Deferred maintenance and lack of updates can significantly and adversely impact a property’s value. Surprisingly the actual cost to renovate the property may be far less than the price adjustments you will make in attracting a buyer when it is time to sell. These FIVE STEPS will help you make an informed decision when Renovating to Sell.

By Tracey Barrett

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Consult your Financial Professionals

Before you jump into renovations, it is important to have a conversation with your financial planner, accountant, and, if appropriate, your estate will and trust attorney. Together you should address your goals for making this move and how, financially, you will accomplish these goals. Questions to ask include:

Can you move out of the subject property into the new property so your life is not interrupted by the renovations?
How will you pay for the renovations?
Do you need to sell this property in order to purchase the next property?

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Property Condition and Data Evaluation

Call your real estate broker or agent. This step is a crucial, early step as your real estate agent will take an objective look at your property, prepare a comparative market analysis (CMA), in order to explain the market conditions in not only your region but also your neighborhood. From these data the range of the market pricing, sales and condition of property is established. Your agent may recommend getting a pre-listing home inspection with the intention of identifying any major defects that need repair and ultimately impact your decisions on where to invest your remodeling dollars.

Having established the range of sales price potential in conjunction with property condition, together you can determine what, if any, are the best investments and upgrades for the property to get the best return on the sale of your property.  Collect estimates from contractors for the spectrum of work. Working together with your financial professional for your budget, and reviewing the market sales price ranges with your agent, you can determine the best investments and scope of work to get the highest possible return on your investment when the property sells.

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Organizing and Making Space

Getting organized is tough! Great news, there are professionals that help you formulate a customized plan and, if necessary, can help you work towards downsizing, donating, selling and throwing away your personal possessions. There are professional organizers, estate sales professionals, junk removal companies, portable storage companies, and moving companies. Work with your real estate agent to identify companies that most closely align with your personality, emotions and moving goals. Part of the business of selling a property is being efficient with the preparation of the property. These professionals will help you with this most difficult, daunting, and emotionally draining portion of this journey.

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Repairs, Updates and Renovations

Early on you identified the range of sales prices that corresponded with the conditions of housing in your neighborhood. You also identified the true, current condition of your property. After consultation with your financial professionals and real estate agent you determined whether selling completely as-is or investing in contracted work from basic repairs all the way to a full on remodel makes sense with an appropriate return on your investment.

Generally speaking repairs and remodels should be approached in the following order: Safety, Proper Function and Working Order, Updates, and Upgrades. At all times work should be completed by an appropriately licensed or certified professional and permits, when required, should be pulled.

Payment for these renovations can include pay-as-you-go and, for larger some larger jobs, some contractors will allow you to pay for the work with the proceeds at the time of settlement/closing of the sale of your property. 

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Marketing Strategy and Plan

The very first step in the active preparation of a property to be released to the active real estate market is to have a very deep cleaning. This is not your “every-other-week” cleaning. This cleaning should include wiping out the inside of all the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, cleaning the interior of all your appliances, cleaning the windows inside and out, wiping down baseboards, and more. Your carpets should be professionally cleaned by a reputable company. Out of all your investments, even in an as-is sale, the expense of a clean property will always get the return on investment in price point.

Once the cleaning is finished, there is a spectrum of home staging that can and should occur. According to the HomeStagingResource.com, 85% of staged homes sold for 6.25% more than un-staged homes according to their 2018 HSR Survey of over 4,200 homes. If your agent and you are not staging, you are leaving money on the table.

Lastly is the production of media to publicly market the property. This can include photography, videography, floor plans, virtual tours and more. the goal of every marketing plan should be to COMPEL a buyer to come see and purchase your property. Falling flat on the presentation on of the property can cost a Seller thousands of dollars. Your agent should have a proven marketing plan individualized for your property and neighborhood.

For a video example of the FOCUS on NoVA Real Estate® team and Century 21 Redwood Realty’s Redwood Rewards, click the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-QBCpmeiJ8