Posted by SpreadTooThin on March 15, 2008, 11:55 am
I am thinking of selling my house.
The carpets need to be changed and the fence replaced or repaired.
If I replace the old carpets with hard wood floors and replace the
fence, am I going to make a profit?
The question is really how do you know if an improvement is going to
end up increasing the value of the house by more than the cost of the
improvement.
Posted by John Weiss on March 15, 2008, 1:05 pm
>I am thinking of selling my house.
> The carpets need to be changed and the fence replaced or repaired.
> If I replace the old carpets with hard wood floors and replace the
> fence, am I going to make a profit?
Generally, no. OTOH, if you do NOT fix some things, you may never sell the
house...
> The question is really how do you know if an improvement is going to
> end up increasing the value of the house by more than the cost of the
> improvement.
Few renovations/repairs will return 100% in the sale. You can't predict, with
any certainty, what portion of the investment you will recover. Current market
conditions may override any other considerations.
Your best bet would be to interview a couple realtors and have them each do a
market analysis and make recommendations on what HAS TO be fixed or upgraded to
sell the house.
Posted by Steve on March 15, 2008, 10:29 pm
misc.consumers.house:
> I am thinking of selling my house.
> The carpets need to be changed and the fence replaced or repaired.
> If I replace the old carpets with hard wood floors and replace the
> fence, am I going to make a profit?
> The question is really how do you know if an improvement is going to
> end up increasing the value of the house by more than the cost of the
> improvement.
Fixing things ahead of time *might* lead to a faster sale.
If you can afford to sit awhile and make a couple more mortgage
payments, leave it as is and see what happens. If no one looks at all,
fix the ugliest, cheapest things.
I would fix the fence. The buyer will make you do it anyway, or decrease
the sale price to compensate.
I never recommend people replace carpeting. Instead, I tell them to let
the buyers know you'll make allowance for new floor coverings. That way,
they can pick out carpet they like.
I wouldn't put in wood floors unless that's what's in all the other
houses for sale in your area.
True story: A client wanted to sell his house in University Park, a
hoity-toity suburb of Dallas. He made up a list of obvious things to fix
to promote a quick sale -- new ceiling fans, repair falling stone
facade, etc. He got an offer right away, then called me to fix a bunch
more stuff, including a missing stone in the wall behind a shrub. I told
him to wait to see what the buyer wanted fixed. Surprise -- the buyer
didn't want *anything* fixed.
You can't predict what people will want.
--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement
Posted by Shawn Hirn on March 16, 2008, 7:21 am
In article
> I am thinking of selling my house.
> The carpets need to be changed and the fence replaced or repaired.
> If I replace the old carpets with hard wood floors and replace the
> fence, am I going to make a profit?
> The question is really how do you know if an improvement is going to
> end up increasing the value of the house by more than the cost of the
> improvement.
There are no guarantees in life. You might make a profit, you might not
make a profit. In today's lousy real estate market, consider yourself
lucky if you can even find a buyer within a year. An aunt of mine
recently sold her condo after several months on the market and only
after knocking down the asking price tens of thousands of dollars.
Posted by Rocinante on March 16, 2008, 1:20 pm
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:55:23 -0700 (PDT), SpreadTooThin wrote:
> I am thinking of selling my house.
> The carpets need to be changed and the fence replaced or repaired.
> If I replace the old carpets with hard wood floors and replace the
> fence, am I going to make a profit?
> The question is really how do you know if an improvement is going to
> end up increasing the value of the house by more than the cost of the
> improvement.
A repair is not a capital improvement since it was supposed to be in good
working order in the first place. Something you add to the house that was
not there when you purchased it may be considered a capital improvement.
--
The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the stupidity of
your action.
RocinanteREMOVETHIS@gmail.com
3/16/2008 1:16:43 PM
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> The carpets need to be changed and the fence replaced or repaired.
> If I replace the old carpets with hard wood floors and replace the
> fence, am I going to make a profit?