Move the mountain one stone at a time

This saying “The one who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” (Chinese Proverb), comes as many do from the Jack’s Winning Words Blog. It got me to thinking about advice that I give to people to get their homes ready for the market. Quite often I suspect that the potential seller is overwhelmed by the tasks that they see as needing to be done, in order to make the house more marketable.

Just recently I had a discussion with a potential seller and he had complied a long list of maintenance items and updates or remodeling projects which he thought had to be done before putting the house on the market. As I mentally tallied up the list I came to the conclusion that it would take him months and thousands of dollars to work his way through that list. He was actually going to try to move the whole mountain before he listed the house.

My advice was to focus upon moving a few of the small stones first and to leave the rest of the mountain for the new owner. He needs to focus upon items that will add to the curb appeal and the first impressions of the house and to get the house as clean and clutter free as possible. Instead of completely remodeling the kitchen, as he had indicated on his list, there are lots of less expensive and less time consuming fix-ups or updates that can be done to an existing kitchen – from re-facing the cabinet doors and putting on new handles to replacing light fixtures and outlet plates and, of course, painting. Even a dated kitchen looks better in a fresh coat of paint.

Doing a complete remodeling job on an outdated kitchen at this point would not be an investment that yields a return. He had other items on his list that also just can’t be justified as one is putting a house on the market, especially a house that will carry a price of less than $100,000. His list of to-do’s could easily have totaled $20-30,000, if they were all contracted out and maybe $10-15,000 if he did them himself. That is money that just will not be recovered in a sale in this current market. Better that he should make the house as it is look it’s best and take some of that money that he might have spent off the asking price. A new owner will want to make his or her own remodeling changes anyway.

I’ve opined here many times before, but it is worth repeating – you should be investing in your house every year, with major investments, like a new kitchen or roof or windows or baths every 5 years. Making those investments as you go along keeps the house up to date and allows you to get some enjoyment out of the improvements, because you aren’t going to get a return on those investments. Certainly, if there are deferred maintenance items that would detract from the value, get those fixed. Drooping gutters, peeling paint, cracks and watermarks on walls and ceilings and many other little things that you’ve learned to live with will be red flags for potential buyers and rightfully so. They cause the buyer to look for other signs of neglect or to look harder for bigger issues. Make your maintenance to-do list and work it off.

Also remember that you’ll never achieve perfection; so, there is little reason to wait until you have everything done before listing. Just keep working the list of to-dos after you get it on the market. I good Realtor (and now you know one) can help you create that list and give you advice on any other things that you can do to enhance the marketability of the house. So, start today by moving that first stone.