5 Inexpensive Home Renovations That Return the Most for Sellers

September 26, 2017

Are you able to name the home renovations that return the most for sellers? If not, you can’t honestly claim to get sellers top dollar for their homes.

Recent Real Estate Rockstars guest Tracy McLaughlin shared her expert advice on home renovations so more agents are able to offer competent suggestions for boosting sale prices.

Below, we’ll cover 5 of the inexpensive home renovations that Tracy suggests to homeowners who want to sell their homes for as much as possible.

To learn more about renovating homes prior to sale and discover the factors that have helped Tracy rank as the top agent in her market for more than a decade, listen to the podcast below.

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Saving on Home Renovations Is Smart

It’s not uncommon for homeowners to make poor choices concerning renovations when getting ready to sell, which is partially due to the disconnect between buyers and sellers.

Instead of getting returns on renovations, homeowners often lose money.

To prevent this from happening to you or your clients, remember one thing: inexpensive renovations tend to offer the highest returns.

Here are 5 inexpensive home renovations that return the most:

  • A fresh coat of paint

Tastes have changed in the last 10 years. Dark shades of paint are out, with most homebuyers committed to clean shades of white on their new walls.

When a seller wants to increase interest in their home and boost their sale price quickly, repainting their walls white is often the fastest, cheapest way to do it.

If you plan on hosting an open house soon and only have time for a single home project, a fresh coat of paint is often the best choice.

  • Dark Stained wood floors

When it comes to wood flooring, dark finishes tend to resonate more with buyers.

Tracy isn’t saying you should replace your hardwood flooring; that would be way too expensive to generate a return reliably.

What she is suggesting is staining and refinishing your current wood floors for a darker look with more modern appeal.

  • New carpeting

There are situations where replacing materials makes more sense than attempting to refurbish them.

When a home has old, dirty carpeting, for instance, deep cleanings often aren’t enough for buyers.

Ripping out and replacing carpeting is typically a straightforward job; it’s also a relatively inexpensive one.

  • Repainted cabinets with new hardware

It seems like just yesterday when wood cabinets in kitchens were all the rage. Now, most buyers want something more stylish.

In most cases, it’s not necessary (or advisable) to spend $20,000-$30,000 on a kitchen remodel before placing a home on the market.

Updating kitchen cabinetry with a coat of white paint and new hardware is often all it takes to get a kitchen ready for buyers’ eyes.

  • Updated light fixtures

Another great way to boost the sale price on a home is to install better light fixtures.

Like the other renovations on this list, this is a cheap, easy project that’s almost always guaranteed to generate a decent return.

Even wiring and installing new lighting is fairly affordable, which is great for brightening up homes that have poor natural lighting.

More About the Home Renovations That Return the Most

As we emphasized earlier, the home renovations that return the most are often relatively inexpensive.

With greater cost comes greater risk, so sellers should think twice before dropping thousands of dollars on any home renovation project.

To learn more about ways to boost sale prices with smart home renovations, listen to the complete podcast with Tracy McLaughlin.

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