I agree with not changing flooring or doing things just for sale.
We had a flood, so had to get new carpeting on first floor. We got very nice carpet for our family room. We sold the house within a year after that, and the new people replaced our high end carpet with new carpet that wasn’t nearly as nice.
We just went through this in 2016. We painted all the doors and windows white, but left the mantel natural wood color. We replaced all the vanities, new mirrors, new light fixtures, new doorknobs and hinges. We replaced all ceiling fans with just plain lights. We redid the whole master bathroom. But we had a 30-year-old house with lots of beautiful trees in an established neighborhood, but we were competing with brand new houses with brand new EVERYTHING with no trees. It was on the market about 2 months. But we did only what our real estate agent recommended, and we used painters and handymen she recommended. I am happy with the eventual result. Note we were in the suburb of a major metropolitan area.
If I were selling a used home I wouldn’t paint the woodwork, I wouldn’t embark on any remodeling projects, and I’d make sure it was spotlessly clean.
I say this because of how I’d look at it as a buyer, in which case I’d want to do the updates myself to my own specifications.
In my immediate area, that’s not about expensive upgrades or even a “new” look. People seem to want to feel comfortable, envision themselves happy there, for themselves. Even barely updated homes sell. And this is a mostly pricey area. New owners aren’t necessarily out to do it themselves, more to fit and enjoy.
When they say certain renovations don’t pay back, imo, that’s deceiving. You’re going for an impression you cared about this house, took care of it, maximized it, that they can love it, too. That doesn’t necessarily mean re-doing all the bathrooms. Maybe a new rug and window coverings, a fresh coat of paint, does the trick.
Look and look for those things that are invisible to you, you got used to, and fix/replace those, maybe before worrying about painting the stained woodwork. You can change teal carpet with something affordable, for the impression. You can make dark rooms lighter, with paint.
I agree, old, chipped foyer tile may need replacing. But if it’s in good shape, a cute throw rug may be all you need.
Yes to decluttering. Less is more. Our friends want to see “us” in our homes, our photos, our grandmother’s chair in the living room, whatever. New folks want to see how they can fit.
We just bought our house, so I am speaking as a recent buyer. Everyone’s advice here would have worked for us, particularly:
- Make sure the house looks cared-for. No one cares about white trim if the electrical is shot. A buyer wants a house that appears to have been properly maintained. The buyer’s eye doesn’t always see everything you do, but I guarantee the eye will see what you haven’t done. I mean, if you have any cracked window panes or walls, make sure they’re all repaired. If a window pane is broken, it may be no big deal, but then I wondered what else the owner let go.
- I think most buyers know that carpeting is easy to replace. Have it professionally cleaned, then choose a wall paint that goes well with the carpet amd trim. Fresh paint is cheap but gives a fresh, clean appearance.
- In addition to looking at other homes for sale in your neighborhood, visit a few new model homes in a construction development near you. How do you see them decorated? Those people decorate to sell. You can give your house a “new” appearance by seeing what the lrofessionals do. Do you have a dining room buffet with a hutch? Take the hutch part out. Can you walk through the house easily with a clear path? Great. If you have to walk around furniture? Take out the excess furniture. Take out unnecessary decorations. As everyone says, declutter. The right amount of furniture and decoration for living is usually too much for selling.
- Clean out the closets. Put off-season clothes away. People always notice storage space, and if closets look roomy and spacious it’s a great point.
- Clean everything so the minute buyers walk in, the feel is fresh, clean, well-maintained. Clean and sparkling is important.
Good luck.
I so much agree with @bouders . Do not spend a lot of money remodeling the house. You should have done that to make it more comfortable for yourself. A lot of people are going to have their own ideas of what color tile they might want in the bathroom, ect., and they would much rather pay a lower price and be able to make these changes themselves. Plus, some people maybe don’t have the money to live in a “perfect” house, and would be willing to live in your house just as it is. By spending a lot of money on improvements you reduce your number of potential buyers.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make minor repairs. You should spackle any cracks or holes in the walls and repaint. If you have discoloration in the ceiling, touch it up with ceiling white paint or repaint. If you have popcorn ceilings, it might be worth paying to have the popcorn removed if you can get it done cheaply; popcorn ceilings are a real negative when selling a house. Never paint stained wood, because it can’t be undone; allow the purchaser to make that choice.
The decluttering advice is also good. Rent a storage unit or get a empty room at a friend or relative’s house to store some of your stuff and just box up some of your stuff and get it out of the house. Make sure your garage is EMPTY, so you can park a car it in (our is slap full of stuff). Get all of the clothes and shoes that you don’t wear out of your closets so that they are only about half to 3/4 full. Box up excess food staples so that your pantry isn’t overfull. Box up or throw away all of those extra dishes and pots and pans. Make sure the refrigerator(s) and clean and only about half full of food.
