Last week we talked about what you should be doing six months out from listing or selling your home. So now let’s look at the reverse…what NOT to do.
Don’t go above and beyond
You know that list that your Realtor gave you about what needs to be fixed and what doesn’t? Don’t go above and beyond. What does that mean? Well, fix and update where they say needs it. Your Realtor understands the return on investment of updates and upgrades to your home.
What they don’t want you to do is to start ripping and tearing everything out like you’re on Property Brothers on HGTV! Most renovations won’t give you much bang for your buck. This is especially true if you are doing renovations to your specific taste. Sure, baths and kitchens usually do give you a decent ROI, but that pink tile and $800+ bidet you’ve been dying to get for your bathroom that you just KNOW buyers will LOVE will most likely kill off any money you should have seen from the renovation.
Don’t DIY the renovations
Another don’t: unless you are truly a professional in the home renovation field, don’t do any renovations yourself. Sure it looks easy on HGTV or DIY Network. It’s not and you could very quickly find yourself in way over your head. Leaving projects unfinished is much worse for your home’s value than not updating in the first place. Not to mention that what you destroy you’re going to have to pay a lot more to fix than if you paid a professional in the first place.
Think plumbing fix that ended up in a flood ruining carpeting and hardwoods. Now you have to fix the plumbing AND the flooring. But even if you don’t have any disasters, the long reaching consequences will have a future buyer shelling out more later to fix your fixes.
Actually, the only DO that I’ll say here that you should do is STOP WATCHING fix-it networks. Your future buyer will thank you!