1. get top dollar home seller newsletter
it’s a goodlife
5 improvements not to do
before selling your home
spend a little… closets
get a lot buyers may oooh and ahhh over a large
walk-in closet that could double for a well
• if your stove has drip organized bedroom. however, they will
trays, replace them. they rarely pay extra for it. adding, expanding or
are inexpensive, easy to customizing closets can cost thousands of
install, and improve the dollars and while they look impressive, the
look of the appliance. return on investment isn’t. save your
money.
• clean all windowsills regu-
room additions
larly. a dirty windowsill will you’ve made the decision to sell
negate any benefits of a unless your home is a two bedroom/one
your home and now your mind is
sparkling window. bath in a neighborhood of four bedroom/
quickly filling with a lengthy “to do”
two bath homes, don’t waste your time,
list, but before panic begins to set in, sanity or money on adding rooms.
• to remove old paint from take heart and repeat a new mantra,
ornate turnings, dip twine “soap and paint are my friends.” there’s no way to predict a buyer’s pref-
erences, so it is best to present the home in
into paint remover, hold by
while the home should be neat, the best way possible – using soap, paint and
both ends and pull back clean and in good repair, major im- carpet – and leave any remodeling to the
and forth between crev- provements are not necessary and usu- new owners.
ices. ally cost more than can be recouped in
pool
the selling price. so, give the house a
• oil and rust stains can be thorough cleaning, a fresh painting and a pool may seem like a good way to at-
removed from concrete perhaps re-carpet areas that have worn tract buyers but many folks just don’t want
with commercial driveway footpaths through them. money spent the maintenance that comes with it. a buyer
cleaners that are available on soap, paint and carpet will reappear who doesn’t want the upkeep of a pool
from automotive and home in the selling price of the home. and won’t purchase a house that has one. pools
remember, if buyers can’t see the and their surrounding deck areas are expen-
improvement stores.
money you spent, you won’t recoup it… sive and this cost is rarely returned in the
even if you tell them about it. selling price of the house. however, some-
one who adores the house would be willing
resist the temptation to undertake
to put in a pool later. let them shoulder
major renovations or replacements –
that expense.
particularly these five costly projects.
(continued on the next page)
512.892.9473 • www.goodlifeteam.com
1114 east cesar chavez • austin, tx 78702

2. 5 improvements not to do (continued)
new roof bathroom, experts suggest reducing the asking
price to reflect the outdated kitchen and bath-
putting on a new roof isn’t a good idea for a rooms and allow the purchaser to take care of
couple of reasons. a seller is only required to these projects.
have a roof that doesn’t leak. leaky roofs are
easily and inexpensively patched. the money now that we’ve dismissed most of the major
saved by patching the roof makes repair a bet- projects, it is easier to focus on cleaning, paint-
ter choice. also, replacing the roof involves ing and carpeting. when deciding which projects
making a subjective choice about the color, to undertake, keep in mind that you want to do
shingle style and durability of the roof. if the the least amount of fixing up required in order to
buyer doesn’t care for the new roof, the cost sell the house for the maximum selling price.
of it could be money wasted.
major renovations to kitchen or bathroom
remember the mantra? soap and paint are
my friends. these renovations are costly and
require decisions as to style, colors, brands and
price. in lieu of remodeling the kitchen or
how to avoid the most expensive mistakes finding the right real estate agent can make
smart people make when they sell a all the difference in the sale of your home...
home...
critical questions to ask: what is your marketing plan to
mistake #6: refusing to make profit-
sell my home? where will you market my home?
producing repairs
you are looking for a real estate agent or team
while you will more than likely not recoup the that will do more than just put a sign in the yard
cost of the major improvements mentioned and place your home in the mls.
above, some minor improvements and
in today’s market, where most buyers start their
repairs often yield as much as three to five
search online, you want a realtor with a heavy
times the repair cost at the time of sale. the
internet presence. take a look at
goodlife team can advise you as to which
goodlifeteam.com under free buying/selling tips
repairs to make to increase the value of your
at how to get the most money for a look at how
home.
the goodlife team compares to the average
realtor.
512.892.9473 • www.goodlifeteam.com
1114 east cesar chavez • austin, tx 78702