Hit pause, renovator! If you plan to sell your home in the next year or two, choose your home improvement projects carefully. You may feel tempted to remodel your kitchen and bathrooms or to buy new appliances before putting it on the market, but most of these improvements cost way more to complete than what you'll get back. Here's what to do instead:
Know what improvements pay off
Not every improvement has a positive ROI. Will it really payoff to have a new kitchen & bathrooms? Probably not. Big remodels are expensive and time consuming and can be very taste specific.
If you are remodeling with resale in mind
These three improvements will make your home feel like new again, photograph beautifully and unlock your home's value without tearing out cabinetry or tiles.
1. Modernize with fresh paint
Paint colors can make a space feel super dated or like new. By updating with a current color will make your home feel fresh, clean and current.
2. Replace outdated light fixtures
Lighting doesn't have to be expensive to feel luxurious. If you have builder grade, original light fixtures in your home, put new ones in.
3. Update cabinet pulls and handles
Kitchen trends come and go, but you don't need to gut your kitchen to introduce a modern touch. Replace the hardware.
4. Install new faucets
Things you touch and interact with have a big impact on how a space feels. Kitchen and bathroom faucets can be easily replaced and look great.
5. Kitchen backsplash
Give your kitchen a new look with an on-trend backsplash. No, I don't mean the fake tile stickers. And don't chose a tile just because it is on clearance. If a material is being closed out, its probably because its out of date and nobody is buying it.
Tip: tile doesn't have to be expensive to feel luxurious.
Bonus: In a kitchen, you don't really need that much of it.
Real Estate Agent tip: Plan to stage your home:
No offense to your couch, but staged homes sell faster and for more money than empty or owner furnished homes. Staging will make your entire home feel amazing from room to room, even if the tile surround in the bathroom is dated.
About the author
Hey there neighbor, I'm Julie Bennett.
I'm a homeowner turned renovator and a Seattle real estate agent. I'm a woman on a mission to make renovation easier. I had some "if I had only known" moments when renovating my homes. I started Renovator's Toolkit to help homeowners like you "know what you don't know."