So we’re moving…
This seems like a very appropriate place to discuss some of the things that are going through our minds as we prepare to sell our current home and buy a new home in a new city… Interestingly, my knowledge of “good” improvements to make is very limited and probably much closer to the typical home owner than an experienced real estate agent. With that in mind, I’m going to throw a bunch of ideas against the wall and see what sticks.
So where to start?
[photopress:tree_house.jpg,thumb,alignright]We have a wonderful Tudor in North Seattle that we’re going to be selling. The home is not perfect, but it has some features that make is pretty darn desirable (Good size, big backyard, a good school district, great access to Downtown, great neighbors, etc). However, it is an old home, so I’m thinking that we could add some value and make the house more “marketable” if we made a few improvements.
Here are some of the potential improvements that come to mind.
Electrical:
- Elimination of old wiring. There are some remnants of the original knob-and-tube wiring in the house. As far as our inspector could tell when we moved into the house (two-and-a-half years ago), the old wiring only supplied power to one light in the attic. I have no idea what it would cost to simply eliminate this wiring, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t be much if combined with some additional electrical work. My guesstimate for the cost: $1000.
- Ground the computer room. At some point, someone went through and grounded the outlets in the kitchen. I think it would be good to do something similar in the computer room (which is very close to the kitchen and directly above the electrical panel which is located in the basement). My guesstimate for the cost: $1000.
New Appliances:
- [photopress:dishwasher.JPG,thumb,alignright]Dish Washer. There is a small dishwasher in the kitchen which as never worked. It definitely get electricity and water, so I’m thinking we simply would need to find another (small) dishwasher that fits in this space. I see this as an improvement that makes the house more “acceptable” rather than one that really adds value. My guesstimate for the cost: $500 to buy and install.
Windows:
- New Windows. We’ve got single pane windows throughout the house. They’re really old, more than half of them are painted shut, and cold air leaks in through cracks on many of them. Would we be best off fixing these before we sell? My guesstimate for the cost: $10,000.
Floors:
- Refinish Wooden Floors. The wooden floors through the living room and hallways have potential to really shine should we refinish them. My guesstimate of the cost: $2000.
Basement:
- Finish Basement. Our basement (which includes a separate bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, game room and utility room) has been 95% finished. However there is one wall that needs to be finished (i.e. add drywall) and I think a few other small projects (like adding a door to the closet in the bedroom) could make a big difference in making it feel “finished”. My guesstimate for this cost: $2000
Of course there are some other things on our mind as we get ready to sell:
- Contractors? Would it be better to hire specialists for each of these jobs (i.e. contract with a window replacement firm, an electrician, etc) or just hire one contractor?
- List in the MLS. Of course, Anna would list the house under her name, so we will really only be paying 3% of the typical 6% fee if we listed the home in the MLS. But do we really need to even go there? I’m telling Anna that we need to put the home on the auction site I installed on the back-end of Rain City Guide, but she’s not ready to be that “innovative”. š
- Time. We’d obviously like to get everything done relatively soon. My hope is that we can complete the improvements we decide to make relatively soon, but that is probably asking too much…
Also, if you are, or know of, a contractor interested in this high visibility project, definitely feel free to contact me.
I think my next post will be “The Mind of a Buyer” where I talk about some of the things that is going through our minds as we look to buy a home in a new city. Either way, look for frequent updates on our move.
Yes, do the electrical, because it may be difficult, if not impossible, for the buyer of your home to get hazard insurance with knob and tube wiring.
The items that you are considering farming out are relatively easy fixes. And they are quite distinquishable and separate as far as contracting goes.
My opinion is that you would definitely be better off contracting each service seperately and therefore gaining more control over the cost and actual installation.
For example: the windows will be done by a window company plain and simple. The will just knock them out in a day and have (low paid) crews that will simply fill the order.
Same with the dishwasher. Just call sears and it’s done.
The closet will require a handyman or small project type service, but still easy to be found and hire in a short time frame.
Hey Dustin,
Check out my Buddy Brad Nix’s coverage of a seller who built thier own blog for thier FSBO
http://atlanta575realestate.com/2006/04/for-sale-by-owner-in-east-cobb.html
Hey Dustin,
Check out my Buddy Brad Nix’s coverage of a seller who built thier own blog for thier FSBO
http://atlanta575realestate.com/2006/04/for-sale-by-owner-in-east-cobb.html
Hi Dustin, My wife Jill and I were in the same situation last year, and here is the net net on putting on the market or not. And, here is what we did. Before, we put our house on Queen Anne on the market, we actually had a good friend of ours from the largest real estate company in Seattle. Yes you can all guess it, he gave us some good tips for home sellers. So her actually agreed with our plan, and so we did the following, and yes we had decided to put the house on the market. Why, while as you know, I have been blogging on the economics of real estate, and it all comes down to supply and demand. So to get the most home buyers to look at your house, you would have to go to where the biggest deman is. As you already know, 85% of all homes are sold through real estate agents, and only 15% through FSBO. We decided to visually make our home appealing, we already had all the yuppie stuff:-) We refinshed our floors, to make them shine, we got the downstairs recarpeted, we had the touch paints inside, we had the whole outside painted, we actually had the home fully staged. Why go through all of the trouble you say, where listen up my friend. The real estate pros know this, and I did my research. We were going to price our home at $725K, to get it bid up, and the W. real estate agent company person, a not http://www.Urbantango.com agent, I worked for the other large company at the time, said it should bump up to high 7’s. So why not get it staged, butified, and make a great impression. We actually had multiple offers over 8’s, no contingencies etc. The house looked so beautiful, we did not want to sell. So beautifying a home through all the normal visual stuff, has to be done. And if a real estate seller wants to sell a home fast, and over asking price, stageing is a must. This is with a pregnant wife, and a young child.
