Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Necessary Upgrades, "Upgrades" & Over Upgrading

Ever heard these terms before?  I swear that I didn't just make it up!

One of the first slides that I have in my presentation when meeting with a prospective new seller is "What will my home sell for?"  Pretty important, right?  It's something that I take a lot of time to talk about.  But even after going through the slide that says that you won't get out of it all the upgrades that you have put into it, I have so many people that will continue to tell me all of the upgrades they have put into the home to justify the price that they think that it is worth.

So I thought that it would be a great idea to talk a little on here about Necessary Upgrades, "Upgrades" and Over Upgrading.


What are Necessary Upgrades?
          Necessary upgrades are things that you have done to the house because it was necessary for your comfort while continuing to live there.  This includes NEW roof, furnace, a/c, hot water tank, garage door, etc.  Things that have broken that you needed to have fixed for the convenience of your living there no matter if you sold it or not.  
          We can also include updates in this portion too.  These are items that were necessary to update if you want to get the home sold.  Painting old paneling, removing wallpaper, fixing broken items, replacing the hardware in the kitchen to give it a more modern feel, etc.  They are still things that you are putting money into, but money that you won't necessarily recoup back from the sale of your house.

What are "Upgrades"?
           Yes, I purposefully put these into quote marks.  These are those lovely items that a seller thinks were absolutely necessary but will have no impact on a buyer.  The reason for some of these is because of the way that a buyer and a seller will see things differently.  I had a client once that was selling her house above market value despite advice from her real estate professional, and put laminate throughout the the 1st level living area.  This was a neighborhood where hardwood was almost a standard and should have been used instead, but it was an upgrade in her mind.  

What are Over Upgrades?
          These are upgrades that you have made to your house that were a great upgrade and makes the home more desirable, but won't get you more money necessarily.  Your house is in a small subdivision where the average home price is $130,000 ~ for example ~.  The homes are 10+ years old.  Everything was just average when they were built and some of the neighbors may have done a few upgrades here and there.  YOUR house has granite counter tops throughout, double headed shower with sauna, spay foam insulation throughout, real hardwood flooring, custom cabinets, marble time flooring in the bathrooms & kitchen, hand-lain stone patio and porch with attached sunroom.  You get the point.  With all of the money that you had put into these upgrades you wouldn't be able to recoup that money.

Okay, Angie....what is your point on all of this?  When you are doing any updating to your house because you're thinking of selling your home, keep these in mind.  I promise that when I meet with you and we speak about the pricing of your home, it's going to be about the Market Value that it is going to sell for...not the upgrade value.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Welcome To The New Year!

Many, many people make New Year's Resolutions.  We've all heard them (lose weight, stop smoking, exercise more or lose weight, etc.)  The funny thing is that most of them are not kept after February...if that long.



Are you one of those people?  Is one of your resolutions to finally get your house sold in 2015?  I'm here to tell you that we can get it done!

2014 ended with a bang.  There are stories that the economy is recovering and buyers are feeling confident in spending money on purchasing a home again.  Banks are loosening up a little with the lending and allowing more people to actually get financed.  Gas prices have dropped.  All of these things are great at helping the housing market too.

There are 3 things that are going to get your home sold.  You think I'm going to say location, location, location right?  Nope!


  1. The first item truly is location.  If you have a good location then you are on the right track.  But I believe that every location is good for somebody...unless it is really bad.  Good schools, easy commute location, low tax district, etc.  Each buyer is going to have a different idea of what is a good location for them.
  2. The second item is condition.  This is where I am going to ask you to step out of your own shoes and take away all of your feelings for your home and look at it through a buyer's eyes.  Is the house move-in ready or is there work that needs to be done to the house like new paint, carpet or upgrades that are needed?  When a buyer walks into a house, they are looking for things that will need to be fixed in the home and dollar signs begin to dance around in their head.  They will start subtracting amounts they think it will take to fix items when they are calculating how much to make an offer for.  These may not be realistic numbers, but it is justified to them.  
  3. Price is the last and probably the most important aspect of the equation.  First you have to look at what the houses are selling for in your area.  This is where the professional will help.  Then you need to think about the condition discussed above.  You can either put your own money into the updates that need to be done and price it a little higher, or you can adjust the price and allow the buyer to do it on their own (unless they are things that absolutely need to be done!)
When I am talking with a potential seller, these are all items that we go over and create a specific plan of action based on each individual's needs.  I look at the whole picture and come up with a game plan based off of the whole picture.

So, if you're ready to knock one item off of your resolution list, and actually stick to it, give me a call today so that we can start your game plan and get your home sold!