A few things to consider before you answering the question of to upgrade or not are the competing inventory, the type of market, and your return on investment.
Competing Inventory - What are the other homes on the market around you like? Do they all have updated kitchens and your's doesn't? Is yours the only house with only one bathroom? Before deciding on whether to upgrade or not, it is important to know what your home will be competing against. If your home is seen as needing remodeled compared to the other homes, your home will naturally sell for less. Most buyers prefer a home they can move into with minimal effort. Because of that, a home needing more work will attract fewer buyers and sell for less. Ideally, to sell your home for the most money, your home would be near the top of the homes available, but not the top home either. You never want to have the nicest home in the neighborhood because you will never get what you should when you try to sell it. If you have a million dollar home in a $500,000 neighborhood you most likely won't find a million dollar buyer.
Type of Market - The market plays a big role in your decision to upgrade. Is the market hot, neutral or cold? In a neutral and cold market, upgrades will pay off more. It goes back to competition again. Anytime you are selling a home you want to think of other homes on the market as your competition. The more competition, the more it will take to get your home noticed and to make it stand out. If there's 100 homes for sale and only 50 buyers, your home better be in the top 50 homes or priced low enough to be attractive. If the market is hot, like it is now, upgrades, especially major ones, won't pay off as much.
Return on Investment - If you are only making upgrades to help you sell your home, you don't want to spend $20,000 to sell your home for an extra $10,000. Makes sense right? The competing inventory and type of market both play a role in your return on investment, but the types of upgrades matter as well. You might love cars and have an incredible car collection, but adding a 6 car garage won't have a very good return on investment.
So what home improvements give the greatest return on investment?
Kitchens and bathrooms are always at the top of this list. These are the two areas of the home people spend a lot of time in and they want these rooms to be nice. However, major kitchen and bathroom upgrades tend to move much lower on the list. (By major, think of a bathroom remodel over $50,000) So when you are looking to upgrade a kitchen or bathroom think upgrades not remodels. Can you paint the old dated kitchen cabinets instead of replacing them? New appliances are always a nice touch, but don't put a $10,000 stove in a $300,000 home. New faucets, shower heads and light fixtures can spruce up an old bathroom. Large walk-in showers are becoming very popular with homebuyers and bath tubs are on their way out. Will your master bathroom allow you to replace the tub and expand the shower at a reasonable price?
Garage Doors - This is one many people don't think about, but a new garage door can typically fetch over 100% of it's cost. Why? Think curb appeal, which I'll discuss more in a bit.
Manufactured Stone Veneer - This is another curb appeal upgrade that can fetch close to 100%.
Entry Door - The first thing people will see and touch when they enter your home will be the entry door. It sets the stage for the home and if it is worn down, stained, cracked or just looks plain boring, replacing it is a great upgrade. If you already have a nice door, you might get buy with a fresh coat of paint or adding a splash of color to your exterior.
Curb Appeal - This isn't a specific item, but it is the first thing people see when they see your house. First impressions matter. Psychologists say that we make up our mind about people within 15 seconds of meeting them. And the same is true when viewing a house. Most buyers will have already made a decision on your home before walking through the front door. You might be able to wow them and change their mind after they get in, but that is always harder than wowing them before they get in. When making a large purchase, we tend to focus on the negatives in order to eliminate the ones we don't want to buy. When a buyer walks into your home, they are looking to see what is wrong with it so they can move on to finding their dream home. If your home lacks curb appeal, they have already found several negatives before even setting foot in your home. So clean up the yard, paint or pressure wash the outside, plant some new shrubs or trim back the old ones, fix the cracks in the driveway and make your house look great!
If your home could use some upgrades, I'd look at the areas mentioned above first in order to get the best return on your investment. However, there are certain minimum maintenance issue that need to be taken care of before you sell your home. So if you have a budget to spend on upgrades, start with these issues first then decide what you can remodel with what you have left
1 - Patch holes and cracks in the walls and ceilings.
2 - Fix all broken appliances and HVAC systems.
3 - Repair leaky faucets.
4 - Replace worn or stained carpeting.
5 - Repaint dark or marred walls with a neutral paint color.
6 - Replace broken window glass.
7 - Repair the roof.
8 - Change out any dated light fixtures / ceiling fans.
9 - Replace old drapes and window coverings.
10 - Fix any code violations.
Buyers expect a certain minimal standard when they are buying a home and anytime a home doesn't meet those minimum standards they can really be turned off from your home. An upgraded kitchen is nice and maybe desired, but a working HVAC system and walls without holes are expected.
In todays' extremely hot seller's market, upgrades and remodels won't fetch as high of a return on investment. So keep your budget low and focus on the most desired upgrades.
And of course, call me. I'd be happy to come walk through your home and make recommendations and discuss the specifics with you.
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