Well, before you pick up the hammer, here are 5 renovations that RARELY give you a healthy return on your investment. Beware…
1. Plumbing Or HVAC — Buyers only really care about what they can see, so unnecessarily upgrading to PEX when you have functional plumbing or upgrading an HVAC unit that has been serviced and already works is probably going to cost you more money than it’s worth.
2. Bathrooms — According to Bankrate, most sellers who update their bathrooms only make back about half of what they spend. We’d recommend deep-cleaning instead and only replacing what absolutely must be replaced. It’s never a bad idea to recaulk and install a new shower curtain.
3. New Windows, Carpet, & Floors — Before you go replacing something, ask yourself, “Can I just clean it or polish it instead?” Usually, you can. Good thing, too. Because new floors usually cost more than they’re worth, new windows are silly unless your current windows are single pane or the seals have failed, and most buyers will put their own carpet in anyways.
4. Knocking Down Walls — You might reconsider knocking that wall down. It’s often less important to have a big living room or master bedroom and more important (for re-sale value, at least) to have multiple bedrooms.
5. Replacing a Bathtub With a Gorgeous Walk-In Shower — It’s extremely unlikely that this will make you money. Extravagant renovations rarely pay off (many buyers prefer functional and clean over extravagant). Plus, if any potential buyers have kids, then they probably would have preferred the bathtub, anyways.
Instead of spending time and money on the above renovations for your home in Auburn, try a fresh paint job, professional photos, a mowed lawn, and a sparkly clean interior — you’ll be shocked at what those things can do.
Or if this whole thing is too much hassle, give us a call at (334) 422-4477 we buy properties in Auburn for cash, as is.