How Much Renovating Should I Do?

[Queen Bee]

I'm thinking of selling my PPOR and I'm just trying to figure out how much renovating I should do before/if I put it on the market.

The street that I'm in has increased in value alot over the last couple of years and my house is probably at the top end of the price range as it is. There's a big hole in the wall in the laundry, the washing machine leaked a couple of years back and MM (Mere Male) pulled the wall out to see if the wall had rotted, and he's never put it back. If you're in the laundry, you can see the bath next door!

There's a smallish hole in a bedroom wall, where I tripped over the baby stroller one day and in a rage threw it across the room, hence the hole. MM has never fixed that either. It's a bit of a tricky one because the wallpaper is anaglypta (embossed) which is painted over and I don't know how to make the repair disappear. The floors probably need polyurethaning because the carpet is shot (after three kids).

If I'm probably going to get the top of the range anyway, do you think I should fix these things or just leave it. There hasn't been a house sale in our street for about a year, so am I being greedy thinking I might get more. I do know there is a waiting list for people who want to buy in my area. And there is a chronic shortgage of houses at the moment. But then again, that will probably be bad for me buying because I'd like to stay in the close proximity.

Any suggestions.

 

[Aceyducey]

Queen Bee,

Get your house valued by several RE Agents (I'd advise getting 3 quotes) & ask all of them what improvements you should do to the place to add value.

Then work out what it would cost to reno and check the prices of recent comp sales in nearby streets, and view properties on the market as a comparison.

Some renovations aren't worth doing because you don't get more than your money back.

It's not worth spending the money if you don't get more than you spent back (in an IP it has to be at least several times what it cost, in your case, this can be a bit more flexible).

It sounds as if your house should be easy to sell & there will be a lot of interest, so it's possible that you don't need to do any work to it - but don't let greed blind you & bear in mind that any flaws in the place can be used in the conditioning process by RE Agent or potential buyers to talk the price down.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[Michael Croft]

Hi,

The following is NOT advice.

If you are buying and selling your PPOR in the same market consider it a lateral transfer less aquisition and disposal costs. In OZ stampduty, agents commision and legals on the transfer form one PPOR to another could set you back $30k, so you want to like the new area/house a lot. Bearing in mind that $30k of improvements on the current PPOR may mean you the same desire to move may be lessened.

As far as fixing up the PPOR to sell, I would only do that which increases the sale price or shortens the time the property sits on the market. Fixing the holes is probably a must. I would put a piece of furniture or hang a painting/artifact against the wall paper to hide the hole/repair.

"The top of the range" is all well and good and probably has a +/- factor of at least $20k depending on the (first) impression the home creates. I would be aiming for the top of the top of the range with the least expenditure of time and effort. If patching a couple of holes costs $500 and adds $2k would you do it or pay some one to do it? Will $2k spent doing up the floors add $5k to the price? If yes would you do it or pay someone to do it?

Think of it another way, if an investment offered you a 150% return on your outlay would you do it?

Anyway the above musings may be irrelvant as you may live in a $40k shack in one street town and "top of the range" may only increase the sale price by $500. So do not consider anything I have said as advice they are only musings as to what I would do in my market and circumstances.

regards, MC

 

[plainsong]

Queen Bee, I'm in pretty much the same situation, so I will just pass on what has been suggested to me, FWIW.

I have talked to Agents, and a couple of people who reno and sell, and the consensus seems to be dont do too much, but do cosmetic things, -- (a developer said to me, "I call it bog and flog".. ) I am suspicious of agents who say-just leave it- I have in mind their interest is mainly turnover and quick sale., they are happy to sell your home at a discount-no skin off theirs, but if you are on the top end of the market you spend too much and overcapitilise you will be making the house nice for no reward except quicker sale. Having said all that it sounds as though the laundry wall shouldnt cost much to fix (-that could be a stick to beat you with to reduce the price,) and the floors would look nice polished ..(wouldnt bother about the bedroom wall though)

Cheers,

 

[Queen Bee]

Tender, Private Sale, Auction?

Thanks for that everyone. I probably would polish the floors, but at least that wont cost us. And we'll fix the hole in the laundry.

I'm now wondering which would be the best way to sell. I could do a private sale, did that for my mothers house and got a pretty good price. But it put alot of pressure on me because I'd never done it before and I did feel quite stressed at times. I suppose it depends on how much stress I want to go through. I could go through a RE and just put it on the market, open tender, closed tender or auction. Nah, maybe not an auction, because the RE charge u for that.

What are the good and bad points of using the above options when selling?

 

[Aceyducey]

Queen Bee,

Private Sale
You have to do all the work

Selling via an Agent
There's a buffer between you and the buyers - can make buyers feel more comfortable & is useful in negotiating
You have to do less work - ad photos & text, showing the place, making signs, etc

We like buying from private sales in most cases - many people are poor negotiators & marketers, so represent themselves poorly, get less interest in their properties & are more open with the situation (urgency of and price they MUST get). So better deals here. Of course there are a few intransients who demand better than market returns & have strong emotional attachments to their properties,but they tend to take quite awhile to sell their property.

At least have some agents give you an idea of what they believe it is worth & how they would market it - gives you a feeling for the market & ideas for marketing your property if nothing else

Basically, if you feel you can negotiate & market as well as a good agent, then go private. If you find an agent who can do a better job than you, then maybe use them.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[Queen Bee]

Mmmm, maybe I'd be too emotionally attached to my own property to get a good price, or else I'd feel sorry for the people, or something.

I think I'd probably go with the Agent. But then again, I'll have to put up with all the bull-crap they tell you. I think I'll go for a male agent because then I won't have a problem telling him if I've got a problem with him.

Interesting.

