How to Spend Less on Upgrades When Selling Your Home
October 07, 2015
Worried about spending money on upgrades you won’t get back?
You are not alone. We often hear that comment from homeowners who know they need to do some upgrades before putting the house on the market. Most do not trust a realtor’s advice, thinking a realtor would love you to spend whatever it takes to ensure a quick sale. After all, it’s not their money.
We hope this information will help you decide what upgrades will add to your net selling price, not lessen it.
Many homeowners think that rather than updating, they’ll just list at a lower price to compensate. In some instances, this may make sense, especially when most of the value is in the land. However, it usually backfires in both net selling price and time on market. We don’t need statistics to back this up – see HGTV and AIC Appraisal Institute of Canada websites – we just need to know a few human traits.
Buyers are always looking for every chance to discount the price. They want move in ready. If buyers needs to do any upgrades themselves they will grossly inflate those costs and demand that it comes off the asking price, even if the asking price already took those needed upgrades into consideration!
So, the amount of the first price reduction is usually more than the cost of effective, prudent upgrades done beforehand. And worse, a price reduction is a red flag which excites the next human trait – spot any weakness and go for more concessions.
Let’s start with the most important room in the house:
The Kitchen
Once you decide to sell, don’t think of if as your house anymore. Look at it the way a buyer will.
A buyer eyeing a sad kitchen will say “We’ll have to get a whole new kitchen.” They’ll throw around ridiculous figures and lower their offer substantially. That’s the price of not doing the necessary updates.
On the other hand, if a homeowner updates too much, a buyer will say, “Thanks for the gourmet dream kitchen, but it’s overkill for the rest of the house and I’m not paying for it.” Don’t update beyond the neighbourhood ceiling values or make one room totally out of sync with the rest. Spread the budget around wisely.
Done wrong, kitchen upgrades can return less than 50% of the cost. Done right, they will return every penny and much, much more. It’s how the entire kitchen looks that counts, not just one element.
Not all kitchen upgrades require Quartz counters. That extra 3 or 4 thousand dollars would return far more if spread around on fresh paint, a little landscaping, some curb appeal, and simple, obvious repairs.
There is always a happy middle road that solves your problem areas and returns the most money on any upgrade. Part of our service is helping you find the right thing to do for your unique needs.
If you live in the Lower Mainland area of British Columbia and wish to spruce up your kitchen without the huge costs, give us a call for a refacing quote.