Improvements to Make Before Selling

Improvements to Make Before Selling your Massachusetts Home

One of the most asked questions is “Should I make improvements before selling my home”. The correct answer is maybe.

I wanted to share with you you today what improvements if any you should make when putting a Massachusetts house on the market.

The reason that the answer is ‘maybe’ is because each situation is different. For example, it most likely will not make any sense or return any value to refinish the hardwood floors for a house that will most likely be completely renovated.

So what should the golden rule be when it comes to making improvements before putting a home on the market in Massachusetts? You should only make an improvement if it will provide you a return over what you are investing or an improvement that will come up in a home inspection.

But even with possible Home Inspection Issues, I have to say that you must be careful. I can often times negotiate an amount less then what it would actually cost.

A recent example is a client of mine in Boston had a furnace that was at the end of its life and had asked if he should have it fixed. This process would end up costing my client in the $15k range and would not have offered any additional value to a buyer when the property is on the market. We were able to negotiate an amount of less than half and buying a home warranty.

The smaller stuff that you know about like broken window seals, loose cabinet doors or maybe plumbing or electrical issues are generally areas that you will want to address. Other areas that you will most likely always want to address before going on the market are any structural issues.

If you are doing improvements, then it is Cosmetic Improvements that you generally want to focus on.

It’s no secret, when it comes to selling a house its what is on the outside that counts. To a buyer, beauty is not what is inside the walls!

So the question becomes, what should we do in order to prepare to put our house on the market.

The first and most important thing no matter the condition of a property is decluttering and depersonalizing. No matter what condition the house is in, people need to be able to see the space. Clutter and too much personalization can detract from someone seeing the space that you are offering to the market.

Let’s talk about the big projects like Kitchens and Baths. If you are redoing a Kitchen and want maximum return, then you need to be ready to follow through with everything in the property. That means doing baths, floors and painting as well. However, many times we can do a quick refresh and get a big bang for our buck.

What type of refresh? Maybe a quick change of hardware or changing from laminate to granite. Another high return investment in some cases is painting the cabinets.

One of the highest return areas for improvements is fresh paint… In Neutral colors of course. But be careful, today light grays are in, but tomorrow it might be a light beige!

So, what should someone do before putting their house on the market? This is a tough question and there really isn’t a one answer for all statement. Each situation is different. One of the biggest factors a person needs to put into the ‘is it worth it equation’ is the actual process and disruption to life in order to get it done. Not to mention the upfront cost of the actual improvement.

This is why it can make sense to talk with an agent early in the putting your home on the market process. In our pre-listing process, we will even bring in a stager to not only help you maximize your sales price, but minimize the hassle so that a homeowner is only doing the things that will give them maximum return.

Again, my name is Jeffrey Chubb, and my team the Chubb Realty Group is brokered by eXp Realty. If you should have any questions about your home and things you can do to prep it for sale and maximize your return on improvements then let’s chat. You can reach me at 617.480.2600 or by email at [email protected]. 

Improvements to Make Before Selling