 

[WillG]

Hi,

I agree with everybody comments. Fix things that will show up in building inspections (holes in walls, cracks in cornice, sticky doors etc) - remove bargaining areas for potential buyers.

Changing ugly dated light fittings will increase value, is cheap and can be done without hiring an electrician.

Clean grout/re-grout bathrooms. Easy cheap & value added.
Paint/Replace the front door and possibly update the lock. It may look cosmetic but will add significant value.

If your Kitchen is old, consider replacing cupboard handles and tiling/re-grouting splashbacks. Makes a big difference.

It may be worth while hiring a high pressure cleaner to clean paved areas, concrete paths and oil stains on driveways

If you intend on selling privately, consider buying a kit that contains marketing info etc ... There are companies in Australia such as 'Canreps' that provide such kits.

Good luck

 

[dynamite]

Apologies if this has already been said (im in a huge rush).

The addage that you never spend more than your house value plus reno costs, in comparison to the most expensive house in the street.

But I dont think this applies to you.

I think the only thing thats a major for you would be the floors? (I dont know how you think your going to get them done without paying huge money, hahaha)

I reckon you just need a tidy up. You want maximum dollar you, gotta get people in the front door. So the front yard needs to be well manicured, if you have trees and shrubs get a gardener in for a few hours.

Get a skip (unless you can be bothered with trailers) and just chuck out anything thats not worth keeping and is just lying around (pavers, old wood, stumps). The less clutter the better.

Next I reckon the small things that make a difference, door handles blah blah (I think there is a top ten small things post in the forums some where, I reckon those tips are great).

Dont paint anything, unless its not already neutral (ie offensive hot pink feature wall ;-) )

Clean clean clean.

As for the wall, what kind of pattern is it? if its painted wall paper, you could try emulating the pattern and create a stencil, plaster the whole as per normal (let us know if thats a new one), leaved a little plaster raised, then push the stencil into it, then tidy up the pattern with sandpaper (you may need to get really find so wrap it round and object the desired size), get the 150 grit paper and a hand sander out, sand the top so the pattern is now flat with the rest of the wall, then paint (providing you know the colour).

At the end of the day, people like to live in clean fresh homes, you can target market if you leave it with somethin somethin to do, people also get a little emotionally attached ("oh love the house, I reckon I could change those trims and it would be all my style"), but just enoughed for them to be hooked.

Now in saying all of the above, Im not an expert, and as you know with any opinions on this forum, only do things you feel comfortable with and are able to take responsibility for (ie dont try this at home kids).

 

[plainsong]

Dynamite I was on the verge of launching into my dining room
feature wall with hot pink!!!!!!can of paint.

now you've gone and spoilt my wonderful vision--I thought I was being trendy!

best regards,

 

[dynamite]

well plainsong, my fav is a slime green trimming on a sponged hot pink feature wall with a nice chocolate colour on remainding walls.

;-)

 

[plainsong]

no I was serious..I like hot pink feature walls..but it sounds like not such a good idea, I had better stick with boring old nuetral.

 

[Queen Bee]

I"m waiting in anticipation

Thanks for all that info, don't know where I'm gonna find a cheap Floorsander though. haha

I'm waiting in anticipation because a house around the corner from me (another street, but up there with mine) has just gone on the market. They've already had two open homes and there's been heaps of interest. I'm really excited because this house that's just gone on the market has 4 bedrooms and no garage, not fenced and no work has been done inside for years, but new carpet. (Deceased estate) It's a closed tender closing first week in July. The GV is the same as mine.

I went down and had a look in the weekend and even though it's got 4 bedrooms it's no where near the condition of my house. I've completely decorated the inside, relatively newish kitche, newish bathroom, fully fenced, double garage with a room attached.

Even though with a closed tender, the owners don't reveal how much they want, my friend heard through the grapevine that the siblings that have been left the house want about $40,000 more than what I thought I'd get for my house. I'm hoping that with more buyers than sellers at the moment that they will get want they want.

I've got dollar signs in my eyes already!

 

[suejones]

Hi Queen Bee!!
We just sold our house at a record for the street even though it is not anywhere near the biggest.

Real Estate agents told us not to do anything, but then again, they get a commission no matter how much it sells for and they usually want to list it straight away.

Our motto was 'presentation is everything." If people come in and your house has a great first impression you will get top dollar. We had a laundry which needed some repair, but by the time people got to that, they'd already made up their mind on the rest of the house.

I invested in:
Couch covers and new cushions - to hide our dirty couches.
Turf and simple back garden makeover including a screen to hide the shed
Simple front garden makeover which included plants everyone likes.
Flowers for inside
We moved some furniture out to make it look spacious and got rid of all the crap and made sure it was clean for inspections (especially the kitchen and bathroom)

Hope this helps,
Sue

 

[dynamite]

Did I mention hire furniture?

It is really afforable I reckon. Quality modern stuff which makes your place look so much more with the times (not dated). But if its a cottage you might be better off hiring old wood style furniture.

 

[lissie]

Once the house up the road has sold - call any agent with the company that sold it and they will be able to tell you what the sell price was. This info is public knowledge which is eventually available on quoteable.co.nz for a few dollars - but I dont know how long this takes to be updated.

 

[Queen Bee]

Thanks lissie

I'll do that. Welcome to the forum. I'm from Wellington 2.

 

[elwyn.d]

HI Q. Bee.
Its my feel that if you are at the top end of the market it aint going to matter if its got a few cheeses things wrong with it. The rooting around and hair pulling may not be worth it.
Good Luck anyway Elwyn D.

 

[Queen Bee]

True, and it sounds like we're in a different cycle than you are over there. It seems to be booming here, but I'm sure it'll slow down soon. I sure hope so cos house prices are going up faster than I can buy them!