Sellers tend to spend around $14,163 per month on the wrong pre-listing home improvements. These home renovations deliver only 60% ROI on their investments. If you plan to remodel your home, reconsider what not to fix when selling a house.
Do buyers care about paint jobs or should you sell as-is? Remodeling projects in the kitchen and bathroom lead to overspending and delay your sale timeline. Rather seek to calculate if you get your money’s worth in improved home value or not.
If you want to save money and time on repairs, you can sell your home as-is. You can list your home on Houzeo and sell it on the MLS for cash offers. Additionally, Houzeo’s tech-centric approach will also make home selling a breeze.
What Not to Fix When Selling a House?
Here is a rundown of what you should not fix when selling a house:
1. Cosmetic Issues
You need not worry about minor imperfections like random stains on the floor and carpet, scratches, or dents. These do not have a functional use and won’t change the element’s utility. Moreover, cosmetic fixes have an average ROI of 70%.
According to some experienced Realtors, buyers are not usually concerned about whether the house has a scuffed floor or minor dents. They only care about your home being structurally sound.
👉 What to do: Focus only on cosmetic flaws that are easy to resolve. Issues like wall paint touchups, small drywall repairs, and kitchen tile cleaning involve less time and money.
2. Excessive Curb and Walkway Repairs
Giving a facelift to a driveway can be a good decision but buyers will overlook it if they like the rest of the house. Avoid fixing hairline cracks and imperfections in your porch. These imperfections may give a ‘wabi-sabi’ effect to your home’s aesthetics.
👉 What to do: Focus on keeping the grass mowed and your walkway tidy. This will help increase overall curb appeal and make your house stand out.
3. Minor Electrical Issues
A loose switch outlet or a slow-functioning light bulb doesn’t make a difference in a house sale. You can avoid fixing such issues and leave them at the next owner’s discretion. Buyers may also want to change these fixtures anyway.
👉 What to do: Go for an overall electrical inspection or an HVAC inspection to check for electrical issues. It costs only $100-$400 and helps you identify issues like exposed wires or outdated service panels.
4. Outdated Items
Things such as centralized air conditioning systems, bathroom fixtures, cabinets, etc. that are worn-out, out do not need to be replaced. These fixes will not improve your home’s aesthetic appeal.
For some items, it’s effective to remove them rather than attempting updates. For example, you can avoid replacing things like curtains, curtain rods, cabinet tops, and paintings. These items are dated and don’t change the buyer’s perspective much.
👉 What to do: You can either take these items along with you or remove them completely. If some items are broken, you don’t need to replace them with high-end ones. Used or standard products will do just fine. Also, discuss with the buyers if they want to customize things.
5. Partial Upgrades
Partial wall paint or only a cabinet installment anywhere creates a skewed visualization of your space for buyers. Additionally, a partial upgrade may lose value over time.
👉 What to do: Avoid fixing selective spaces at your home. All your renovations should complement each other. Also, plan your house renovation timeline if you foresee a possible delay.
6. Kitchen and Bathroom Remodel
Improvement projects like kitchen and bath remodeling can cost you $35,000-$45,000 but recover only 67% to 71% of the cost. If you add other repairs, your budget might even go beyond the selling price.
👉 What to do: Just ensure that the existing kitchen and bath appliances function well. Declutter and clean the kitchen and bathroom areas. Also, perform a plumbing inspection to determine glaring issues that need to be fixed.
7. Broken Appliances
If your existing appliances are broken, do not purchase brand-new ones just to add a shiny touch. Investment in new assets like smart cooking wares or a dishwasher can significantly increase your budget.
👉 What to do: If your existing appliances are functional, do not replace them. Whereas if essential appliances are broken, replace them with used models.
8. Energy-Efficient Models
Energy-efficient devices like LED bulbs and solar panels won’t make or break a real estate deal. Though such upgrades are useful for you, they’re imperceptible for buyers.
👉 What to do: Don’t invest in such models. Rather take care of other wear and tear in the house. For example, investment in insulation upgrades can fetch up to 120% ROI for you.
9. Old Home Codes
If your home is very old, it may have followed the legal building codes of yesteryears. These codes are marked as ‘Grandfathered-in’. If such is the case, you don’t need to update anything to match the current codes.
👉 What to do: Go for a home inspection first. Home inspectors address the required building codes in the report like missing egress windows, missing smoke detectors, or a safety measurement.
Things to Remember Before Fixing Your Home
The trick is to know what to fix before selling the home rather than losing money. These 3 points can help you decide:
- Provide Buyer Allowances or Credit: You can pay some of the buyer’s closing costs so they can pay for their repairs. For example, you can credit your buyer for the cosmetic repairs or the replacement of old flooring in the house.
- Estimate Repair Costs: Sellers spend the most on remodeling which does not offer great ROI. Whereas HVAC electrification conversion and garage door replacement provide 102%-103.5% ROI. So, always check for how much of these costs you can ultimately recover.
- Conduct Home Inspection: A home inspection report by a professional can tell you what not to fix when selling a house. This will also give a fairly accurate valuation of your home.
Final Word
What to and what not to fix when selling a house is your call. Buyers understand that a house will have imperfections because people have lived there. You shouldn’t presume that you must fix everything before selling your house.
You can always go for a home inspection or conduct independent research about the required improvements. The right home improvement project can change the course of your returns.
Lastly, if you don’t want to make any changes and sell your house as-is, list it on the MLS with Houzeo. Houzeo’s tech-centric platform allows you to compare offers and request the highest and best offer.
FAQs
Should I fix my home completely before selling?
No, you don’t need to fix all minor issues when selling a home. While some customary improvements can enhance the appeal, focus more on major repairs that significantly impact the functionality or usefulness of the property.
» What not to fix? Find out what you do not need fix before a sale.
Do you really have to fix up a house for sale?
It’s better to repair before selling a house if you don’t want to face a competitive market and bidding wars. But if you want to save money on home improvements, you should sell your home as-is.
What is a fixer-upper house?
A fixer-upper is a house that needs a lot of fixes and improvements. It is typically available at lower prices.
If you have one such house, you must spend a lot of time and money on cosmetic or structural improvements. Here is what you can choose to ignore before fixing such a home.
