Our house is personal to us. The way we arrange everything in the house, from ornaments in the yard to the interior furniture, is the reflection of our personality and our lifestyle. And at some moments in life, we have to let go what we love most, and our house can be one of them.
Getting the best deal for a place that means a lot to us is a must. For selling a house, there might be some suggestions about house improvement that you need to hear first before deciding to open a price. You will not believe how a little remodeling and retouching on the house details can skyrocket the house’s price.
When do you need to renovate
Renovating the house before selling is always a good idea in terms of aesthetic purpose, and general repairs will always bring you a good deal. But for a total house makeover with a hope that you will get the most profit out of the sale, the rule will be different.
The price competitiveness in the neighborhood
First thing first, you need to know the average price of other houses in your neighborhood. San Fransisco and New Yor City are the examples where only general renovation is necessary. The value of the estates there is already high.
But if you live somewhere else, areas that fall into ‘average’ category, you can check the average price of the local property from either newspaper or estate agency. For example, in Ontario, Canada, Oakville is known as the neighborhood dominated by colonial architectural design. It has its unique selling aspect, but it might be appealing only to the enthusiasts of that specific architectural style.
The hype on the property market
There are hypes of architectural design. Once it was log home, with its dominant wood element, that was famous in not so long ago, 2016. Then contemporary style with an exposed bridge in the yard, and a visible shared place dominated 2017. Inquire what is in hype on the market by browsing through architectural magazines or sites. DETAIL, Architectural Review, are two big names on the subject.
General renovation
When you do not need to have a total makeover for your house, the general maintenance should start from the floors and the walls. If you have been ignoring the unmatched floor tiles all of these years, then it is time to correct them.
Rejuvenation of walls and floors can raise the price of your house by fifteen percents. And that is quite a profit, isn’t it?
An interior painting will cost you from 3,000 to 5,000 USD. Avoid cutting the budget by doing it by yourself. It will surely waste your time if you fail. Besides, hiring a professional painter will give you an opportunity to consult what colors are fashionable on the property market.
Then, go check on the roof. Replace every broken shingle and fix any roof leakage. Color also matters in this case. If you make a change in the exterior of the house, your roof color must follow.
The last is the building line and plumbing system. Make sure that no pipe is worn out, and everything is in good shape. Clogging and leakage decrease your property value by 30%.
Total Makeover
When you decide to have a total makeover, hire a contractor that can handle everything in one project. Do not split the tasks to several contractors because it will raise the cost, and thus decrease your profit.
Plan ahead of time for this project, since it is going to take some time and considerable cost. Make sure everything is well calculated, and you are not going to end up with an overly-qualified property with a price too high to sell.
