Renovating for selling
Getting ready to sell a home can be quite the task. One of the difficulties sellers often come across is an incertainty of what should be done to the home to increase its value or make it more appealing to buyers.
Some home renovations are considered necessary before selling, while others can be avoided entirely.
There are quick fixes and easy tricks to make a house look newer, fresher and more modern, but some renovations can easily date a house or personalize it to a degree where others may not be interested.
Julie Wiebke and Paula Carper with Lighthouse Real Estate, based in Holyoke, weighed in on what they recommend renovating and what sellers should skip before placing their house on the market.
Kitchens
Both Wiebke and Carper immediately recommended making changes to the home’s kitchen before selling.
“Getting the kitchen up to date would probably be the first priority,” Wiebke said. “It’s expensive, though, so if you can’t do a whole kitchen, do whatever you can with it.”
Carper noted that at the very least, doing some painting can help improve the appearance of the room.
According to HGTV, homeowners should do smaller, less expensive kitchen fixes rather than taking on large expensive jobs.
For example, rather than replacing all the cabinetry in the kitchen, try a fresh layer of paint as Carper suggested, or replacing individual parts such as cabinet doors or fixtures.
“I have a fairly large kitchen, and I just had my cabinets painted, and it was way less expensive than brand new cabinets,” Carper said. “But it gave the room a whole new look.”
Updating lighting fixtures in kitchens can also help brighten the room and give it a cleaner, more modern appearance.
Avoid swapping out all old appliances, as the cost can add up without providing much of a return in the end. Cleaning appliances, and replacing any that are visibly damaged or stained is a better plan than purchasing all new appliances for the whole room.
Even swapping out one old or stained appliance can increase the appeal and value of a home.
HGTV recommends avoiding installing built-in technology, noting that built-in electronics become obsolete quickly, and the custom cabinetry required to hold and conceal the equipment is rarely adaptable to newer, better products.
One thing several home design resources have emphasized in recent years is to avoid cabinetry that suspends the microwave over the stove.
Not only does that sacrifice ventillation, it limits access for many people such as children and some people with disabilities.
More accessible locations for a microwave include under cabinets, in a spare cabinet, below the kitchen counter or installed in an island.
Bathrooms
Bathrooms are another priority Wiebke suggests focusing on when making renovations.
Though bathrooms, like kitchens, can demand expensive repairs and renovations, it can be a big help when selling the house to make small renovations at the very least.
One of the important things to remember when updating a bathroom for resale is return on investment, and whether or not changes will be worth the cost.
For example, it may not be necessary to purchase and install a new bathtub before selling the home. HGTV recommends, instead of replacing an older tub with a brand new one, reglazing the tub can help improve its appearance and even make it look like new.
Wiebke and Carper both suggest a new layer of paint, whether it’s on the cabinets or the walls, to freshen up the space.
Features such as tiling, fixtures and the color scheme can be updated to make the bathroom look new and ready for sale.
Designing the bathroom with neutral colors that are easy for new homeowners to decorate and accessorize with can be a big help in making the bathroom a selling point.
HGTV even suggests going so far as to replace bathroom floors with heated tile, because while it is a bit on the expensive side, it will make a big impression on buyers.
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