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August 9, 2019

Should I Remodel My Home Before Selling?

Should I Remodel My Home Before Selling? 1

By Ryan Huggins

Does your home still have wallpaper?  Does it have Linoleum floors?  Does your kitchen still have small tiles with large grout lines?  If you answered yes to any of these, then your house is outdated.  While this may be fine for what you desire, if you want to sell your home you basically have two choices.  The first choice is to sell it "as is" in it's current condition, while your second choice is to fix up the home prior to listing it.

Both options have their benefits and drawbacks.  Remodeling will let your home appeal to a wider range of buyers (if done right) and will help your home sell faster and for more money, but selling in it's current condition saves you from having to put out the cash and live through the remodeling process.

Choosing between the two can be a daunting task.  Luckily for you, the experts at Huggins Homes are here to help!

Remodeling a home for sale to the mass audience takes a lot of research and trial and error.  Studying the latest design trends on shows like "Property Brothers" or "Flipping Vegas" is a great place to start, but there is a lot more to it than that.  You also have to know what sells in YOUR area, not the part of Canada Drew and Jonathan are in.

For that, you need an experienced team to help you.  While blue paint may appeal to you, it won't appeal to the majority of buyers.  At Huggins Homes we work with several property flippers who have their fingers on the pulse of what the buyers want.  In addition, we have over 30 years experience selling homes in the area and we know what sells!

Remodels take time, money and effort to complete... but will you get an ROI?

The first step in determining what path you should take is to look inward and take stock of yourself.  Determine what your budget is.  Determine what your level (and your family's level) of tolerance is for a disrupted lifestyle.  Can you live without one of the bathrooms for a month?  What about the kitchen?  Will you be better off renting an apartment for the time it takes to remodel?

It is always best to get an expert opinion of what your house needs to remodel in order to get top dollar.  What you might think are important items (new cover for a pool) may actually be a non-issue to buyers.  Painting, kitchens, bathrooms are all important things, but does your house really need them to sell?  To know the answers, you need that experienced person to guide you through what is necessary.  Can your home sell with a 1990s kitchen or do you need a 2019 kitchen?  Do you need to invest in wood floors, or will carpet sell in your neighborhood?  Do all you really need is a deep cleaning?

Next, you need to figure out the return on your investment.  If you fixed up the kitchen, baths and repainted the house, what would you reasonably expect to sell the house for?  Compare that to what you can sell the house for in it's current condition.  Then get bids from contractors to determine the cost of the remodels.  Only then will you be able to know if putting $50,000 or more into a remodel will be worth it to you.  If that $50,000 gets you $75,000 or more in an increased sales price, maybe it will be.  If it only nets you $55,000 more, it probably won't be worth it.

Location, Location, Location and Market, Market, Market

Should I Remodel My Home Before Selling? 2

Do you have a one of a kind view?  Do you have a unique secluded lot or

plenty of space for RV parking?  Do you have an extra-large yard, a one of a kind pool or some other one-of-a-kind feature?  Is your house located in guaranteed admittance area for a top local school?

If you answered yes to any of these, you may not have to do as much as a property without these selling features!  Some buyers, especially in a low inventory market, may be willing to pay more for a home in a certain school zone that is not fixed up, then they would pay for that same exact home in a less desirable school district.

One other thing to consider, is selling to investors like our top investor client, Regal Redevelopment.  They will take a look at your property and can give you an on the spot all-cash offer for your home in it's current condition.  This gives you a hassle-free selling experience and lets them worry about the remodel and eventual resale.

"As-Is" does not mean "Dilapidated"

If you do choose to sell your home on the MLS in it's current condition, it should still be ready for "prime-time".  This means that you should take care of minor repairs.  Items such as dirty floors, grease in the oven, dirt on the doors and walls, holes in the walls, out of control landscaping and the like should be tended to before listing the home.  These are all very minor items that can be handled by a handyman, a good cleaning crew, or a good landscaper and they shouldn't cost much.  Now while they won't have the same "bang for the buck" that a new kitchen or bathroom will, they will convey the message that the house was well cared for.

When does "as-is" NOT mean "as-is"

As-is does not mean "without inspections and repair requests."  Any regular buyer is going to have inspections performed, and you want them to so they can have full knowledge of the home they're buying.  But what happens after the inspections... the repair request comes.  Depending on what the inspector finds and the quality of the buyer's agent, the repair request might be reasonable, or it might not be.  At that point you can agree to make some repairs, all repairs or no repairs.  The buyer can then elect to accept your response, reject your response and walk away, or counter.

According to users on the social platform Reddit who have used the "instant offers" or "i-buyer" feature of some big name real estate websites, you get your initial offer and then after the inspections the offer price gets lowered.

That's why it's best to work with investors like ours.  They'll give you an honest price that they stand behind.

However you decide to proceed, the team at Huggins Homes is here to help you!  We have expert agents and investors who are ready, willing and able to assist you in all your real estate needs!

About the Author

Ryan Huggins
Ryan has a real estate licensee since the late 90s and a Broker since 2018 and as a second generation real estate Broker, he has has lifetime of real estate knowledge and experience to pull from. Ryan works with sellers, buyers, and investors. For first-time buyers, Ryan has a network of lenders that have their fingers on the pulse of every available assistance program out there. Ryan also has been managing single-family home rentals for over 12 years and manages several short-term rental properties with Ventura County Vacation Rentals Ryan's Service to the Real Estate Industry: Since 2024: Directors for the California Association of Realtors Since 2020: Director for the Conejo Simi Moorpark Association of Realtors 2025: President-Elect for the Conejo Simi Moorpark Association of Realtors 2026: President of the Conejo Simi Moorpark Association of Realtors Ryan is also a member of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and the Ventura County chapter of the Asian-American Real Estate Association

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