How much work do I need to do before selling my house?
When you first decide to sell your house, you need to start with an honest conversation with yourself about the condition of your home. I don’t mean whether it has the latest trend in countertops. I mean is it clean, is it maintained, is anything broken. If you think a buyer is going to ignore that ceiling stain or the home inspector won’t notice that loose stair tread, you are practicing wishful thinking and it will hold up the sale of your home.
Sounds a bit harsh, I know, but it’s true. My job is to tell you the truth.
So, once you’ve had that honest, thorough look at your home, how do you decide how much work to do to it before putting it on the market? For example, how do you decide if there needs to be repainting and home repairs/renovations done versus minor cosmetic changes?
There are three factors I consider when advising sellers on this question.
Is anything that should be working, not working? Buyers are not going to be enthusiastic about accepting a “credit” for a new dishwasher. They want a working dishwasher.
What was the condition of the similar homes that sold recently in the neighborhood? That tells us what buyers expect to see at the price point the sellers want. Do they expect refinished hardwood floors or fresh paint? Then you may need to provide them, or lower your list price.
Your time, talent, and treasure. We all have a finite but differing amount of each. If you can paint a room yourself and have the time to do it, that might free up funds for the electrical repair you should not do yourself. But if you are maxed out on all three, we just have to adjust the price.
It is so important to answer these questions and make your decisions before listing. “Testing the market” to see if buyers are turned off by the dingy carpet or faded paint rarely works. You get the most exposure the first week after you list. If buyers don’t like what they see in online photos, they will not tour your home. If you decide to make upgrades after listing, we can re-photograph the affected rooms, but the listing will still be seen as stale by buyers. Put your best foot forward right from the beginning for the best results.
You don’t need to be overwhelmed by the process. I am here to help you all the way through. You can get a jump start by downloading a market preparation guide here. Or just call me at 646-898-6901.
Curious about how I help sellers manage their preparations? Download an an excerpt from a plan I recently created for clients, partially redacted. I created this plan for them to supplement my general market preparation guide. It reflects their available time and funds, as well as their price goal. You’ll see each task is ranked in order of importance so if they run out of time, they will still have completed the items with the biggest impact.