What Projects are Worth the Money?

"We want to get the house ready to show. It needs some work, what should we fix first?"

This week I had the same conversation with three different clients. They want their homes to sell quickly and for full price. So do I! They each recognize that they need to get their homes in the best possible condition to garnish the best possible sale price. Where to begin and on what to spend their precious time and money is not always clear to homeowners.

Fortunately, your Friendly Neighborhood Real Estate Man has the answer!

in the summary charts to the right and below, the higher the percentage of return the better. So, if you spend $1,000 updating your kitchen, you can count on that adding value to your property at sale in an amount close to $795.00. The bathroom remodel (esp. the master bath) will come back to you at 74%. After that, the percentages drop off slightly with most returns centering in the mid-sixties percentile.

What about the exterior?
Drive up appeal is important right? WAY important it appears.

If the house was built prior to 2002 it's likely to need some or a LOT of attention to the siding. Wood fiber siding is fine until it looses the protection of it's coat of paint. Then the stuff turns into a sponge. As it swells with water it cracks, deteriorates, then abandons ship! A good carpenter can make replacing pieces of siding affordable, call J.T. for a referral.

Fences are very expensive. I've had clients replace whole fences before calling me. That's THOUSANDS of dollars, guys. Sometimes it might be necessary, but often a few hours of pay to the Handyman, some new pickets, a post or two, a gallon of stain and you're set! See why Your Agent Matters? On the other hand, I've had clients who were sure that everyone would like the linoleum their mom picked out for them and look at me like I'm nuts when I suggest that some affordable ceramic tile might be worth the expense. Seriously.

The bottom line is this: unless you've meticulously updated and maintained your home throughout its life, you're going to have some work to do in order to make the impact on the market you desire. Where to drop the big bucks and where to just plant some Pansies and Marigolds, that's where your Friendly Neighborhood Real Estate Man comes in!


This article by G.M. Filisko was a great source for this post. Next... the value of a pre-inspection (an inspection provided by a TREC licensed home inspector). The punchline? How can a inspection by All Pro Inspections, Inc. turn a $275.00 GFCI Outlet replacement into a $10 trip to the hardware store! Yes, I put the decimal in the right spot...