the blinds or negotiate a price cut. Maybe the buyer will want a totally different type of window treatment, or maybe they look SO BAD now you need to go ahead and do it just to make the house presentable.
3 -- A partial replacement depending on age? Or negotiate a price cut. Again, if you replace with white the potential buyer was stainless steel, you may lose a buyer.
4 -- Again, fewer and fewer people want basic white and may repaint anyway. I would not do it unless the house looks unpresentable.
5 -- Yes. Repair. A new buyer will pretty much have to do this, and it is very noticeable to the presentation of the house and first impression.
6. Yes, probably paint due to outdatedness. Keep in mind there are procedures to painting paneling.
7. Everyone tells me to spackle. Is there some touchup paint available (can you identify color)?
1) Replace carpet
2) Replace blinds
3) Mismatched appliances
4) Painting
5) Driveway resurfacing
6) Wood paneling in family room
7) Spackle over nail holes
Keep the carpet. The buyers can ask that you adjust your price to include having it replaced with the kind and color of their choice. Padding is the key to good carpet, and the more you spend on padding, the better. No matter the quality of the carpet, padding makes all the difference in the world.
Take down the blinds/shades and clean up where the hardware was installed.
Leave the appliances - chances are they have their own and let that be their choice again. Yours are working fine - if they don't want them, you can have them in your new home - or sell them to someone else.
Paint. I hate to paint. It ought to be against the law to force anyone to paint... but it can use some so get to it.
Reservice the drive yourself. If the cracks aren't that bad, a little touch up work and it'll look great. Then pressure wash the drive to make it all look 'whole'.
Take down the paneling... it's NOT 1970 any more...
Keep pictures on the walls where they are today - your house must look 'lived in' to sell - and this will save you the hassle of patching the holes that are there hanging your pictures (that will go with you when you sell).
Good luck in your move. We sold two houses in 2014 - one in GA and the other in FL - both got our asking price and everyone was and still is, happy.
So I guess the washer and dryer are in the kitchen and so should match the white kitchen appliances. I wouldn't worry about their being different brands (so I guess different sizes/appearance). They are probably not front and center anyway. About the kitchen-type appliances, maybe concentrate on "newer refrigerator" than the older dishwasher and stove.
I agree a lot of laminate can look horrendous and as bad a torn up carpet. Would a good pad under the old carpet help? If not, you need something and may as well go for good pad and not too expensive carpet. A good dense pad can do a lot of good with a less expensive carpet.
Will there be anything on your windows if you take down the blinds? We had a few contemporaries where we never used blinds.
Get rid of the blinds. Patch the holes and paint the place. If the paneling does not have drywall behind it, you may want to consider painting it as well. Sand it lightly and put on a coat of Kilz first so the paint will adhere. Decorate with a beach theme.
If your carpet is mainly discolored rather than worn, use a rug shampooer to dye it. Otherwise, pull up the worn out carpet. Put down a decent grade of laminate. Many people dislike carpet these days.
You can get a caulking gun asphalt patch and sealant for your driveway that will make it look snappy.
Change out the light fixtures, bathroom fan, etc.
But you need to get right on it. In most communities, real estate slows way down once schools starts.
The reason for the carpet is more so stains than general wear and tear. We had it steam cleaned a few months ago and some of the stains came out but not all, that was the main reason for wanting it replaced. We haven't been in the house long, so our break even point where we can pay off the mortgage after all the fees and everything is in the neighborhood of $155K. Based on comparable properties in the area, the agents quoted us list prices ranging from $170K-$175K for a move-in ready home, so we don't have a lot of wiggle room to drop the price in exchange for leaving a lot of the renovations.
My other problem is that my spouse has already moved out of state for a new job, so I want to get the house listed quickly so I can move up as well, but financially speaking I have to make sure we can at least break even; we couldn't afford to pay off the mortgage if the house doesn't sell for enough.
Paint, carpet, nice blinds. Sparkling the nail holes will be part of the paint job. Lower end stainless steel appliances are a plus as well, helps walk-in and buyers know they won't be facing an issue. But watch that you don't eat up the equity.
Colors, basic beige carpet, white wall paint.
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