It’s been four months since my wife Erin and I began our journey of home renovations in preparation for placing it on the market to be sold. When asked to describe the journey to family or friends, the first words that seem to enter my mind are “it’s been a grind” and it certainly has been. With that said it’s also been extremely gratifying to see a vision take a tangible form. We learned so much during the process and want to pass on that knowledge to you.
Consider The Profit - When taking on renovations before selling your home you always want to consider if it's financially worth it. Figure out what the best return on investment areas are in your home. You may have a large list of things that you would like to be done but are they the things that should be done. Weighing what areas people are most attracted to - that they will appeal most to them when they walk in. This is why number 2 is also important.
Utilize your Agent - Your agent is the one who can help you with figuring out the best areas, timeline, etc. Being a Realtor myself I knew these things and have access to information that informed our decisions. Don’t rely on google or HGTV for Real Estate advice - they can give you aesthetic ideas but they are not experts when it comes to the market where you live. If you’re thinking of waiting to get a Realtor, don’t.
Budget & Keep Track of Spending - Our budget also impacted the things we could do vs what we wanted to do. We wanted to make sure the quality was good - it was not an option to skimp on important things in order to do more. We put our money and time into good work and qualified people to do the things we could not, which leads to the next point.
Discern which projects you can do and the ones that are best to hire out. - There were small projects that we knew we could do ourselves and do them well. There were others that we knew needed to be done by a professional because a wrong move could be more expensive and if done poorly it would show up on the inspection and possibly lose us a potential buyer.
Get Ready to Learn a lot - You’ll learn about hiring quality workers. You’ll learn project management. And, you’ll possibly learn how to do simple home DIY projects. This was the piece of silver lining for me. Once you complete a DIY project- like installing a new kitchen sink or bathroom light fixture, you’ll likely never forget how to do it again.
Get Friendly with your Hardware stores - From the DIY projects that seemed to take forever, the constant trips back and forth to Lowe’s, all of it tested our mettle greatly! Our advice. Just expect it. Be nice to the people who help you and learn their names. Also, sign up for emails and follow them on social media so you’ll know if they have any deals coming up on something you may need.
Take advantage of time in quarantine to get it done - Doing all of this in the midst of Covid believe it or not has been a true blessing in disguise. As I overheard my wife say on the phone to someone she was speaking to while we were in the middle of our renovations, we likely would not have begun to work on the house as soon as we did if not for Covid because we had travel plans galore heading into 2020.
Think through alternative housing possibilities - This isn’t the case for all renovations but consider if you had to stay somewhere else during renovations where would that be. Friends, family, or budget for an Airbnb. We ended up having to stay in an Airbnb because we had no shower.
Remember: It's worth it! For the Profit - Start with the end in mind and remember the end in the midst of the renovation.
Remember: It’s worth it! For the Look - Even if your profit isn’t grand your property is still more likely to sell quickly when it looks good. The photos look better and potential buyers see that it’s move-in ready and they don’t have to put extra work into it.
Getting there was the grind. I’m so grateful to any and everyone that helped us reach the finish line of our home renovations. There’s no possible way we got this done without you. To my wife, thank you. There is no way in the world I could have gotten this done without you.
Buyers and potential buyers, this home is on the market now. To the future owner of this home, I hope it brings you as much joy as it has brought me over the last 13 years.