What NOT TO FIX Prior to Selling your Home 2024

[@maryelyse5633]

LOL....here in Florida roofs are 10 year for 3 tab and 15 year for archatechural for homeowners insurance coverage. Wind mitigation for roofs, trees cant be too close and on and on..

[@AlexBrandau]

🎉😊

[@jimagent1826]

A few things we did before selling our house. New carpet, fresh paint, clean house, de-clutter, trim bushes, and trees. We had 3 offers in one day.

[@ditto1051]

Same. Interestingly the first realtor we had said not to do any of those things. We took our home off the market, then did those things. Back on market, sold immediately. No open house. For over asking. All cash. Done and done!

[@Derek-Adams]

For sellers on a limited budget, focus your repairs to what will FAIL (or be questioned) during a home inspection.This is key! There is a ton of information online what a home inspection encompasses. If you know that crack in the ceiling isn’t a structural problem, get it fixed. Exposed wiring? Get it fixed. Broken or cracked window? Get it replaced. Doors that won’t close properly or stick will have an inspector recommending a structural engineers report for the foundation. Fix those doors! Do you have a bathroom that doesn’t have a window and no exhaust fan? Install an exhaust fan because that is now code everywhere. Do you have things in your home which need repair that you know is now not up to code? Repair/Replace those items. Example: if you know your septic tank is failing and its current location is out of code - you can’t even close on that loan no matter how much the buyer wants the house. Don’t throw away $30 grand on a kitchen remodel when you know there are other major ticket items that need to be addressed.

[@AlexBrandau]

You bring up such an important point! 🔑 Focusing on repairs that will likely come up during a home inspection is definitely the best strategy, especially when working with a limited budget. 🛠 It's true that things like cracks in the ceiling, exposed wiring, or sticky doors can lead to bigger red flags during the inspection process. It's all about making sure the home meets current codes and fixing those critical issues before anything else. 🚪💡 And yes, a functional septic tank and exhaust fans are non-negotiables for a smooth closing! Great advice for sellers trying to prioritize where to spend their money wisely. 💰👌

[@angiew4544]

Just put a new roof on , painted the outside and inside of the house . Redid our patio cover , installed a custom slider . Now remodeling the master bathroom. Trying to decide if we want to put in lvp before putting on the market, our tile is older and chipped. My husband is a contractor and we've been doing everything ourselves except for the roof so saved a lot of money.

[@AlexBrandau]

Great work!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!

[@muhammad8970]

When I was shopping for a home, the bathrooms and kitchen played a huge role in my decision. If you never make upgrades, that tells you a lot about the seller. Just my opinion 🤷🏿

[@AlexBrandau]

Thanks for the comments!!!! We are with you! If the sellers make improvements to the bathroom and kitchen, it may not be what the buyer would choose. We are saying the right house, with the right location, and the right price allows the buyer to make this house their home!😊

[@historicaltvvideos8971]

Yeah, it tells that the owner cares about the important things and upgrades are not important.

[@Goldzwiebel]

great video! I also think that the main thing is that the new owners can move into a clean house straight away. If you are a handyman yourself or have friends who offer the services cheaply and you have the time to buy the materials on sale or second hand, then you should think about renovating the bathroom or kitchen. Otherwise I would stay away from anything that is a matter of taste. Especially if it would drive up the selling price unnecessarily, because then you would scare away people who don't have the income for a house with a new kitchen.

[@Arienrhod]

I’ve spent a lot on upgrading and updating infrastructure…. New roof, new water heater, new HVAC, installed a whole house generator. Kitchen and bathrooms not renovated (yet) as a result but can’t discount infrastructure. Buyers won’t have to spend money on the boring stuff.

[@AlexBrandau]

🎉Great work!!!! Thanks for commenting!!

[@nogames8982]

I’ve been updating my house over the last 2 1/2 years. It also included big things like a new roof painting inside and out all new flooring, gutted and redid the kitchen in the bathroom. It’s a small two bedroom one bath house. In a mediocre neighborhood. I am never doing that again. When I finally move out of this house, I’m walking away and not touching nothing. I will continue to do maintenance and upkeep but I’m not changing anything in this house ever again. Whoever has it after me can do whatever they want.

[@AlexBrandau]

It's a lot for work for sure! Thanks for the comments and support!!!🎉😊

[@samijohnson5152]

What was the outcome? Was there no or little return on investment?

[@AlexBrandau]

It just depends on your micro market and recent relevant sales

[@nogames8982]

@@samijohnson5152 I have no idea. I’m sure it increase the value of the house significantly enough. But since I hope to live in this house till I die, I’ll probably never know if I got my money back. But it did need updating very badly so I call it a win.

