Are you uncertain as to whether you should renovate your home before selling it? This can be a difficult decision to make. Moreover, you also need to have a clear-cut budget in doing the renovation. Considering all these factors is essential since most buyers focus on the available features of the house, such as well-designed bathrooms and contemporary kitchens and bedrooms. You can’t blame them—they’re understandably hoping to get the best quality for their new home, as much as you’re aiming to set the right price for the sale.
Therefore, you’ll undoubtedly be fixated on deciding if you should spend money on renovation. If you find yourself in such a position, worry no more. Here’s an insightful post discussing whether fixing your home before selling it is the right option, or on the contrary, whether selling it as is will suffice.
What Does ‘Selling As Is’ Mean?
Before deciding to renovate your house, you need to understand what selling a home as is means. This refers to selling your home without doing any repairs. Therefore, the buyer will acquire the house in its current condition, and the renovation will be left up to them.
While it’s easy to assume that finding a buyer for this setup is a challenge, know that there’s a great demand for properties sold as is. The leading investors looking to buy these houses include:
- House flippers: These are investors looking for cheaper houses to buy, with the intent of reselling them immediately for a higher price.
- First-time home buyers: They often have limited finances, so they’re willing to buy a fixer-upper. Moreover, they’ll be more than happy to customize the house according to their preferences.
There are different scenarios when selling your house as is makes sense, including;
- When you don’t have time to do the repairs, and instead opt to sell your house fast for various reasons, such as getting your dream job from a far-flung place, thus requiring you to relocate to a different state within a limited duration.
- In cases when you don’t want to deal with the time-consuming and hectic processes involved in selling a property. These include presenting and staging your house.
- When you’re not in a position to afford the renovation costs.
How Much Value Does Home Improvement Add To Your Home?
If you decide to renovate your home before selling it, you need to determine how much value it adds. This is crucial because you’d only want to focus on the repairs that bring the greatest return on investment. However, the value that these repairs add to your home depends on several aspects, including;
- Regional disparities—buyers in a particular area might prioritize certain features over others. Therefore, you should focus on such repairs as these will directly impact the value of your home.
- The features of your home, such as furnishings and available rooms.
By addressing these factors, it will be easier to determine the renovations you need to prioritize. Some of the renovations that increase your home’s value include:
- Upgrading the garage doors
- Cleaning the basement
- Adding new flooring
- Renovating the bathroom
- Revamping the kitchen
- Changing fiber cement siding
- Repainting the walls
- Adding new lighting
- Fixing the walkway
Factors To Consider Before Renovating Your Home
Before you start renovating your home, there are a few factors you need to consider in gauging whether this is the right step to take. These factors are:
1. The Current Real Estate Market
The real estate market is cyclical. For most days, it favors the property sellers (sellers’ market), while in other cases, it becomes more suitable for buyers (buyers’ market). You need to understand this before proceeding with the renovation of your home. Also, you can employ the services of a realtor to teach you about the market’s current condition and map out an effective strategy in selling your home.
If it’s a seller’s market, then renovating your home to increase its value is advisable. But if it isn’t, you’ll probably be better off selling your house as is—since at this point, buyers won’t be willing to pay your named price due to the availability of numerous options in the market.
2. Potential Buyers
You should consider the house you’re selling as a product. This way, you’ll have an easier time determining your target buyers, and this will be key in deciding whether renovating your home yields a positive return on investment.
For instance, if the home you’re selling is a family home located in a serene neighborhood close to healthcare facilities, public transportation, and educational facilities, renovating it may be worthwhile. This is assuming the potential buyer is a family person, who isn’t ready to go through the hassle involved in repairing the house. They would rather pay more for convenience and move into a house that’s ready for occupancy.
3. The Condition Of Your House
Renovating the house might not be a prudent decision if your home needs a great deal of repair. In these situations, the best thing to do is to sell the property as is. Otherwise, you might end up spending a considerable sum of money on the renovation without getting a return on your investment. You might end up unearthing more issues with your property, hence spend more than you had initially planned.
Therefore, you need to assess your home’s condition carefully before deciding whether fixing it is sensible. This way, you’ll save yourself from problems that you could have easily avoided by selling your house as is, albeit at a lower price.
Takeaway
The goal in selling your home is, no doubt, to recoup as many benefits from your sale. A great way to achieve this is by doing the necessary renovations before listing your house for sale. However, there are times when this isn’t an option, and selling as is becomes the viable decision. Deciding on these two options can be very confusing, and understandably so.
Reading this guide and doing some research can help you decide properly on the matter. Ultimately, the decision will always be up to you since you’re more aware of your current situation and the more feasible options for it.