Love It Now, List It Later
It’s rare that a buyer purchases a home without intentions to change anything. Making improvements to your house is a part of making it feel like your home, but too often, we see people put off some of the tasks of updating a home until it’s time to sell. How unfortunate to miss out on the enjoyment of a glamour bath or a cook’s kitchen after having gone through the expensive - and very messy - construction phase. Before making any last-minute attempt to increase market value, we’d like to share an alternate perspective: Love it now, list it later!
What we mean by “love it now” is that you shouldn’t wait until it's time to move again to make the improvements that increase the value of your home. Not every update has a one-to-one return on investment, and often the best value for your money is to simply enjoy the upgrades you make to your space. This EQ (enjoyment quotient) makes it more likely to feel that your money was well spent, regardless of the actual dollar amount ROI (return on investment).
You might worry that if you make updates now, you will need to update again when you are ready to sell. Fair statement - but when sellers update right before listing, they are risking overinvesting. Color and product trends have a 5 to 7-year cycle and keep in mind that a buyer will want to add their own personality to their home. As a seller, a better use of your time and money is to ensure your home is clean, uncluttered, and everything functional. In many cases, small updates are more affordable and allow a buyer to envision themselves in the space better than major renovations.
Updates are investments, although there is a built-in depreciation for items with a life-expectancy, such as appliances, HVAC, and roofs. When considering which areas to update, remember kitchens and bathrooms are highlights of a home, and typically where you will see the best ROI – but only to a point. It is still possible to over-invest in luxury items if you are in an area where the recent comparable sales do not support a high enough sales price to justify those improvements.
If you’re still wondering whether you should make those updates or list your home now, our consumer education series covers this topic in greater depth. “Love it now, list it later,” will be hosted at our Cuyahoga Falls education center on Feb 25th, 2023. We look forward to seeing you there!