by Buz Wolfe
One thing has become absolutely clear to me these past few years as we recover from the “post-bubble” downturn. Houses that are outdated or have not been kept updated are simply tough to sell.
Irrespective of curb appeal, location, neighborhood and even price – – homes that are perceived by the Buyers to need “too much work” simply experience more days on market than their competitors. Even with inventory levels declining and more buyers being available to purchase homes, these outdated properties tend to sit for long periods of time. As a reluctant homeowner myself, I have finally acknowledged this fact of life and agreed with my wife that it is it time to update our 1990 home.
Over the past year or so, we have replaced all of the old vinyl flooring in our kitchen and baths with ceramic tile. We redid our master bedroom shower with a beautiful ceramic tile shower and redid all of the countertops in our bathrooms. At this very moment, we are replacing our perfectly acceptable formica kitchen counters with granite countertops and ceramic tile backsplash. It is inconvenient and expensive, but I have come to realize that we simply must make these upgrades.
Outside, we have been doing little things like freshening up our landscaping, power washing our siding, re-staining our deck, painting our patio and replacing some exterior light fixtures. We have re-mortared and repaired our brick sidewalks. We hope to put our own house on the market within the next year or two and understand that we simply must make these improvements if we hope to be successful.
It’s really easy to live in a house for twenty or thirty years and fail to “keep up with the times”. Guilty for sure on my part despite the constant pleas from my wife. And, I believe that it is much easier and more practical to do it over the course of several months or a few years rather than try to “hurry up” when you are ready to sell your house. Besides, I would like to get at least a little bit of enjoyment out of these upgrades before I pass them on to the next happy homeowner.
The staff at Wolfe & Company Realtors is very good at distinguishing Cost vs. Value. They are not the same! If you would like us to provide you with opinions on what you can do to make your home more marketable, please feel free to get in touch. As we continue to celebrate our 30th Anniversary, another thing is abundantly clear – – EXPERIENCE MATTERS!
*Ray L. “Buz” Wolfe, CRS has been Broker/Owner of his own firm since 1986. In 2015, he was again the Carlisle Area’s Top Producing Independent Broker.
**All information believed to be accurate but not guaranteed.