Tips to Selling Your Home: Getting the most return for your renovating $
By Dave Williams

Selling the Lifestyle

The number 1 reason buyers choose a home to buy is because of “How much better their life will be in this home.”

The buyers want a home that is:

• Nicer than where they live now,
• Has better space inside & out
• Looks clean & easy to maintain

When you are putting Time & Money into renovations to increase the sale-ability of your home, the best money is spent on quality of life upgrades.

1. Kitchens & Bathrooms ~ Granite and Ceramic are  stunners, but really say “easy cleaning” to buyers. ~ A dishwasher is a $500 appliance, but can seal the deal with hours of dish washing it saves.
2. Flooring ~ Hardwood looks nice, but really means “no Vacuuming!”
3. Finishing Basements ~ Adding flexible space to a home means more options for “living their life.”
4. Decks ~ More usable outdoor space is a bonus (those 3 months a year we enjoy them) Windows &
5. Roofing ~ Save the buyers trouble, make money on your end.  (It’s a common occurrence for buyers to subtract up to x4 the cost of repairs when making an offer.)

What value these upgrades add to your home is subjective, they definitely increase the sale-ability of your home

But if you ask 3 REALTOR® how much these renovations will add to your price you’ll get 3 different answers. (Yes/No/Maybe) So I took a look @ last years sales for the answer.  In 2012, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom homes in Orleans and Kanata sold for more if they:

Here is a comparison of homes sold with and without common upgrades. Here is a comparison of homes sold with and without common upgrades.

Here is a comparison of homes sold with and without common upgrades.

• had a Dishwasher +0.15%
• where described as “Beautiful” +0.67%
• had Ceramic +1.39%
• an En-suite Bathroom +6.31%
• had Hardwood flooring +9.39%
• or had Granite +10.8%

What each buyer wants in a home differs, but the simple truth is The buyer wants a better life in a great looking space.

Next week: Staging your home to Sell.