If you’ve lived in your home for a long period of time, chances are, you have a list of renovations that you were hoping to tackle. Maybe you needed a new bathroom vanity, or maybe the kitchen cupboards needed a little refresh?
Well, now that you’ve decided to sell your home and move, the question becomes, if it’s better to renovate your home or sell it as-is?
Let’s take a closer look…
Repairing Vs. Renovating
When we talk about renovations, we aren’t talking about necessary repairs that are required to ensure your home is healthy and safe. If there is anything in the home that presents a safety risk or health hazard, we strongly recommend taking care of that before listing.
A renovation is like a nice little something extra. Using the kitchen cupboards as an example, maybe your existing cupboards are perfectly functional but a little outdated. If you replace them, it won’t change the overall functionality of the kitchen, but newer cabinets may appeal more to buyers!
You Could Potentially Get More Money for Your House
Any seller’s goal is to get top dollar for their home. By fully preparing your property and making select improvements, you can actually increase the value of your home and, therefore, list it for more than you could without the renovations.
However, if this is a strategy you’re interested in, it’s important to consider the return on investment for the renovations you plan on making. You want to recoup the costs associated. And the fact is that many renovations are quite pricy, but don’t offer a great ROI when it comes to turning around and selling.
Some of the best ROI renovations to do are painting, outside landscaping, and minor bathroom and kitchen renos. Once you get into the bigger home renovations, the cost tends to get higher and the ROI tends to get lower.
Read our blog on best bang for your buck renovations here.
Should You Paint?
Although at the end of the day, the choice is yours, we often recommend a fresh coat of paint. This is a relatively inexpensive task that can have a big impact on the look of your home. This is especially true if your home is decorated with dark or vibrant colours currently.
Don’t Forget the Curb Appeal!
Landscaping is also an excellent renovation to improve curb appeal and get buyers interested in your home. What’s so great about landscaping is that you can complete it on a sliding scale. Perhaps you want to put in minimal effort–no problem! Just mulch the flower beds, clean up the lawn, and empty the gutters. Or maybe, you’d rather go all-out. You can plant some small trees and shrubs, re-seal the driveway, and more. Outdoor renovations are always a good idea because it’s the first impression a buyer will have of your home.
Are you planning a move? Take a look at some of our other top seller’s topics:
You Will Need to Get Started Much Sooner
If you’re planning to sell quickly, you do not want to get stuck doing renovations on your home. Renovating is only really viable for sellers who have taken the time to prepare their home before they want to list it. In many cases, planning things months or sometimes a year in advance.
The reason for this? It’s all related to supply and demand. Most renovations get completed by contractors, and while we might know some of the best contractors in the area, things can still get held up. Maybe the sink you want is on backorder, or there’s a holiday coming up and your contractor can’t get things done on a tight timeline.
When completing renovations, it’s best to not have inconceivable deadlines. So if you want to list your home relatively fast, it’s best to forgo renovations.
Small Things You Can Do
If full renovations are not feasible for you, never fear, there’s still a lot you can do to improve the appeal of your home without them. A few ways to enhance your home before selling include:
- Putting unused items in storage
- Having a garage sale to sell and declutter items no longer in use
- Taking advantage of decluttering services (or you can do it yourself! Check out our blog all about decluttering here)
- Staging your home with a professional staging service
