Many people are actually refinancing their homes to do the remodels and going into serious debt to pay for the work. They are essentially financing the remodel for significantly longer than most trendy improvements, i.e. granite countertops (yes, granite will go out of fashion. I believe it has already started to wane.) and stainless steel appliances.
This leads us to our first rule.
1. If you have to refinance to pay for the work, you can’t afford it.
2. Clean up. It’s a lot of work, but worth the time. Clean, orderly homes always resell better.
3. Get rid of junk. When I have my houses for sale there is nothing sitting on the floor or impeding traffic flow even in the closets.
4. Remove wallpaper and put up soft neutral paint inside and out. Modern buyers do not like wallpaper.
5. Pay more attention to street appeal than interior decorating. Cute houses resale better and faster than other houses.
This last point…the one about street appeal…is the biggest one you need to have on your side if you need to resale fast.
How your house looks from the street matters more than your interior.
If buyers don’t like the outside they won’t even come in to see what you have done inside.
If you own a house that has no street appeal in a good neighborhood you might have a great chance to make money even in a slowing real estate market.
But how do you get street appeal?
It is tough. Just ask all the builders who are stuck with inventories of unsold homes.
Street appeal is a moving target. Here are some strategies and recommendations.
1. Try to improve the landscaping pushing it out enough to frame the house rather than hiding it.
2. Make a nice wide path to the door.
3. Paint and use more than one color.
4. Make sure all colors work together including the roof.
5. Add some rock.
6. Frame out windows.
7. Stay true to the architecture of the house both inside and out.
You can no longer just throw a house up for sale and expect it to be easy. You have to work at it. Those first days the property is on the market can never be done over. Do your homework and don’t put your house on the market until it is ready.
Clean it up, price it competitively and make it the cutest house on the block.
Tags: firs, good neighborhood, granite countertops, impeding traffic, moving target, neutral paint, remodel, stainless steel appliances, street appeal, traffic flow