So, how do you get more value for your current home? Three words: real estate agent. OK, actually four words: experienced real estate agent.
If you’re thinking about selling your home, part of the planning process should involve a thoughtful, in-depth discussion with your listing agent about the way in which you can increase the value of your home through return-on-investment (ROI)-generating upgrades.
When I meet with clients, we always strategize how to get more value from their current property and together, we’ll determine the best way forward by taking these factors into consideration:
- Goals – What are your real estate goals in terms of the investments you’re willing to make and potential value you’d like to recoup from your current property?
- Budget – How much do you want to spend on potential renovations or upgrades?
- Timing – Can you delay the sale of your home to make these updates before we put your house on the market?
- Convenience – Is your current living situation amenable to potential disruptions due to construction or even moving out of the home for a designated period of time?
Once those determinations are set, we’ll put together a detailed timeline with the upgrades you’d like to make. And again, the extent of a remodel depends on goals, budget, timing and convenience.
I can think of two recent projects that are perfect examples of this value-generating strategy put to work. For one property, we brought in Zoom Casa, a custom home-renovation company, to complete an extensive remodeling project. The sellers moved out of the house as massive, six-figure updates got underway to completely transform the condition of the property. Once these upgrades are finished, the seller should see a 3x return on their investment. Not bad, right?
In the other property, we’re focused more on smaller, cosmetic fixes, and this is totally in my real estate wheelhouse. I have teams of high-quality professionals who can do anything and everything to a home about to be put on the market, including: painting, repairs, landscaping, carpeting, wallpaper, junk removal. At this listing, I’m orchestrating every part of the project, right down to planning the estate sale and deciding which items should be included and what we should donate. It’s all part of the process to clean out and declutter the property, and it’ll positively impact the listing price.
Of course, not all agents have this longer-term mindset, so if your goal is to increase the value of your property and garner a higher listing price, it’s important that you work with a real estate professional who isn’t just going to throw your house on the MLS and call it a day. You’ll want an agent who provides that concierge-style service and can really help you put together a custom strategy that will maximize your home’s value. If you have the budget and the time, it’s always worth it in the end.
I often see this working most advantageously during trust sales or family-owned properties, where the home might have been very high-end in its day, but the interiors are now 20 or 30 years old and could use some freshening up. In this case, it’s not about gutting the kitchens and bathrooms but adding those smaller, modern touches like removing old wallpaper, painting cabinets in the bathroom and kitchen, and changing out the pulls/hardware to give the space a completely refreshed, move-in ready look for not a lot of money. As I always say, people will pay more if they feel like they can move in today.
These kinds of ROI-generating upgrades are really the bread and butter of my business, and what I love to help clients achieve. And I can work within any budget – whether a seller wants to put in $20,000 or $200,000 – to create a space that’s not only more welcoming and modern but also worthy of a higher price. One of my fantastic sellers invested about $35,000 to update their home and it amounted to at least $250,000 more in the final sales price. Talk about a great investment!
And even if there isn’t any budget, we’ll still make it work. We can clean up the house, set up virtual staging and find ways to present the home in its very best light.
That is just one of the many value-add services a listing agent provides. They’ll tell you if a property really is a teardown (in which case, you probably shouldn’t bother with upgrades) or if it’s a liveable property and a solid house, exactly how to transform it to optimize its full potential … and value. Not every buyer wants or needs an 8,000 square foot, new construction property. Sometimes, a 3,500 square foot house is just fine, and with those ROI-generating upgrades, it’ll be more attractive – and valuable – to a prospective buyer looking for a home just like yours.
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Andrew Manning • REALTOR® • Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties • DRE: 00941825 • 818-380-2147 • andrew@andrewmanning.com