[@dannidunn9302]

I had an unfinished bedroom which I left unfinished. That was a smart decision. Didn’t affect the price at all.

[@AlexBrandau]

🎉❤ Thanks so much! I’m glad you reached your goals!!!

[@Coen80]

My grandpa, who had a big contracting-company always emphasised : renovations never add value to your house more than what you payed for the upgrade" That's not to say a lick of paint and some other minor aesthetics shouldn't be adressed obviously, but (at least here in EU) an upgrade to an already finished home always costs money. (f.e : if you spend 25K on a new kitchenette you can expect an increase on the value of your house of less than that.)

[@donnaallgaier-lamberti3933]

I made sure that everything was in good order. I did not do any major remodels. But I DID repair one bad bad spot in the ceiling, I filled the holes on the wall and painted where my artwork previously hung, and had a plumber come and do the one small repair the inspector found. Basically everything in my home was super clean and up to date. The lawn was mowed, the garden weeded and the out buildings were freshly stained. This was a rural property so we DID empty two septic systems, and had both wells inspected - all together totaling $1,800. The buyer wanted the pole barn totally empty and we honored this request. Over the 20 years I lived there, I had made sure any dead trees were cut down, added a three-seasons porch, added new granite kitchen counters (2018 when granite was still fine) and created a laundry room. The roof has been replaced about four years previously. The pool was cleaned up and ready to use,. we had new mailbox with large numbers on it and so on.

[@AlexBrandau]

🎉😊amazing work!!!!

[@Kudeghraw]

I'm doing stuff because it needs it. I have a makeshift basement bathroom that qualifies as the 2 in 2 bathrooms. That is getting turned into a luxury bathroom with a jetted tub. Nobody seems to know the history of my roof so I will have it redone to establish a history. Nobody thought about the fact a disabled person might want a house so I am making improvements for accessibility. Putting a walk-in/wheel-in shower with handles in place of a tub. Going to redo the front walk to widen it and remove a step to turn it into a slope. Getting rid of the wheel blocker floor transition pieces and getting some ramped ones. Can't do much about the basement but at least someone would be able to wheel around on the main floor without issue and have a caregiver live in the basement to deal with the laundry and stairs.

[@AlexBrandau]

Thanks for your comments!!!❤😊

[@pumalibrarian]

Thank you, Alex, very helpful. We are hoping to move from Southern California to Huntsville, Alabama so it is interesting to hear what is going on in nearby Nashville!

[@AlexBrandau]

Amazing! We are happy to help! I was just in Alabama yesterday hosting a talk! May make an introduction to help you with you move?

[@cmoore4347]

6

[@chiplangowski3298]

In almost all analyses of return on investment of home improvements, the return is less than 100%. So doesn't it make more sense to not remodel anything? I don't mean not doing maintenance. And not making sure that it is spotlessly clean. But when you sell, just paint everything a neutral color. Do all needed maintenance and repairs. Update furnace and/or AC if they are super old. But leave the rest to the new owners. Why spend $50k on upgrades just to get a $30k higher selling price? Makes no sense...

[@AlexBrandau]

Thanks for the comments!!!

[@stephanie2863]

Hi Alexander, great video! Question: We did the “unfinished remodel” in a Jack and Jill bath -did tile, new toilet and sink, wainscoting, light fixtures and fan. What we did NOT do was the one-piece tub/shower, kind of yucky acrylic thing. There is a newer cast iron tub + a glass door shower separate in the remodeled master bath. Do I go ahead and upgrade this tub, and if so, do new tub w/nice surround, glass door, change to walk in shower? Or leave it alone? Or…? Thanks!

[@AlexBrandau]

Thanks so much for the comments!!!!!! It depends on your local market. Send me an email I can connect you with one of my partners in your market who can help do a deep audit of the recent sales. It also can depend on your time and capacity for another project. I have recently seen some great KZbin guides to doing that exact remodel. I'll look for one to link here!!!!

[@stephanie2863]

@@AlexBrandau Gosh, thanks! It’s a niche kind of thing, a 1927 condo in an historic neighborhood (Cherokee Triangle), Louisville. Duplex, we’re downstairs. I need a good agent! Thanks again.

[@AlexBrandau]

@@stephanie2863 I can for sure help! Please send me An email [e-mail]

[@stephanie2863]

@@AlexBrandau Great, I will. Thanks so much!

[@historicaltvvideos8971]

Remodeling to sell is a bad idea. The new owners can do it the way that they want to. Just make sure things work and they look pretty.

[@AlexBrandau]

Thanks for the comment!!! We share that often too!!! 🎉

[@jaredking31]

Instead of redoing our carpet on our 2nd floor(500 sq ft), I was thinking about just offering a $5k credit towards new flooring/carpet so they can choose what they want. Just something that might psychologically feel like a win for the buyer, but doesn't really affect us. Thoughts?

