As homeowners, we have a lot on our plates, and it’s very easy to procrastinate on large renovations or even smaller updates. If you find yourself in this position and are thinking it may be time to move on to your next home, let’s look into how to decide if you should renovate or not before selling your house in Chicago.
Your Short-term Benefit
Any renovations you may have dreamt up are going to affect you prior to anyone purchasing the property.
Keeping that in mind, create a list of the upgrades and renovations you would prefer to complete, and pare down that list to the most critical. You’ll benefit from them in the immediate future, so you’re looking to create a plan that fits your wants and needs while maintaining or increasing your property’s market value.
If you decide to go through with any renovations, the key piece of advice would be to find renovations that would generally be accepted in a positive light. Focusing your time and money on building out a specialized space for working on cars might appeal to a subset of buyers, but could also alienate a larger portion of the buying public.
Think Like a Buyer
Since the ultimate goal here is to put the home on the market and get an amazing bid to come in from a motivated buyer, it’s a great idea to consider any renovations from the perspective of that prospective buyer.
If you have a dedicated space to work on cars in your home, for example, your investment isn’t going to mean much to a large portion of buyers. This specialized space then narrows your home’s marketability, as potential buyers will likely gravitate toward more traditional living spaces.
Taking the time to think about how buyers will perceive any renovations can go a long way to avoid headaches once you’re in the midst of open houses and walkthroughs.
Selling an Opportunity
You may come to the conclusion that going to market without bothering to do any renovations may be the best idea for both you and the buyer.
In this case, it’s best to make a point to the buyer that they are presented with an opportunity to turn the living space into what best suits their wants and needs. There are many potential buyers out there who would be excited at the possibilities of having a blank canvas from which to shape their dream home over time.
Keeping the critical bits, such as plumbing and electrical, in tip-top shape are key to selling your house in Chicago to the right buyer based on the opportunities available to them. If the buyer is sweating these larger infrastructure issues, they’re likely to either lowball you or walk away completely.
Be Realistic While Selling
The final important thing to remember before putting an older or outdated property up for sale is that anyone looking at your listing will almost certainly factor in the age and out-of-date style or layout into their bid.
Being upfront with buyers while expressing that blank canvas opportunity to them and focusing on the strengths of the property is what will keep the transaction moving forward. Attempting to gloss over or plainly hide any conceivable problem areas will only create complications, so honesty is by far the best policy.
Show that you understand the situation very clearly and enter negotiation prepared to give a peace offering by coming down on the price or even providing a gift card to a local hardware store for an agreed amount.
Get creative to increase the value for the buyer if they seem like they’re in need of a slight nudge.
Help Selling Your House in Chicago from the Pros
Selling your house in Chicago can be stressful, so contact our professional team today for help at (872) 231-5264!