When a homeowner prepares to sell their property, they typically clean it up and think about which repairs or improvements will return more than their cost and help them sell their home faster. Some repairs and improvements will return 100% to 200% or more of your cost, while others may not increase the property’s value at all.

The most productive improvement that can be done is to patch and paint all the rooms of the property. We prefer to use a flat white primer and not tint the colors at all. The rooms look like they’ve been hit by a blizzard, but they look bigger and allow the buyer a “fresh palate” to paint any colors they want. If your property has wild and crazy wallpaper, it’s worth the effort and expense to remove it and paint the walls white.

The best bang for your buck for an upgrade cost is installing a new kitchen. We do not use custom cabinets, but ready made cabinets from leading home warehouses. If the cabinets are in good condition but need something to perk them up, replace the countertop and backsplash.

We do this with 12″ x 12″ granite tiles that we bond together and use the smallest grout line possible. In addition, we add the same granite as a bull point edge finish. The cost of granite is 1/10 to 1/20 of the cost of solid granite and the backsplash can be carried from the walls to the bottom of the cabinets. It can also be installed in two to three days maximum using just a tile cutter. This improvement will return many times its cost and has many times made the difference in selling a property quickly.

The property’s major mechanical systems include electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, and the roof. If what the property has is a fuse box, it’s best to upgrade it to circuit breakers so the buyer doesn’t have to. Plumbing repairs are a must and usually just mean leaky faucets that need washers or new valves that the homeowner can screw on.

Heating and cooling systems should be checked and maintained, but not replaced, as it is best to give the buyer a credit at the closing table or slightly reduce the sale price. If the roof doesn’t leak, clean it up and leave it alone. If you have a leak, fix it and fix stains on the ceiling or walls as soon as possible before listing the property. If the buyer protests the age of the roof, they must obtain the replacement and negotiate it at a reduced purchase price.

Fix up the landscaping, as it’s the first thing a potential buyer sees. An investment of a few hundred dollars can bring more people inside the property and easily pay back many times the cost.

If there is a partially finished or poorly finished foundation, make the best possible repair to complete the job at the lowest possible cost. In some cases, it may be better to pull out the old work and lay it out in the open.

One last thing we always do is get an inspection report from our inspector. We use this as a checklist of things to fix before a potential buyer has your inspector do an inspection that will scare you away from buying the property. Doing what it takes to make your property clean, fresh and presentable to prospective buyers doesn’t have to cost a lot, but the return on price you receive will far outweigh your investment.