Lots of articles recommend home improvements to make before selling your house, but few discuss what not to fix.

Before putting your home on the market, it’s important to prepare it for showings. You want to make sure the house is presentable in general but many of the renovations you’re thinking of may not be a good idea. Don’t get carried away preparing your home for sale. Pouring too much money into the house won’t substantially improve its appeal and asking price.

The trick is to know where to draw the line. The last thing you need to worry about when selling a home is whether your clients will like any fixes you made.

Keep these tips in mind when deciding how to fix up a home before putting it on the market.

 

When potential buyers visit your house for a showing, they spend an average of 15-30 minutes there. It is a rushed experience and most of their time is spent looking around the rooms and trying to get a feel for the house. A buyer is unlikely to catch all small cosmetic flaws and issues with your home that is visible during a showing.

Fixing all these normal wear and tear will cost you hundred or thousand of dollars. Don’t do a bunch of work and waste your money fixing things that aren’t broken or a total eye sore.

 

Just because your electrical panel, water heater, and A/C system are a little older in age doesn’t mean they need to be replaced. Updating an older electrical system or water heater can be an expensive and complicated project.

If your electrical panel, water heater, or A/C system has some age on them but is working and functioning as it should, leave them alone. Don’t spend money updating a working system in the house.

This doesn’t mean you should paint a house in an unsafe condition. You should disclose any latent defects to the buyer via Seller’s Disclosure Notice.

If your appliances are more than 10 years old, mismatched, energy inefficient, and barely functioning—and if you’re planning to sell your home—it’s a good idea to replace them. But it doesn’t have to be expensive.

If they’re ancient, ugly, and barely working, it might help to save money by replacing them with used appliances versus buying brand-new ones.

Keep that view: window replacements aren’t worth it. Not only is replacing them costly, it rarely increases home values enough to justify the expense. Maybe it’s a strange tip when the idea of home-renovating is so popular, but it’s true: replacing your windows can actually draw attention to the issues you’re hoping to sidestep.

Rather than replacing windows, change the look of your home by adding additional color and style to your existing windows.

 

Are you worried that your kitchen needs a complete overhaul but can’t afford it? Don’t do a half-baked update just to fill the time! Surfaces and cabinets that have been partially touched up stand out, highlighting all the flaws in the original.

Partial upgrades on the bathroom and kitchen will add little value and actually detract from the overall property. Focus your budget on the room that needs it most.

When you’re selling your house, it’s best to de-clutter and fix up as much as possible beforehand. This gives potential buyers a blank slate to work with rather than a half-baked remodel.

 

The Bottomline:

Seek to show potential, not perfection.

When you’re getting ready to sell your house, don’t try to fix everything that’s wrong with it. If you spend too much money fixing things up or making other improvements that make the house too expensive, you might lose money on the sale or price yourself out of the market. Instead, focus on showing the potential buyers what a great deal they can get on your house.

It’s always a good idea to ask your agent what, if anything, should be fixed or upgraded before you list your home.

As your local top agent in Northern Virginia, I always advise sellers where to make money by pointing out which repairs and upgrades are necessary and where to save money by leaving some projects undone.

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