Pre-Sale Renovation Do's & Don'ts

Pre-Sale Renovations are a great way to improve the equity in your home. Understanding how to maximize profits when doing pre-sale renovations is not for the inexperienced, so you might want to avoid the temptation to do it yourself. Paying professionals will usually result in higher profits at closing, which is the goal after all.

-- DO --

First impression: Curb appeal is a critical part of getting that highest and best offer. If your buyer is turned off at the curb, they may never even get out of the car. If they do, that initial negative opinion makes everything else an uphill battle.

Target your buyer: The design choices are important. You want to appeal to a wide range of buyers, but more importantly to a wide range of TARGET buyers. The advantage of a real professional is their ability to identify these buyers and what it takes for them to fall in love.

Focus on the design: You want to make sure to wow your buyer, especially in the areas that matter. Kitchens and bathrooms sell homes, but you don’t want to forget about rule #2… focus on your target buyer.

Budget matters: Establishing a budget (with a built in contingency for the unexpected) is important. Knowing what the costs are up front helps avoid overspending and defeating the purpose of doing the work to begin with…. PROFIT & QUICK SALE.

Timeline: Renovation timelines can quickly run out of control if not managed correctly. Maintaining strict controls on schedules and purchasing lead times is what separates the pros from the inexperienced and eliminates the delays and cost overages affecting the projects overall success.

-- DON’T --

Over improving: Knowing what renovations to do and which ones to avoid comes with experience. Some renovations are essential to a successful project, and some just aren’t. Knowing which is which requires experience, and a strong understanding of the target buyers, the marketplace, and even the homes available at the time you expect to list. Over improving also creates the risk that the home won’t appraise creating lending problems for the buyer and ultimately your sale.

Design fails: Avoid overly trendy designs and finishes that may not appeal to a wide range of your targeted buyers.

Poor quality: Quality ALWAYS matters. Using poor quality materials, cutting corners, poor workmanship, and poorly designing spaces may seem like a way to save money, but it’s always a bad decision.

Skipping repairs: Overlooking or choosing not to make repairs or do maintenance can come back to bite you. The last thing you want is to loose a sale because the buyer finds something during inspections. Making repairs, doing maintenance, and providing buyers with clean inspection reports conveys a strong impression to potential buyers.

JB Design & Consulting can provide the expertise you need to make your project successful. Contact us for a no cost evaluation.