Many sellers tackle a remodel, big or small, in order to get their home ready to sell. Remodeling and updating your home can help you tremendously when you go to sell, but you want to make sure you “finish strong”. According to houzz.com, there are ten things to make sure you check off your list before you close the books on your remodel. -resized-600.jpg?width=341&height=341&name=mp900446479_(1)-resized-600.jpg)
1. Keep the old stuff. Remodeling an older home often means replacing older fixtures and finishes with new. However, keeping original light fixtures, a few shingles or worn hardware can be a blessing down the road if you or a future homeowner wants to know what the original home looked like, or perhaps even wants to restore the old stuff and reinstall it.
2. Make sure everything works. Before you send your contractors home on the last day of work, be sure to carefully check that everything works as it should.
3. Send in warranty cards. Those gorgeous new appliances or floors may come with a good warranty, but it’s only valid if you activate it — so be sure to send in those cards right away.
4. Update your homeowner’s insurance policy. Anytime you make a major purchase for your home, you should also contact your insurance agent to update your policy so you can be sure you are properly protected.
5. Open every cabinet, drawer and door. Can you fully extend every drawer and open all the cupboards and doors without knocking into anything? Are the handles affixed properly? Do they open easily? Hopefully you won’t find any problems, but if you do, it’s better to find them right away.
6. Learn about proper maintenance. While you still have the ear of your architect or contractor, be sure to ask about how to care for each of the materials used in your remodel.
7. Keep all extra materials. Unless you speak up, your contractor may be planning to toss out all of the leftovers from your project. Having that extra tile, grout or section of countertop can be a lifesaver when you need to repair or replace something.
8. Save and label paint. Even tiny amounts of paint can be used for touch-ups, so make sure you keep it all. Keeping a master list of colors used in each room will help down the road if you need to repaint.
9. Take care of the legal stuff. Have forms that need to be filed with the city? Even if your contractor or architect told promised to take care of them, it wouldn’t hurt to double check at the end of the project.
10. Keep all of your reno info in one place. Remodeling, no matter the size of the project, generates a lot of little bits of information. Dedicate a box or file to documentation from your remodeling project so it will be easier to find exactly what you need in the future.
While renovation projects can be stressful at times, chances are you will win points with potential buyers. Making sure everything is done right the first time will save you time and grief, and will allow for your focus to be on the sale of your home.
f you’re a seller who has been wondering if it might finally be time to sell, email us at concierge@lizmoore.com, or click below, and we can prepare a complimentary analysis of market value for you – you just may be pleasantly surprised.
Are you interested in hot real estate topics, tips and trends?
Click below to subscribe to our blog!
