The road to home selling is quite challenging. There are many hurdles you could encounter during the selling process. To help you reduce the stress involved in selling your house, I have compiled some tips based on a real-life story.
Recently a friend shared his story of selling a flipped property (also known as wholesale property or wholesale real estate investing). He acquired an abandoned bungalow in Mississauga a few weeks back. The house was quite out of shape. Broken doorknobs, drabbed walls, and more.
He knew if he would list it as it was on ‘bungalows for sale in Mississauga,’ he wouldn’t get reasonable offers. Being out of shape, he was not receiving market-comparable offers. So he did what he had to; went for home improvement projects.
How he did, is quite interesting. I’m certain that the lessons learned from his experience would help all home sellers get a reasonable offer with less listing time in the market.
Home Improvement Strategies for Home Sellers
Calling a Home Inspection Officer
The house he bought was quite out of shape. He knew that a home inspector would be able to identify the house’s flaws, so he could fix them and uplift its value.
It cost him around $400 for a detailed home inspection. It worth every penny because now he had a complete list of things that must be fixed before he could go on selling.
He then categorized the items on the inspection report into two parts; the one he could do and the one requiring some professional services.
Remember, a home inspection isn’t mandatory (in some parts of the world). But a seller denying to opt for one is considered a red flag. Do go for this service and invest some dimes for better outcomes.
Expense: $400
Tackling Time-sensitive Projects First
For a businessperson, every second count and every task is as important as the other. But you can’t do everything in one go.
Being into the real estate business, my friend knew he had to prioritize based on the level of urgency. He broke down the earlier list (from tip# 1) into portions according to their sensitivity.
For instance, there was water leakage in the bathroom. It was a small job, easy to take. So he fixed the issue on his own and saved a few dollars.
You, too, have to find the issue needing your urgent attention. This fairly helps in time management.
Expense: 0
Finding DIY Home Improvement Projects
Fixing knobs, back yard, faucets, and room painting were some of the tasks he managed to do himself.
Finding DIY projects was easy to identify from the report he received from the home inspection company. He did a lot of little projects on his own. And those he couldn’t undertake were left for the professionals.
A complete list of projects he did on his own included:
- Painting a bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom: $1,500
- Fixed doorknobs, squeaky doors, backyard, and other smaller projects: $700
- Fixed faucets, running toilet, and other minor plumbing works: $400
Expense: $2,600
Leaving Tough Jobs for Professionals
Cleaning a ceiling fan is an easy task; anyone can do it. But repairing a broken ceiling fan is not everyone’s play.
If you aren’t a professional plumber or electrician, don’t even think of fixing a broken thing running on any of these two power sources. So what my friend knew and did.
He acquired professional plumbers and electricians where he thought he should and didn’t try to save a penny there.
The projects he outsourced to professionals included:
- Cleaning dryer ducts: $120
- Deck repairing: $500
- Replaced two broken ceiling fans: $280
- Furnace repairing: $350
- Painting exterior of the house: $1,800
- Broken windows: $300
- Other jobs: $500
Expense: $3,850
Updating Appliances
This part of home improvement is somewhat a luxury than a necessity. But for an old house like my friend’s, this was necessary.
He replaced the old washer, dishwasher, and refrigerator with the new ones. Though, these appliances were bought from the second-hand market and so didn’t cost a lot. He also sold the old ones to save a little on his pocket.
He also upgraded the house by installing a few smart gadgets to further uplift the house’s value. The list of new items installed and replaced included:
- Washing machine: $650
- Dishwasher: $400
- Refrigerator: $1,000
- Smart home appliance: $450
Expense: $2,500
Home Staging
Home staging is somewhat a new concept. These home staging companies usually work around the items already in your house and play with them to give your house a new appearance. Their primary goal is to get higher bids from buyers and sell up the house fast.
Since my friend wasn’t occupying that bungalow and had no furniture, he had to acquire full-home staging services. The company brought in their own furniture (on a rental basis) and transformed his house to give a whole new look.
Expense: $1,800
The End Result
You might be thinking that my friend would have incurred a loss by spending around $12,000 ($11,150 from the above expenses + some minor unaccounted expenses). On the contrary, he made a hefty profit. Not only this, the house didn’t stay much on the listings; it was sold just within ten days.
This is the power of designing a solid home improvement strategy when you’re selling your house. However, word of caution; don’t spend too much on improving your house. Like you don’t have to upgrade the appliances or install smart home gadgets. Focus on what is most likely to sell fast and for good.
Photo by Hakim Santoso from Pexels
Author Bio
Jessica is a content creator and a social media marketer at BungalowFinder. Her work depicts how important it’s for all to have a home. She writes on home improvement, real estate trends, tips for buyers and sellers, and more.
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