The carpet is around 16 years old - neutral tan - quite clean - but I can see hardwood making a better first impression. Appliances also 10-15 years old. I’m not sure - thinking it would just be easier to sell “as-is” and have a lower price - but he has sold a few houses in our neighborhood quickly - so I guess sprucing up helps. His view is that it also conveys the impression that the house is well maintained.
@rockvillemom – will you be able to complete that list of projects for $15K? I had the interior of my house painted last year and spent over $14K, but that included removing wallpaper from two small rooms.
Replacing light fixtures will probably be the least expensive piece.
All good suggestions. See if you can find floor model appliances being swapped out at Home Depot or your local appliance store. I lucked into a double convection oven that way for an amazing price.
I have noticed that realtors (or stagers) have clients remove window treatments for the professional photo shoot.
Good luck!
@HImom Are wood floors a problem in Hawaii, do they last?
@rockvillemom If you do wood floors, then area rugs?
Here in my neck of the woods, $15k would probably not cover 1/2 of what your realtor told you to do!
A lot depends on the type of wood floor and installation. We had it installed about 1991 and it has held up very well. We know others who had theirs installed by others who didn’t take our high humidity into account, give the wood long enough time getting acclimated and didn’t put spacers between the boards so the boards got uneven and buckled.
As our entire home (except for bathrooms and kitchen) is hardwood we had installed, we LOVE wood, but here it’s generally considerably more expensive than carpet of other flooring options.
In HI construction and renovations and labor tend to be very high and I doubt we’d get all the things quoted by your realtor for $15K.
You can drop $5k on a stove, fridge and dishwasher without getting anything high-grade. I live in your neck of the woods – I’d say that list would be $20k, and that’s if you got a good deal on the painters.
Well, I just got a Bosch dishwasher from Lowe’s delivered for $650. I waited, shopped a sale, and bought last year’s model. If you shop really carefully, you can get some good deals for updating a house for sale. You don’t have to love the appliances you buy, they just have to be adequate for the job.
(In my case I bought the bosch for me, but if I were prepping the house for sale I would have bought the same one because bosch-level appliances are the minimum acceptable for our price point).
There are some good hardwood flooring options that won’t break the bank, either. Do a lot of comparison shopping. You can also buy high end appliances (like Viking and Wolf) slightly used because the rich folk like to upgrade their kitchens seasonally.
Good painters are worth their weight in gold, however. That’s one area I don’t look for super bargains. I also buy my own paint (using the painter’s discount) so I know exactly what is going on the walls, and I keep the leftover paint, carefully labeled, for the next owners so they can see that high end paint was used on the walls and they have it available for touchups.
Agent is going to recommend contractors to use that he uses regularly and will give a good deal. We don’t have to use them - but they will know better than us what to select that improves the appearance - appeals to younger buyers - and will fit our budget. That way - I can delegate to them and I do not have to shop for lighting fixtures or appliances that I will never use!
We are not quite ready to move forward yet - just wanted to get an idea of what prep work would be neded.
Your realtor’s suggestions are very reasonable. You are lucky that she doesn’t want a bunch of expensive renovations. Good luck!
@rockvillemom — having time to accomplish everything is good. Take a look around to see if you can find floor model appliances, since you have time on your side. Can be significant savings. HD still offered me a five year extended warranty, but the warranty was inexpensive b/c it was based on the low price I paid for the appliance. (I would not buy it since you will be moving out, and I ordinarily would not either, but did b/c it was so cheap.)
Good luck! You may not want to leave after painting; it really makes a house look fresh.
Call me crazy, but I do my own painting.
That makes two of us crazies, @Consolation 
I hate the messes painters usually make! Painting is not rocket science. Painting with a good paint and a good set of brushes and rolls is relaxing.
I was all set to paint my son’s room, but it needs to have a lot of cracks filled in. The more I thought about it the more I thought I’d just get a professional. Ninety percent of a good paint job (especially in an older house) is good prep work.
I am pretty good at filling those little dents and cracks, too. Got a lot of practice painting my childhood house during college breaks. Mom decided that because I liked chemistry, I liked the smell of oil-based paint and varnishes, so she handed me the brushes as soon as I arrived from the airport.
Please do not waste your money on cheap appliances unless the house is a starter home. We will be ripping out the bottom of the line Whirlpool dishwasher and Magic Chef oven as soon as we close.
Nope. I can’t imagine 14k. I also do my painting (and crack filling; it’s easy.
I did hire someone once to do one room’s windows and the (large) front door. Nope, no better than I could do. And they painted my windows so they couldn’t be opened.
H does all our painting and he is very meticulous about properly prepping.
I paint, too. It’s fun.
I might paint one bedroom - but not an entire house!
As long as your house has modern wallboard and no major settling issues, repair and paint is simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. Use good materials, go slow, prep well. The question about time/value for your money comes into play if you are doing an entire house inside. Probably cheaper to have it done unless you have a summer off.
DH and I stripped wallpaper borders, prepped walls, primed and painted sons’ bedrooms last year. We figured bedrooms are among the easier rooms to paint. I won’t do more than that again. I’m more meticulous than DH which meant I did alot of the prep and touch-up work.