According to research conducted by Statista, The market size for home improvement in the United States was around five hundred billion dollars. While some of them were done by people who wished to continue living there, most did so to sell their homes faster and at a better price. If you are thinking of doing the same, here are some mistakes to avoid when renovating your house for sale.
Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Renovating Your House For Sale
According to research, 68% of American homeowners opted for interior home renovations, and 56% of homeowners upgraded the home system. However, that does not mean that they did the work perfectly. Below are some mistakes that homeowners make when renovating their homes for sale.
1. DIYs are the Biggest Mistakes to Avoid When Renovating
Home renovation can be expensive, especially f its major renovation, which is primarily the case when renovating your house for sale. To avoid the added labor cost, most home sellers tend to do the renovations themselves.
However, they do not know that home renovation requires technical skills, which, if you do not possess them, might make the renovation more time-consuming and expensive.
Another reason that people choose to renovate the homes themselves because they fear that the contractors might not follow their plans. However, a better option than doing it yourself would be to choose the right contractor.
If you despise having to vet through numerous contractors and picking the right one, you can leave the task to your real estate agent at Robert Defalco Realty, who has just the right contacts to get you what you want.
2. Your Interests are Different From the Buyer’s
One of the biggest mistakes to avoid when renovating your home for sale is remembering who you are renovating it for. Home sellers tend to add customized touche to the home because they think it is cool. However, your interest won’t necessarily match with your buyers.
Adding customized features to the home will limit your potential market, and you will only attract a handful of buyers. Finding buyers is already difficult, but finding buyers with specific interests is even more difficult.
3. Don’t Go Too Deep When Renovating
One thing to remember is to always think from a buyer’s perspective. A buyer would prefer a new house that looks appealing and one that they can modify themselves. As we said before, finding buyers with specific interests is difficult.
Hence, only focus on the outside look. When selling, the biggest reason to renovate your home is to spruce it up and make it look more appealing. Follow the “if it’s not broken, don’t change it” rule.
This needs to be done carefully. While you don’t need to go too deep and change things that work fine, you can’t cover up damage and not fix the underlying issue. Ignoring damages will be found during inspections and will cost you, buyers, even ruining the image of your house.
4. Setting an Unrealistic Deadline
If you are selling your house, you want to sell it as soon as possible. The longer a house sits on the market, the lower the price becomes.
However, that does not mean you must rush to finish the job. One of the common mistakes to avoid when renovating is to give ample time for renovation. On average, renovating a kitchen alone can take about three months, so you can not expect the whole house to be renovated simultaneously.
Complete home remodeling can take more than six months minimum. If you rush the renovation, many problems can spring up because of faulty work, which will cost more time and money to fix.
5. Using Cheap Materials to Save Money
Everyone likes to earn and save money whenever possible. However, home renovation is one area where you can not be stingy. Buying cheap materials might appear to be a loophole to save money, but they do not look appealing and don’t last long.
Potential buyers have surveyed many houses before, and after coming to yours, so they will be able to tell the difference between the quality of material used in each house. You do not need to go for the best and most expensive materials, but you should not go for the cheapest ones.
Instead, choose a material that best fits your budget and does not look unappealing, especially when buying fixtures and appliances.
6. Not Being Financially Prepared
You must first prepare a budget, accounting for all the costs that must be covered during the renovation. However, a mistake to avoid when renovating is to not account for overages. You might have accounted for everything down to the penny, but sometimes, things don’t go as planned.
Budget overages are common and can happen for several reasons. Generally, you must add ten percent to your budget for overages; some even recommend adding 20%.
7. Expecting Too Much
Suppose you think that renovating your home will increase your home’s value by the amount you spent on renovation or even more. Expecting an exact ROI (Return on Investment) is one of the crucial mistakes to avoid when renovating.
This is because having a higher expectation makes you unable to negotiate for a lower price. You must understand that while renovating can add value to your home, it does not add a dollar-for-dollar value.
Renovating your home isn’t only done for a higher price but also to attract buyers. Hence, the goal of the renovation shouldn’t be to sell it for a higher price but to sell it, period. It’s a bonus if you get a greater price.
How Robert Defalco Realty Can Help
Robert Defalco Realty has over 35 years of experience with trained agents that are experts in their field. Rober Defalco’s real estate agents know what mistakes to avoid when renovating your house for sale and can guide you towards a better, cheaper, and faster renovation.
Get in touch with Robert Defalco Realty by calling them at 718-987-7900 or by filling out their form online. You can also visit the Robert Defalco Realty offices to better understand what to expect.
