Home care and renovation

Before You Renovate Anything, Read This

By Aubre J. Stacknick, Global Real Estate Advisor, Piatt Sotheby's International Realty. Originally published on aubrestacknick.com.

One of the most expensive mistakes sellers make happens before their house ever reaches the market.

They renovate the wrong things.

I've walked through homes where owners were preparing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on improvements that I didn't believe they needed.

Start with the buyer's eyes.Before spending money, I evaluate:

What will buyers notice?

What creates an objection?

What photographs poorly?

What's simply cosmetic?

And what could create an inspection concern?

Those are different categories.

Sometimes $5,000 strategically spent can accomplish more than a $30,000 renovation.

Paint.

Lighting.

Hardware.

Landscaping.

Repairs.

Decluttering.

Professional staging.

And exceptional photography.

The goal isn't to make your house perfect.

It's to make the buyer understand its value.

Before you renovate to sell, get a market-based opinion about where your money will actually matter.