Tidy-up better than do-up when selling on Home Services

Jan

Tidy-up better than do-up when selling

posted by admin in Window Cleaning

Going against conventional wisdom, property experts say sellers are better off ensuring their homes are clean and tidy than sinking cash into bathroom and kitchen renovations. At the height of the property boom, investing thousands of dollars in do-up projects could double seller’s returns. But with the national median house price dropping from $350,000 in May to $345,000 last month and the number of sales also falling, experts say the market is changing. Quotable Value spokeswoman Glenda Whitehead warns that homeowners should do their sums before spending money on home improvements. “In a quiet market it’s more important, if you don’t want to lose your money, to do your homework. “At the moment building costs and all the associated council costs are getting quite high and I think it’s questionable whether you’re adding value.” She is wary of any simple formula that suggests spending a certain amount results in X returns. “What they all fail to actually say is in an upwardly moving market you can do nothing and the value will go up. “Cost doesn’t equal value and spending five grand on landscaping doesn’t necessarily add $10,000.” House value is determined by location, recent sales in the area and the condition of the market. A valuer can help sellers assess the merit of any renovations and give buyers a clear idea of what a property is worth. But both valuers and agents say simple things like thoroughly cleaning and tidying up a property and garden can be more cost effective. Harcourts’ chief executive Bryan Thompson says renovations can have a negative impact on a property’s price. Buyers often pay more for the potential of creating their dream home than any renovations done to the sellers’ taste. “It’s very easy to spend a phenomenal amount of money and end up with a property that’s not so attractive to the market. In many cases renovations are better left to the buyers.” Whitehead has seen a buyer rip out a perfectly good kitchen and put in a $25,000 replacement simply because the original kitchen looked too much like her mother’s. Simply You Living magazine editor Catherine Smith agrees. She says kitchens and bathrooms, most commonly touted as do-up essentials, are personal and people prefer to decorate them themselves. She advises sellers to finish any renovations begun and stop there. Her book Home Staging in New Zealand is due to be published next month. Her advice is simple: clean, tidy and declutter the house and keep it that way. “I can’t believe what a difference clean and sparkly windows will make.”