As a home stager and interior designer in Pasadena, I am often asked about the value of upgrading a home for sale. The Wall Street Journal recently did a story on this subject: You May Not Recoup The Entire Cost Of These Upgrades When You Sell Your Home. While I agree with the article that you may not recoup the costs of upgrades, some upgrades will help your Pasadena home sell faster.
kitchen before upgrading to sell
Kitchen after upgrades
Which of the two kitchens pictured here are more likely to help this 1920’s cottage sell? How much of an allowance do you think you would have to offer to entice someone to buy a home with the kitchen above?
The value and wisdom of the upgrades will be reflected in the faster selling time. This results in a net savings of carrying costs (mortgage, property tax, insurance, utilities) and less stress and turmoil.
Offering a ‘carpet allowance’ or a ‘painting allowance’ won’t get your home sold. Buyers have a hard time imagining a house with worn or soiled carpet and peeling paint can be the kind of home they would pay good money for. They’ll reject your home and move on to the next home. There are plenty to choose from on the market right now. Make your Pasadena home move in ready, and home buyers will be able to imagine themselves living there, making it their dream home.
Homes in better condition will sell faster. It is very simple. When you put your Pasadena home on the market, you are entering it in a beauty contest. The best looking homes sell faster and for a better price.
*Will Upgrading a Home Help Sell It?* Copyright 2009 Michelle Minch and Moving Mountains Design. All rights reserved.
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Call Michelle Minch at Moving Mountains Design Home Staging to arrange for your Comprehensive Home Staging Consultation (626)441-8975. Or visit our Pasadena home staging portfolio to see pictures of our recently completed projects.
Michelle – What an extremely well written article. I especially liked the before and after pictures you provided. And you’re right, in this market it’s important to stand out. Smart investments will surely add to the appeal. Nicely said.
Kathy
Michelle,
I couldn’t agree with you more. Carpet and paint allowances just don’t do it. Prospective buyers don’t want to buy a project and more importantly, it is all but impossible for a buyer to understand the impact an allowance will make on a home that is not ready for the market. The best way to spend the allowance is for the seller to invest in the work before trying to sell and deliveirng a home that delivers the competitive WOW factor when it hits the market!
Well said Michelle. I wish sellers would truly understand one of the key points you made here:
…”The value and wisdom of the upgrades will be reflected in the faster selling time. This results in a net savings of carrying costs….”
That is huge! For a home to sit month after month (and some easily over a year) the costs of this well outweigh the investment in upgrading and improvements. Allowances do not work, especially with the climate of the market we have today.
Michelle, I am so excited to have your first post here! You are so right, home sellers have a hard time understanding that “carpet and/or painting allowances” do not work. Most home buyers have a difficult time trying to imagine what the home will look like.
By staging or upgrading key elements of the home, we help the buyers make that emotional connection. Also, a lot of my home buyers just do not want the hassle of dealing with contractors. They are more than willing to move on to the next house – you know that one that has the beautiful kitchen like in the photo above.
WELCOME!!!
Right on! I would expect nothing less from you as the professional stager that you are. With all the shortsales and foreclosures around, buyers will still go for the home with the less work involved and more upgrades. Buyers are savvy and the home that stands out will sell everytime. Well said and very timely too!