Ready to Sell Your Maple Grove Home: What to Fix?
This is an age old question that I get from sellers of Maple Grove Homes often. I am getting ready to sell my house, what should I fix to help it sell faster, for more money, easier? It is very common for home sellers to ask these questions. It also common to have real estate agents suggest fixes they perceive will help the property during the listing. There are many answers to this question.
Let’s begin with the easy ones. Anything that required by the City of Maple Grove or building code must be fixed. Pretty simple! Get those items done immediately. Even leaving them undone when you put your home on the market (waiting till you get an offer to do the repairs), will make some buyers suspicious of what else you have neglected. Some inexperienced buyers may not even make an offer based upon the work to be done. So get the legal stuff done prior to listing the property.
In some situations, doing no repairs or changes to you house may be your best course of action. You have hated the color of that bathroom for years, how do you know the next Maple Grove Home buyer will? Why change it? The kitchen has not been updated since the house was built. Maybe it needs granite counter tops. Is the buyer interested in granite? How do you know they will like your color/material choices? Maybe your buyer is looking for a less expensive home that they can renovate themselves to their tastes.
Look at the possible repair or upgrade in the context of the entire house. Is this repair or upgrade going to look strange with the remainder of the items that I have not repaired? I have been in Maple Grove homes for sale that had wonderful new kitchens, but then old carpet and old bathrooms in the rest of the house. Alternatively, if you have renovated the remainder of the house, but left the ugly grandma wallpaper in the entryway because you were too frightened of the project, is not a good idea either.
If you decide to do a repair or upgrade, chose it wisely. As I mentioned above, don’t leave a leaking roof and instead spend $25k on a new kitchen. Replace the aging furnace instead of upgrading the bathroom. Buyer’s notice mechanical systems. With Home Depot around, everyone feels like they can update a bathroom! When you chose to upgrade/rehab, chose neutral colors and surfaces that are appropriate for your age and price of home.
When in doubt, fix the small things. These include leaking faucets, torn screens, broken trim, cracked windows, doors that don’t open or close.
And probably more important that any fixes is: cleaning! Clean like your life depended upon it. Clean under and on top of places you have never been. If you are not good at it, pay a cleaning company. $200 can go a long way to making your property look much more presentable and appealing.
Related to cleaning is picking up the clutter. Get rid of that stack of books or magazines you have been meaning to read. Put your excess clothes, books, bookshelf items in a box and ship it off-site. Remove some extra furniture.
Use common sense and don’t spend the big bucks unless you need to. Give me a call if you looking to list your Maple Grove Real Estate. I am happy to come out and give you my opinion on what to fix and not to fix!
I am a licensed Realtor in the State of Minnesota. This website is not a multiple listing service, but each Minnesota & Minneapolis real estate agent is a member of the Regional MLS of MN, inc., a provider of the Minnesota MLS.
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