It is overwhelming to try to figure out what you need to do to get a home ready for sale. 

  • Do I fix this, do I not fix that? 
  • Am I wasting my time and money? 
  • Will I get a good rate of return? 
  • How do I distinguish the difference? 

Here are five things that you don’t need to do when you’re selling your house. 

There are some things you should do when selling your home, even in a hot seller’s market. However, there are some fixes you do not need to do since they won’t raise your sale price. It’s not worth the time, or the money invested. Here are some suggestions on how you can make sure you get the most out of your home. 

1. Don’t remodel your kitchen and bathrooms. 

Please don’t do it now if you haven’t done it for your enjoyment while you live there. You’ve always wanted to do it, but now you think you’re going to do it for someone else. It may not be acceptable to them. They may not like the white counters and white cabinets. They may prefer gray or another color. If you want to remodel your kitchen and bathroom for your enjoyment do it, but if you think it’s for a future buyer you are better off giving them a credit or reducing the price of the home for the buyer to do the renovation.  My suggestion: Painting your kitchen or bathroom a neutral color is one thing you can do and/or change the hardware on the cabinets to give it a fresh look. And, clean it thoroughly, It must sparkle.

2. Don’t replace the flooring. 

A buyer may want something completely different than you would install, so don’t do it unless you’ve done it for your own pleasure. My suggestion: If your carpet is old and worn and just doesn’t look as good as you would like, we’ll take it out. Purchase an inexpensive builder-grade carpet and have it installed. It’s great looking and will look fresh to a new buyer and carpet is the easiest flooring to remove for any improvement a new buyer may want. If a buyer wants to change the flooring, all they have to do is rip up the carpet, rather than getting jackhammers to remove tile or wood floors. 

3. Don’t replace the roof. 

If there are leaks, or it needs to be repaired, you must do that for a new buyer to get insurance. But don’t replace it unless you want to do it for your enjoyment. A new owner may not want the type of roof you installed. You put on a shingle roof and, they may want metal, or maybe tile. My suggestion: If you have a roof at its end of life and not leaking, give them credit towards a new roof. In Florida, roofs are significant for hurricane protection and one of the first major items a buyer looks at when purchasing a home. 

4. Don’t fix beyond the value of the neighborhood you live in. 

For instance, if all the homes in your neighborhood have tile and carpet, and you decide to do Italian marble, you’re not going to get a return on this extravagant upgrade. If you have planted lush beautiful landscaping, don’t expect a big return rate if everyone else in the neighborhood has only a couple of trees and very simple landscaping. My suggestion: make sure you stay with the trend of your neighborhood unless you wanted to do these upgrades while you’re living there for your enjoyment. 

5. Don’t fix or do a partial repair. 

For instance, you’re living in a home where the bathroom needs to be replaced or remodeled. Maybe some of the tiles are awful. If it’s not causing water intrusion, don’t bother replacing them. If you do a partial repair, a buyer will think this is condition throughout the entire house. My suggestion: Identify there is a problem when listing your home for sale on the multiple listing service. Buyers are much more likely to accept a credit, and make you a good offer for your home, since you have identified the issue up front.  Please make sure the description of your home describes your home on the Multiple Listing Service.

So now let’s talk about some things you should do when you are selling your home. 

The five items that are a good rate of return when selling your home

1. Painting inside and out

Paint puts a smile on your home when it’s photographed for online marketing.  Make sure to do something neutral. Don’t do wild, trendy colors. Do what we call grayish. Something very neutral which will most likely match any furniture the new owner may have. And, clean, it!  This refreshes the whole home making it inviting to a potential buyer.

2. Declutter 

Get rid of things, this is the time to purge, it will make your home look bigger, and be less you have to move to your new home. Less is more. Get rid of things, and make your home look bigger. Less is more. 

3. Depersonalize

Buyers don’t want to see your family, unless they’re nosy and, many are.  Let them see themselves in the home, and remove your personal items and photos. 

4. Clean it

Do a deep cleaning. If it smells, it won’t sell. But if it’s clean and sparkles that really compensates for a lot of things which may need to be done to the home. Everyone likes clean and this also shows the home has been well cared for! 

5. Landscaping

Clean up and prune your yard and add mulch.

More Resources:

Search for homes on the Treasure Coast🏝:

  • North Palm Beach
  • Jupiter
  • Jupiter Island
  • Hobe Sound
  • Stuart
  • Palm City
  • Hutchinson Island
  • Jensen Beach
  • Sewall’s Point
  • Port St Lucie
  • St. Lucie West
  • Tradition

And many more visit: https://www.LifestyleRealtyGroup.com