Dale specializes in helping home sellers maximize the value of their property by providing a series of options that best fit the unique situations that many sellers face. There is rarely a one-size fits all plan. The information below is from a series of articles Dale wrote about the process he went through to maximize the net sale proceeds from his elderly mother’s home when it was time for her to downsize into a senior living community:
My mom and dad were always pretty conservative on their spending…okay, they were very frugal. While this characteristic served them well throughout life in many ways, it prevented them from updating their home in a manner that best resonates with today’s home buyers. The flooring, finishing and color choices of 1999 as well as hardware choices have changed. Because the home hasn’t been updated and there are also some worn areas throughout, its condition has left a pretty large gap in the “As Is” value and the potential updated value of my mom’s home.
TOP 7 ITEMS YOU CAN DO TO UPDATE YOUR HOME
& ADD VALUE WITHOUT A MAJOR REMODEL
For some homeowners, the only option is to sell to a home flipper/investor so it can be updated and then sold for a profit – for the record, there is nothing wrong with this and this is how many homes get the renovations needed to appeal to today’s buyers (and this also helps neighborhoods maintain or increase home values). However, the profit margin of the investor/flipper is what the homeowner is leaving on the table when selling in this condition. In some cases, selling to a flipper may be the best option because a quick sale is needed/desired. However, when the time, financial resources, expertise and desire are available, it may be possible to realize a much higher net sale amount when renovations can be done prior to the selling the home. This is what started our journey…(these items came from some of my newsletter articles to my email list).
Step 1 – Move Mom Into a Senior Community (resort-like and she loves it)
Step 2 – Remove important documents and family artifacts/pics etc. Also, remove all junk that isn’t saleable – call a junk removable company if needed – I can provide a referral.
Step 3 – Prep Home for Estate Sale – Steps 2 & 3 took approximately 200 man-hours because it was a moderate hoarder situation (professionals can be hired to reduce this time for you).
Step 4 – Conduct Estate Sale (2-3 days) We did it ourselves but pros can often be hired.
Step 5 – Donate unsold items and/or continue to sell any valuable items that may be left.
Step 6 – Haul away any leftover large items/trash – there always seems to be more than you think.
Step 7 – Begin Renovations – The Planning for this should certainly start earlier to gather estimates and schedule contractors. Creating an accurate budget is important. Depending on the scale, renovations can take 4 – 12 weeks or even longer.
Step 8 – Final preparations for selling the home for top price. There are many details to this step which will be detailed in a later.
Quick note: I gathered offers from investors – some small and one large company just to be able to illustrate the extent of the price gap. The offers were in the mid-300s for a home that we will likely list in the low-500s when renovations are complete.
We’re almost ready for professional pics but I just wanted to share a couple of my snapshots along with the timeline below. It took a total of 98 days to get to this point with our contractors getting their part done in just 35 days. The exact timeline is listed below:
Step 1 – Move Mom Into a Senior Community (resort-like and she loves it): November 1st
Step 2 – Remove important documents and family relics/pics etc as well as junk that isn’t saleable:
November 1 – 17th
Step 3 – Prep Home for Estate Sale – November 18th – 30th
Step 4 – Conduct Estate Sale (2-3 days) We did it ourselves but pros can also be hired. December 1st – 2nd.
Step 5 – Donate unsold items and/or continue to sell any valuable items that may be left. December 2nd – 9th for donations and continued to sell a handful of items through early January.
Step 6 – Haul away any leftover large items/trash – there always seems to be more than you think. We had a few dump runs in December.
Step 7 – Begin Renovations – The Planning for this should certainly start earlier to gather estimates and schedule contractors. Creating an accurate budget is important. Planning started in late November and continued to mid-December – We gathered bids for flooring, bath shower tile project, counter tops, and paint as well as provided deposits so they could schedule the projects.
Construction Timeline: January 2nd – February 6th – Although the project was extensive, the house is only 1,624 sq ft and we did keep it somewhat simple in what we did so this timeline is likely shorter than most for what may seem like the same type of renovations.
The renovations started on January 2nd with Shower project followed by flooring, then paint, then installing most new hardware on doors/cabinets. Counters are next and plumbers must remove old plumbing fixtures prior to counter demolition and then will install new faucets etc after new counter installations. New toilets were also purchased and installed.
We are also installing new vanity mirrors, medicine cabinets, ceiling fans and light fixtures throughout which are all done after paint and some after counter installation.
Step 8 – Final preparations for selling the home for top price. There are many details to this step which will be detailed in a later issue.
Quick note: I gathered offers from investors – some small and one large company just to be able to illustrate the extent of the price gap. The offers were in the mid-300s for a home that we will list at $529,000.
The numbers are now in and thought this might be helpful to some of you. We were happy to add about $150,000 to the value of my mom’s home before selling it which after the cost of renovations netted her an extra $90,000. See some of the final pics. Additionally, the renovation also helps sell the home much more quickly as we were able to get it under contract within 36 hours of going live with multiple offers. It did take us about 7 weeks to complete the renovations but if you have the time, resources and utilize the right expertise, you can do this for your home as well but keep in mind that your personal design taste may not match what is popular among current buyers so be sure to consult a professional (like me) before spending money. I am happy to assist in this process. You don’t have to spend as much time or money as we did but there are many levels of things you can do to make your home sell for more.
