A lot of homeowners think that they can raise the value of their property before selling by installing multiple upgrades or doing a wide array of repairs. However, I’ve seen a lot of people dump a lot of money into repairs that would never bring a return that they wanted.

Keep in mind that a repair is necessary when something is not in working order. An update or an upgrade does not need to be repaired; the purpose of an upgrade is to completely replace a properly working appliance or system. Most often, upgrades will not bring you a good return before selling your home. 

Repairs work much differently. If you have an item that is defective, scratched, or worn, you definitely need to fix it. Buyers like turnkey homes, and if you haven’t gone through the effort of fixing things, they will hit you with the hassle tax, which is basically just sweat equity. They’ll do a loose estimate of what is needed to fix the problem, and then probably charge you double in the form of price reductions on your home. It’s simply more cost-efficient to repair most things on your own. 

If you have any further questions about what kinds of repairs buyers like to see in our market, please don’t hesitate to contact me.