What adds value…

September 21st, 2009 by admin

Frankly, most improvements other than kitchen and bath updates have an even lower return on investment. So your best bet is usually to address past neglected maintenance items that are more obvious in nature and to address curb appeal issues.

Following is my list of items to consider:

Pressure wash and re-paint the exterior as required (be aware of issues with masonite siding of EFIS/Dryvit)
Paint the front door a contrasting (but tastefully bold) color
Remove dead plants from the landscape & Trim shrubs
Keep lawn neatly mowed and trimmed
Add pots of color (flowers) near entrance
Remove wall paper and re-paint as required using neutral to earth-tone colors (beige/khaki better than white)
Clean-clean-clean — Windows in particular should sparkle!
Professionally clean carpets and work on removing any stains
De-clutter… de-clutter… de-clutter (if you don’t need it now, sell it, give it away or pack it)
Check out major systems to know about possible issues ahead of time … Think about having a Pre-Sale Home Inspection performed and providing this information to the potential buyers
Offer a Home Warranty to the Buyer

So why do maintenance now?

If maintenance items don’t add value why would you want to do them for the purchaser … Why not let the purchaser address those items and reflect the cost to do so in your purchase price? Experience shows that unaddressed maintenance items will generally detract from the final negotiated price by a factor of 2 to 1. That is the purchaser will want to deduct about twice the costs of the maintenance items as it would cost you the homeowner to do them ahead of marketing the property. The larger the list of items that need addressing, regardless of how minor they may seem, the larger this discount ratio grows. Enough unaddressed maintenance items and you will loose the part of the market willing to make you the better offers and be left to deal with only those folks wanting the “Deal!” Or even, worse have a home that doesn’t sell!