Should you remodel your Santa Fe home prior to putting it up for sale? To reap the best return on your investment, substitute labor and ingenuity for cash, advises Dan Steward in RisMedia’s article, Pre-Sale Renovation: Home Seller Do’s and Don’ts. Steward, owner of Pillar to Post Home Inspections, suggests that servicing, refurbishing, cleaning and decluttering go farther to attract buyers than high-end appliances, luxury finishes and trendy upgrades, which can be taste specific. Since, “remodels done in 2010 will only recoup 60% of their price when the house is sold,” according to Remodeling magazine’s 2010 Remodeling Cost vs. Value survey, done in partnership with the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), chose only those projects for which you can afford a limited return.
Steward recommends small gestures with maximum visual impact. He suggests refacing, rather than replacing, cabinets, swapping out new bath and shower fixtures for dated ones, adding additional lights and a larger mirror above the bathroom vanity and splashes of color in kitchen and bath. Aesthetic slight-of-hand won’t suffice when improvements are truly necessary. Be prepared to replace wheezing appliances, broken tiles, cracked windows and water-damaged floors –or drop the price accordingly.
For additional insight, check out HGTV’s Bang for Your Buck Experts Discuss the Best and Worst in Remodeling Investments and Home Staging. Designer Monica Pedersen and Real Estate Expert Elizabeth Sincox offer their opinions on when and how to spend money on landscaping, lighting and more.
For more on this topic, read: Selling Your Santa Fe Home in a Buyer’s Market
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