So for any real estate home buyer, I recommend you beautify your home, I actually pay for my clients stageing, or will help them with paint or other fix ups to get them the most value for their home. The money is reimbursed to me after closing, have I actually done this, many times. And, I have raving fans my friend. So smart real estate agents as us, and your team know the value of impressions. The FSBO thing, it’s outdated, as you know know it’s all about economics, supply and demand.
Get that dishwasher changed, get the home painted, and call me if you have any questions on contractors, or painters, etc. Remember home sellers, Beautify!
Hi Dustin, My wife Jill and I were in the same situation last year, and here is the net net on putting on the market or not. And, here is what we did. Before, we put our house on Queen Anne on the market, we actually had a good friend of ours from the largest real estate company in Seattle. Yes you can all guess it, he gave us some good tips for home sellers. So her actually agreed with our plan, and so we did the following, and yes we had decided to put the house on the market. Why, while as you know, I have been blogging on the economics of real estate, and it all comes down to supply and demand. So to get the most home buyers to look at your house, you would have to go to where the biggest deman is. As you already know, 85% of all homes are sold through real estate agents, and only 15% through FSBO. We decided to visually make our home appealing, we already had all the yuppie stuff:-) We refinshed our floors, to make them shine, we got the downstairs recarpeted, we had the touch paints inside, we had the whole outside painted, we actually had the home fully staged. Why go through all of the trouble you say, where listen up my friend. The real estate pros know this, and I did my research. We were going to price our home at $725K, to get it bid up, and the W. real estate agent company person, a not http://www.Urbantango.com agent, I worked for the other large company at the time, said it should bump up to high 7’s. So why not get it staged, butified, and make a great impression. We actually had multiple offers over 8’s, no contingencies etc. The house looked so beautiful, we did not want to sell. So beautifying a home through all the normal visual stuff, has to be done. And if a real estate seller wants to sell a home fast, and over asking price, stageing is a must. This is with a pregnant wife, and a young child.
So for any real estate home buyer, I recommend you beautify your home, I actually pay for my clients stageing, or will help them with paint or other fix ups to get them the most value for their home. The money is reimbursed to me after closing, have I actually done this, many times. And, I have raving fans my friend. So smart real estate agents as us, and your team know the value of impressions. The FSBO thing, it’s outdated, as you know know it’s all about economics, supply and demand.
Get that dishwasher changed, get the home painted, and call me if you have any questions on contractors, or painters, etc. Remember home sellers, Beautify!
Question for the peanut gallery: His suggestions total around 20k. Let’s say he bought the house outright. Let’s say the value has gone up 60k since then. Individual contractors are a HUGE hassle: calling, estimates, multiple days needing to be around for the work…
When do you cut and run? Offer it at the +60k price, Happily dump 10k-20k off the price if a buyer seems very interested, but makes a stink. And just enjoy doing nothing and taking the time to move right. (Especially with a specific job start date in an entirely new state.)
Is it really work the hassle in such a market when “crap” (pardon the language) sells in 48hrs?
Having moved last year, it’s amazing what a good home staging will do for your home’s value. Although, to the casual observer it’s merely adding light and removing crap from your home, but it does work!
So my nickel opinion is that if you price it right, you may not have to give up any more on price than it would cost to have a handyman and the least expensive window outfit do your shopping list of work – and maybe not even that much. There are a large number of buyers who, when faced with an opportunity, will underestimate their costs, and lunge at the opportunity (painful disclosure – I have been one of them on my own house; tch, tch). If there are good comps so people can easily understand what the market price ‘should’ be, then I think your best bet might be to price the place just under the market, so that people see it as an opportunity and jump on it. Multiple offers can have a wonderful cleansing effect on the inspection/correction list.
I agree with every comment, but especially those by Vipin and Chuck. Stage it and get it out on the MLS. You’ll be glad you did!
My rule of thumb has always been that every seller should spend 1/2 of 1% of the home’s value getting it ready for market. Installing new windows is the kicker in the proposed scenario, generally not a “moving out” thing to do.
Reality is in the price points. Say you would sell it for $475,000 with 1/2 of 1% “beautifying” tasks and would want $520,000 if you do all the “stuff”. Getting over $500,000 is a lot harder than getting under $500,000. So only do what will take it to $490,000 or $495,000.
And don’t forget to get the heater serviced with a brand new filter and “inspected” tag before the home inspector comes. Call A.S.A.P. heating and ask for the $69 realtor special! The cost is $89 for the average homeowner…still a deal and well worth it. Inspectors LOVE those TAGS!
Other than pricing just right, staging is the key to getting the most money.I always send in my stager, at my expense, since the sellers don’t always beleive you.When we build, we always stage. Great floors are important. I would finish that basement wall.You don’t want to have anything “negative” to draw the buyers eye to. And, remember, buyer’s buy on emotion. If they can’t connect to your home, they’re not likely to buy it, so make it as attractive as possible and smell good.Only fix what a buyer will make a “buy” decision on.Changing out the windows will probably make the house more beautiful from the street and on the inside, but think you can do better than 10000 unless it’s all brick.Get rid of anything that crowds the house,makes it tacky, paint the front door. ckeab windows,Pack pack pack.Do this and you’ll get the most possible.If you need help on the remodel, give me a call.I know the best.Plus we can get you referrrals on electrical, etc.It’s what we do!