Remodeling might not pay, but it will help sell your house
December 1st, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
According to a recent survey, homeowners in Florida will not recoup the full cost of their remodeling projects in our current real estate market. So why do I continue to recommend that sellers update old kitchens, install impact-resistant windows or repair roofs? 
Its simple. There are 900 properties for sale in 33133 and only 29 sold in October.
If you want to sell your house, it must be in move-in ready condition or deeply discounted. If you aren’t ready to drop the price, I highly suggest that you remodel those old bathrooms and kitchens now. Doing this will help your house stand out from the rest.
Where will you recoup the most money? Nationally, the survey shows that exterior remodeling jobs such as windows, decks and landscaping give you the greatest chance of recouping your money. Such remodeling projects show a cost recouped of 76 – 86%. Kitchens come in at a close second at 76 – 79%.
Another reason to remodel? If you don’t, buyers will over-estimate the cost of the job and deduct it from their offer.
Deferred maintenance will always be found during a buyer’s inspection period. And typically, inspectors estimate a far greater amount to repair the problems. This can cause the buyers to renegotiate the contract price and can result in the sellers losing some money. If sellers can shop around to get the best price and fix the problem themselves, before listing their home, they can usually save quite a bit of money.
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This is an article that most homeowners today need to read — along with any that explain what it means to price appropriately for today’s real estate market here in Central Florida.
It’s tough, and if homeowners are leveraged up to the hilt on their mortgage, it may be impossible to get out even – especially if repairs/remodeling projects are required to do so.
However, if there’s any wiggle room at all for the kind of home improvements you list in this article, I’d surely recommend homeowners go forward with them!
Hi Riley,
As a prospective buyer, I suggest that if homeowners decide to remodel, they do it well. An ugly bathroom is ugly even if it’s new. A poorly designed, slapped-together job will require gutting by anyone who cares–in which case the homeowner might as well have saved time and money and just cut the price.
Linda
[...] Riley Smith discussed how remodeling might not pay, but will help sell your house [...]
Very interesting article, as are some of your other posts. I have bookmarked for for future visits, keep up the good work
Haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed
A fantastic read….very literate and informative. Many thanks….where is your RSS button ?