Budget Selling Tips

LongIsland.com

Think those big-ticket additions to your home will bring similarly big bucks when you sell? You may want to think again. According to Emeryville, Calif.-based HomeGain.com, which matches home sellers and buyers with agents, many ...

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Think those big-ticket additions to your home will bring similarly big bucks when you sell?
You may want to think again. According to Emeryville, Calif.-based HomeGain.com, which matches home sellers and buyers with agents, many would-be sellers will see little monetary reward for their home-improvement efforts.
"Forget about remodeling the kitchen or building a new deck out in the backyard just before you sell," HomeGain CEO and founder Bradley Inman said in a statement
HomeGain has issued a "Prepare to Sell" study based on its recent nationwide survey of 2,000 real estate agents. The study includes cost and expected benefit information for lower-priced improvements.
The site's newly launched Home Sale Maximizer also helps homeowners determine which of 10 upgrades will most benefit them:
1.Lightening and brightening the home at a typical cost of $86-$110. The study estimates that this increases the sale price $768-$935, with an average return of 769 percent, and is recommended by 84 percent of agents.
2. Cleaning and de-cluttering the home at a typical cost of $305-$339. It is estimated that this increases the sale price $2,093-$2,378, with an average return of 594 percent, and is recommended by 91 percent of agents.
3. Fixing the home's plumbing and electrical wiring at a typical cost of $338-$381. HomeGain estimates that this increases the sale price $922-$1,208, with an average return of 196 percent, and is recommended by 63 percent of agents.
4. Working on the home's landscape and trim at a typical cost of $432-$506. It is estimated that this increases the sale price $1,594-$1,839, with an average return of 266 percent, and is recommended by 72 percent of agents.
5. Staging the home in an appealing manner at a typical cost of $812-$1,089. Agents surveyed estimated that this increases the sale price $2,275-$2,841, with an average return of 169 percent, and is recommended by 76 percent of agents.
6. Painting interior walls at a typical cost of $1,453-$1,588. Agents estimates that this increases the sale price $2,342-$2,600, with an average return of 63 percent, and is recommended by 69 percent of agents.
7. Doing kitchen and bath upgrades at a typical cost of $1,546-$2,120. Agents estimated that this increases the sale price $3,823-$4,885, with an average return of 138 percent, and is recommended by 83 percent of agents.
8. Repair flooring at a typical cost of $1,531-$1,714. It is estimated that this increases the sale price $2,267-$2,589, with an average return of 50 percent, and is recommended by 62 percent of agents.
9. Painting exterior walls at a typical cost of $2,188-$2,381. Agents estimates that this increases the sale price $2,907-$3,233, with an average return of 34 percent, and is recommended by 57 percent of agents.
10. Replacing carpeting at a typical cost of $2,602-$2,765. Surveyed agents estimated that this increases the sale price $3,585-$3,900, with an average return of 39 percent, and is recommended by 65 percent of agents.