Renovating Your House to Sell When it comes to renovating your home, the entire process can seem a little daunting and complicated at times. However, with the right plans and tools, you can make your home into exactly what you always wanted it to be. You may not be sure how much money you should spend on your renovations, because you are caught in a kind of limbo. If you spend too little money, you might run the risk of having things look cheap.
Getting the Right Return However, if you spend too much money, you may not get the kind of return you want when you eventually sell. This is a great trick to have to balance. Not only that, but you are the one who has to go through all the pain and misery of living through the renovations, while some lucky homeowner merely has to put the key in the lock, turn the doorknob, and live happily ever after. Renovating to sell is also a very different kind of experience. Note that we are not talking about what is called "staging" a house for sale; nor are we talking about merely fixing a few windows, and slapping a coat of paint. This is a more intense type of home renovation, that goes beyond a coat of paint and may cost in the four or five figures. Whatever the area of the house, keep a few simple, but vitally important rules in mind. Do not spend more than you can get in return.
Making the Most of Your Money No one wants to see money go down the drain, so do not spend five thousand dollars on flooring if you will only be able to get three thousand dollars in return for it. Along these same lines, never spend more that your profit potential. Some home sellers consider it a success to spend seventy five hundred dollars on a bathroom remodel if they recoup the same amount from the sale. If you think about it though, you made a loss because you really spent more than seventy five hundred, as you lost the time it took to complete the job.
Your biggest priority is not the bedroom or the living room; it is the kitchen and bathrooms. These rooms, no matter how small they are, sell real estate. This means the most money should be spent in there, and the budget for the rest of the house should come secondary to these rooms. Because you are spending a big chunk of the money in the kitchen and bathrooms, make sure you limit hard costs. For instance, laying down all new flooring is a hard cost, but if you instead just sand down and refinish the existing wood floors, that would be considered a soft cost. If you can, try to refurbish instead of replacing existing materials. This is very important, especially for expensive things like wood floors and cabinetry. These things may look horrendous, but once you sand them down and give them a fresh finish, they will look like new and you will have spent a fraction of the cost. If your budget is really tight, make sure you focus on the appearance of things, and not the function. This is only the case with some things, however. If you have termite damage, the foundation is buckling, or the roof is caving in, then you legally need to fix them. However, if the water heater is old and does not work well, then leave it as long as it does work. If there is room in the budget after everything else is completed, then go back and replace it, but it is not a top priority. Make sure that you put on a fresh and neutral paint color on all of the walls. This can make a house feel completely new, and first appearances are everything to homebuyers. It is so important to remember that home renovations performed for the purposes of sale do not necessarily have to be things that you like. You need to appeal to the largest audience, so think neutral instead of personal style. Even though you think your style is great, it may not work for everyone. Carpet is great, but you also need hard flooring in rooms like the bathroom, kitchen, and the living room if you can. Carpet is great for the bedrooms and maybe the family room. When it comes to getting your home ready to sell, consider the things that would do your home and your wallet the most good. This will help you to focus all of your repairs.