When I look at a 30 year old house, the most important questions for me will be: age of roof, HVAC, hot water system, well and septic if applicable, foundation.
I can hire someone to paint it. I am probably not a typical buyer. To me 30 years old will mean I’m inheriting someone else’s maintenance of the house. Since you are asking about cosmetics, I assume you have done these updates.
If I’m looking at houses in the same neighborhood, I’m buying the one with new roof and HVAC.
Good Luck!
I’m in upstate NY, too. A 30 yr old house with wood trim will look very dated. It’s not beautiful wood to begin with that you’d cringe if it was painted like you wouid if it was a craftsman or Victorian.
If your interior doors are solid wood I’d paint them, too.
I’d replace hardware.
Since you are getting the floors refinished I’d get an estimate putting wood in the foyer.
I wouidnt do any of the bathrooms. To do them right wouid cost a lot of money (I’m doing two right now - a big one and the power room and I’m at $39k. Powder room is 9k, big bath (which isn’t all that big) is $30k. Just price your house accordingly.
JMO
Do not make it look like a cheap flip (surface-renovated with cosmetic stuff like doorknobs etc.) because you might lose a certain slice of buyers. Those buyers would be wondering as to what is going on below the finished surfaces. Make it look like you renovated for yourself, or if this too much or too troublesome, do not renovate.
Just saying, in my larger neighborhood, this sales area, people seem not put off by, say, an old bathroom, as long as it’s crystal clean and bright, pretty enough, not shop worn.
But you go for a certain balance. If they like the first floor, that 2nd floor corner pink and black tiled bathroom may not smack them.
Did anyone say, get the windows professionally washed?
As to doing nothing and letting someone lowball, that’s how we got ours. The house was pretty, structurally sound, but needed major cosmetic work, just what we were up for. They couldn’t sell, even at a lower start price, kept lowering the price, finally got the junkman to haul out 98%. Even so, while we were at our first visit, people came in, looked, and left within a few minutes.
You don’t want that. Nor people who hint interest but are still looking for better. There’s psychology in selling.
Yes, get windows sparkling clean. It makes a huge difference. Remove as many window coverings as you can to make sure there is a lot of natural light. Make sure remaining window coverings are always open during showings
If you have yellowed plastic switch plates/outlet covers, replace them.
A question for the RE agents you interview: What kinds of buyers will be looking for houses like mine? I’d probably do different things if the likely buyers are younger families vs. 50-somethings. (Not so much a money issue – at least in my area, quite a few younger buyers come to the table with a LOT of money, but an esthetics thing.)
I was interested talking to a real estate friend of mine who said that our neighborhood is very attractive to Brooklyn hipsters who are looking for a house and a decent school. They aren’t afraid of a little fixing up, they’ve done it before.
I would talk to real estate agents before doing anything. One of my good friends sells real estate in our town and the surrounding town. She was saying that the buyers in our area, who come primarily for the schools, tend to be two-income families who want a house that they can just move into without having to do anything. Ten years ago, the buyers in our area were fine with properties that needed a little paint or a new carpet.
These days, people do their initial screening of houses through photographs, and a lot promising properties will be crossed off their lists without in-person viewings. I think things like teal carpeting have a much bigger negative impact in photograps then they do in person, and for that reason I think it is more important than ever to replace stuff like that before putting the house on the market than it used to be. It is really hard to convey that a room has lovely proportions or has particularly pleasant midday light in photos – things that in real life would make the superficial cosmetic issues less important. But pictures primarily convey those superficial issues.
“It is really hard to convey that a room has lovely proportions…”
That’s what floorplans are for. 
Meant to include this in my post! I noticed more and more listings add floorplans to the photos, even for older homes, especially when it is kind of hard to show in the photos that the home has a great layout.
I’ve noticed more houses with floor plans too, but amusingly as an architect, I also notice that when I get to the house to measure it for the new buyers those floor plans leave something to be desired!
We will probably put our home up for sale in the next few years. This year we put on a new roof, deck, painted the exterior and interior, put in new windows, doors and a new furnace. We remodeled the bathrooms and kitchen about 5 years ago. Next up is flooring, changing out light switches/outlets and removing the last of the brass door knobs. In our market homes must be updated or they will not sell.
It also depends on the pricing and how many new homes (tear downs) are in your area. My realtor friends says the younger people with money flock to the new construction or for the updated, move-in ready homes. But several homes on my street have sold and then had extensive renovations. One sold for a good price, the other at a bargain.