What repairs or improvements should I make to my home before I put it on the market?

If you are considering selling your home, before spending any money on paint, carpet, new countertops, ceramic tile or other repairs consult a licensed professional real estate agent like the ones at San Jacinto Properties. Your agent will conduct a free assessment of your home and make suggestions on necessary and unnecessary repairs or improvements. In most cases you will come out ahead by just giving your home a thorough cleaning and de-cluttering while spending a few dollars on some landscaping and minor repairs before putting the home on the market. It is usually not a good return on your investment to put in items like new granite countertops or new carpet because the buyer may not like the color or style you chose and the costs of the improvements will probably not boost the market price of the home high enough to pay for the expensive improvements. Now, if your carpet is completely ruined or more than 20 years old then yes, maybe replacing it would be the best option. The cheapest and most effective improvements are fresh paint (neutral color), deep cleaning the entire house, replacing broken items such as doors, windows, outlets, lights (bulbs) and fans and making sure the AC is working properly.

Let your agent advise you on what buyers will be looking at in your home and what you need to do to get the most profit in your hands. Two things you can do ahead of time are

1) Get your own home inspection prior to listing the home and see what repairs are needed before any buyer ever sees the home. This will give you time to correct the problems before the buyer's inspector points them out later on.

2) Purchase a Seller's Home Warranty plan that can be transferred to the buyer when they purchase the home. This warranty will most likely cover repairs to items such as plumbing, electrical, HVAC and appliances.

Dave@SanJacintoProperties.com     (713) 894-9436 Phone     (281) 476-6533 Fax

The information contained on this page and website was written and produced by Dave Turnquist and is the sole property of San Jacinto Properties. No unauthorized reproduction or use of this information is permitted without the expressed written consent of Dave Turnquist, Broker/Owner of San Jacinto Properties