The net. Let’s talk about the net, and I don’t mean the 1995 Sandra Bullock movie. The net is, when selling your house, almost certainly what matters the most to you. At the end of the process, how much money did you net. How much did the buyer pay. How much were your closing costs. How much did you have to concede during inspections. How much did it cost to prep the house. All of those factor into the net, and ultimately it’s all about the net.
Home prep, being one of the larger of the variables above, is often make-or-break when it comes to how successful the whole endeavor will be and what your net results are. You can horribly overspend by doing a full gut renovation to get the house ready, or you can horribly underspend by doing, well, nothing. In the middle of all that are the things that can be used as levers to create positive return on investment. Nobody thinks spending $100k for a fancy kitchen upgrade to get a sale price that’s $50k higher is good math, so what does bring the most bang for the buck? A few general thoughts:
- The big stuff, like full-blown kitchen and bathroom remodels? You’re probably getting 50 cents on the dollar. If you’re going to tackle kitchens and bathrooms, keep it modest. New counters, fixtures and (maybe) appliances will give you a better chance of getting your money back.
- Paint, lighting, and flooring go a very long way to freshen a house and make it pop in the photos. None of those are what I’d call cheap projects, but they create noticeable changes and are comparatively modest in price. For paint go neutral (please no more gray), for lights go warm, and it’s important that the color temperatures of your bulbs match. Floors don’t have to be perfect, and chances are your buyer will have a different idea about what type of floor they want anyway. They just shouldn’t be a distraction, or in such poor condition that it shows in the photos.
- Landscaping and curb appeal. The first photo of your house will be the exterior, and if you’re not catching eyeballs as buyers are scrolling Zillow you lose them forever. Outdoor maintenance is often the best way to get an emotional reaction from a buyer, and doesn’t have to be expensive at all. For hundreds to low thousands of bucks you can have your front and back yards professionally cleaned up, driveway and walkways pressure washed, roof cleaned, front door painted, and anything else that will make your house look its best. This WILL attract buyers. It’s shocking to me how often I see a listing where little attention was paid to the exterior. At least mow the lawn!
- Clean, declutter, then clean some more. A dirty house is a distraction, and it makes buyers wonder what else you haven’t taken care of. Hire professional cleaners. Personal effects in the house get in the way of buyers seeing the house as theirs. If you’re selling your house while living in it, start packing– you’re going to have to pack anyway. Go to any big box store and buy a lot of medium-size boxes (medium is the most functional, and you can stack all of them together), then start filling them up and put them in the garage or in a storage unit. There won’t be any photos of your garage, so go nuts and use the space. Once your house looks like an Airbnb, you’re ready.
- If you’re selling a vacant house, have it professionally staged. This is pure marketing and doesn’t really have anything to do with the condition of the home, but it does help buyers visualize the home at its best. Unfortunate as it is to say, but most of us don’t have great imaginations. Staging companies, who employ professional designers, help achieve the vision. It’ll cost a few thousand bucks but I believe it’s well worth it.
Most buyers aren’t expecting brand-new– at least those who aren’t shopping for new construction– and the term “move-in ready” is broader than many think. In most cases they just don’t want major projects that have to be done right away, nor do they want 1000 minor projects (otherwise known as deferred maintenance). Also, since we’re all emotional creatures, marketing matters.
Your job, and more specifically your Realtor’s job, when selling your house and trying to maximize your return, is to reduce buyer objections at a cost that makes sense. A lazy or bad Realtor will tell you to fix or update everything. A good one will take a holistic view of the house and make recommendations that will bring out the best without breaking the bank, and not to turn your house into something it isn’t. Your house should strive to be the best version of what it is. You want buyers to feel good about it when they see the pictures and even better about it (dare I say, warm and fuzzy) when they visit the house.
Twenty-five years of marketing experience has taught me that the product has to live up to the pitch. You can’t fake it, people can smell that. You also have to be selling something that makes sense, which means don’t try and sell a $200k kitchen in a $400k house. It doesn’t make sense. The points above are pretty adaptable to any house, and will make any house better at a reasonable cost. Pretty simple concept when you think about it, right?
