Makeover tips that can sell your home |
| By Jay MacDonald
• Bankrate.com |
|
We've all seen those fashion faux pas: muscle shirts that only accentuate middle-age spread or tight low-cut jeans that turn
soccer moms into muffin-top casualties.
You can make a home unfashionable in the same way by choosing the wrong presale improvements.
Few real estate agents will object to any upgrades made to your house prior to putting it on the market. But rushing ahead with
improvements you think will elevate the asking price can seriously deplete financial reserves that should be used to fix more
fundamental flaws.
"Buyers are discerning, and they're in the driver's seat right now," says Pat Combs, president of the
National Association of Realtors. "I'm doing walk-throughs a lot lately to help sellers determine what things make sense to do
and what things don't. You can do other things in a home where it's not appropriate, but just don't ever expect to get your
investment back out."
Combs recalled one case in point involving clients who installed a swimming pool before listing their house.
"First of all, there are no swimming pools in the neighborhood, and second, the price point is such that they're never going to
get their investment out because that neighborhood doesn't attract people who want pools," she says. "Sometimes, they call us
too late."
Making targeted improvements
There are age-appropriate makeovers based on the vintage of your home that may yield a faster sale at a better price. Such targeted
improvements also save you money when compared to full-monty, state-of-the-art renovations throughout the home.
"The market we're in right now, people are looking at the price per condition," says
Rick LeForce, a real estate broker with
1st USA Realty in Scottsdale, Ariz. "People are going through the home like detectives. If it hasn't
been landscaped properly, if the home doesn't flow, even if it doesn't smell right, they'll pass."
A great starting point, says Sid Davis, a Salt Lake
City real estate broker and author of "Home Makeovers That Sell,"
is to spring for a pre-sale home inspection. At an average cost
of $300 to $350, you can find your home's flaws, have a handyman
fix them and document the work in a pre-sale buyer's folder.
 |
| Average cost of home improvements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