[@AlexBrandau]

Thanks for the comment! We do not often recommend a stated credit as a tactic. Yet we do often recommend that prior to launching into the market that anything that might cause doubt but improved. Make sense?

[@jaredking31]

@@AlexBrandau yep thanks. I was just thinking of the credit idea if their realtor said the carpets turned them off. In your experience are buyers leaning more towards normal hardwood or are they ok with engineered hardwood?

[@AlexBrandau]

Great! You can offer a credit in negotiations. Just avoid offering one as you launch your listing to market. We love to talk about flooring!!! It is often various hyperlocal selections. It can vary in subdivisions and climates. Even within out local market, we had a buyer want sand and finish “real” hardwoods in their new neighborhood that was not on trend.

[@MeintheMiddle1]

Selling now thanks for the tips.

[@AlexBrandau]

Fantastic! Keeps us informed

[@eddiefniii]

Fixing to sell my three-story townhouse I’m a 1 mile from downtown Houston, so my location is prime. My view of the downtown skyline is absolutely spectacular. But I’m not going to redo the bathrooms or the floors or repaint because I figure whoever’s going to buy this, will repaint it again put in new floors that they want and do the bathrooms the way they want. The kitchen has been redone. But they’ll probably still take some changes to so I will just knock off 10,000 off the price of the house and say that’s for you to do what you wanna do. The house is 15 years old stands out because it’s different than everybody else’s townhouses around here and my location is what will be the number one selling point of my house. and I will make some money off of this. I am going to miss it, but at 66 I will not miss the stairs.

[@AlexBrandau]

Thanks for the comments!!! Good luck selling! We have several agents in Houston in our network, may we make an introduction to the right one?

[@eddiefniii]

@@AlexBrandau already have realtor, the one that sold me this place… the other day he told me of every property that he has sold. My property is the one that has appreciated in the value the most it has easily doubled, almost tripled in value over 13 years. Location location location you can always change the house but you could never change the location.

[@AlexBrandau]

@@eddiefniii Wow, that’s incredible! 🎉 It’s amazing how much your property has appreciated over the years. You're absolutely right-location truly makes all the difference! 🏡 The fact that it's almost tripled in value shows just how powerful a great location can be. 🌟 Sounds like your realtor gave you some solid advice!

[@ashleycnossen3157]

I don't think most people want to remodel after buying...so leaving everything for them to do is really narrowing your buyer pool. Am I wrong?

[@stupedcraig]

Id rather do it myself instead of people doing stuff on the cheap to try and get a little more $ out of it.

[@ashleycnossen3157]

@@stupedcraig I would too, so that's two out of millions so far :)

[@AlexBrandau]

Well It depends on the buyer's timeline and individual situation! As a general rule, it's better to let the buyer make their personal home choices vs improvement for an imaginary buyer. Thanks for the comments!!!🎉

[@Tarot_talks]

I don’t think so I think he’s wrong

[@AlexBrandau]

It's just different types of buyer and their previous experience and preferences

[@SC-vz3jb]

Gotta disagree. Currently buying a home with a large budget. We go for remodeled kitchen and bathrooms. They are the biggest pains in the butts to remodel. A lot of experienced homeowners know this when they are upsizing. The houses that have these remodels are selling exponentially quicker and at a higher price point here.

[@AlexBrandau]

Thanks for the comment!!! Everyone has their own preferences to their personal search. Finished product houses DO sell faster. Their is a long term equity opportunity when you make the effort and do the remodel. and we would not recommend you remodel to sell for an imaginary buyer. That is where you can make significant mistakes 😅

[@generalleia5374]

Update nothing. Make sure everything is in working order. Don’t waste money on paint- buyers will want a different color. Don't waste money on carpet or flooring - buyers will rip it out. Same with everything else. You house could be perfect and they will offer less and still ask for more deductions after inspection. Again, everything clean, decluttered, working order. Don’t buy new systems or appliances unless they literally don't work. You will NEVER get 100% retirn on uour investment unless you continue living there yourself

[@AlexBrandau]

Thanks for commenting! It really helps us!!!

[@orlandomontana4770]

The fact that there are people who think this is right.. another reason why I don’t plan on buying a home. The sellers want to rip you a new one

[@AlexBrandau]

people who own homes on average have 36% higher net worth. it’s a choice, Yet you could own something that pays for your own rental…..

[@lmena5696]

Nobody likes carpet except some elderly. Spending money on carpet hurts sales.

[@AlexBrandau]

🎉 thanks for sharing your experience. 😊