<p>Hello All
We are thinking of downsizing in a few years. Our home is 16 years old - kitchen as been remodeled. However many things need updating (light fixtures, carpet in some rooms, landscaping etc… )
My question how much of this stuff do you get done before you put a house on the market? The list of things that could “look better” is endless. </p>
<p>You know…I would get inexpensive but nice color carpet. Light fixtures aren’t expensive…what needs updating about them? Landscaping…will pruning and removing some overgrown things…and mulching solve that issue?</p>
<p>If it were me, I’d deal with plantings in the front of the house near the door. That is the first impression your house makes to even drive by potential buyers. If it’s really bad…fix that.</p>
<p>Second…How old is the carpet? Is it damaged? Are there stains? Can it be cleaned? If it looks awful, is damaged, and cannot be cleaned…replace…but don’t go top of the line.</p>
<p>Light fixtures…if they are old fluorescent tube lights…you might want to replace. Where are the light fixtures that need replacing? </p>
<p>I think you’re going to get plenty of great answers from people who have extensive experience, but I’ll go ahead and post a few links anyway. These are from a quick Google search and more digging and reviewing the sources might well turn up better ones.</p>
<p><a href=“Should You Fix Up Your Home or Sell It As Is?”>http://homebuying.about.com/od/sellingahouse/f/090308_Fix_AsIs.htm</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/03/06/which-home-remodeling-projects-are-worth-your-money”>http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/03/06/which-home-remodeling-projects-are-worth-your-money</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/26508539/list/fix-it-or-not-what-to-ask-when-prepping-your-home-for-sale”>http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/26508539/list/fix-it-or-not-what-to-ask-when-prepping-your-home-for-sale</a></p>
<p>The outdoor light fixtures are discolored, some of the indoor ones are fine but just out of style. If something works fine but looks a little old or out of style do you replace it? </p>
<p>Thanks for the links </p>
<p>Thumper the main parts of the house- entryway , dining , living room , kitchen -look pretty good. There are 4 baths -some of them have some wear on them and finished basement looks kind of rough. </p>
<p>Veruca, on that about.com link, down toward the end of the article, changing outdated light fixtures is one of the 10 minimum improvements recommended.</p>
<p>Light fixtures can be very inexpensive and can make a big impact. I’d focus on drive up appeal, making sure everything is clean and fresh, and most important of all, decluttering and cutting back on furniture in each room if you have accumulated too much, as excess furniture in a room makes it look smaller. When I see too much “stuff,” I immediately assume they don’t have enough storage in the home.</p>
<p>If the carpet is stained or really dingy, I’d replace it with neutral but not pricey grade carpet. But if a really good professional cleaning would suffice, I’d leave it at that.</p>
<p>Make sure you are getting the max natural light into the house-if you have heavy drapes, keep them open or consider getting rid of them. You’ll have to take them down anyway when you sell.</p>
<p>I am in the same situation, and I am consulting now with a stager. The stager provides a prioritized list, and then you can either use the stager to get the work done or do it yourself. </p>
<p>I used this service when I sold a house four years ago, and we sold it in two days after receiving multiple offers so I am pretty much sold on the concept. </p>
<p>The main key things seem to be neutralizing the color scheme, fresh interior paint, and a good entrance (landscaping, nice front door). But we also updated things that looked ridiculously dated or worn. I found myself wishing I had done some things sooner so I could have enjoyed them!</p>
<p>Thanks all</p>
<p>How handy are you and your husband? My DH is fully capable of replacing light fixtures, and pruning or pulling out plantings in the yard. He would do those things.</p>
<p>Carpet…we had that done at our old house. The old carpet was dated, and ugly. </p>
<p>Re: the bathrooms…freshen them up with new light colored towels and shower curtains, and bath rugs. Here is my tip of the week. Get light colored towels and rugs for the bathrooms and use them ONLY for showings. Keep them in a laundry basket. When a showing is scheduled, pull your towels and rugs off, and put the nice clean light colored ones out. Put your stuff in the laundry basket and place in your car trunk! That way, your bathrooms will look fresher and brighter.</p>
<p>We are not handy at all. :"> That is why I wanted to start thinking about this now even thought it might be a while before we get serious about moving.
Great towel tip</p>
<p>My husband and I might have to help my sister with her house. What about wall cover paper? How easy to sleep it off?
Also faucets that are leaking, how easy to change them? I can hire some people to do small stuff, but prefer not to do whole sale.</p>
<p>We usually don’t let my husband do plumbing…but we DO let him do faucets. A leaky faucet will most definitely come up in the home inspection…so addressing it before listing is a good idea.</p>
<p>How old is the wallpaper, and how dated? Our fist home had very outdated wallpaper, and carpeting…and I’m convinced that is why it didn’t sell to someone else more quickly. In 1985, the owners had it listed for $136,000. We REALLY low balled an offer at $95,000. They countered at $98,000…and that sealed the deal. </p>
<p>We replaced orange counters, shag carpeting, plaid carpet in (in a 20x20 family room), put in hardwood floors on the main level, replaced all of the old single pane windows, and all exterior doors, took down rooms of hideous wallpaper, replaced all the eagle switch plates, replaced all the interior and exterior light fixtures, etc.</p>
<p>You get the picture. We got a deal because they hadn’t done much!</p>
<p>When we went to sell the house 7 years later, we used the same agent. When she came to take pics and give us price estimates,she said “this place looks great. Seven years ago, when you put a bid in on this house, I almost threw up. Clearly you had a vision I didn’t have.”</p>
<p>We had multiple offers within days.</p>
<p>It’s very old. It’s 1957, the previous owner was an interior decorator.</p>
<p>Dr. Google…the previous owner…like 60 years ago? </p>
<p>If this is an estate home with gorgeous period wallpaper that is in excellent condition, then leave it. Do the draperies match :)</p>
<p>If it is floral flocked wallpaper from the 50’s and is dated, you might want to consider removing it (a chore) and painting. </p>
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<p>Yep, a lot of it is psychological. Many will just turn and walk out the door because they don’t have the vision. Or, they will overestimate what it will take to bring it up to snuff, causing them to either walk out or low ball.</p>
<p>thumper, not an estate house. LOL. It’s a 3-Bedroom room bungalow. Not period wall paper but I think the previous owner had good taste. No draperies either. But this family also had part of the wall in wood covering that matches the wall paper. Perhaps I just paint the empty wall and change carpet. I might get some body to give me an estimate for quick repair.</p>
<p>A chair rail type of wood…like a wainscoting? In every room?</p>
<p>I really think wallpaper has to go except for maybe very small spaces like a powder room. Wallpaper is very o personal, and potential buyers don’t want to rip it out. People are most attracted to a very clean, neutral home. </p>
<p>Yes but it’s in darker color, the wainscoting I’m used to is white color. Maybe I should paint it white. I’m nervous of removing wall paper, in case I expose something else unpleasant. Can you paint over wall paper?</p>