The must-do renos that will sell your home

Kylie Klein Nixon has some advice for those people weighing up whether to rip out the kitchen before listing your home.

If you’ve never sold a house before, it might be hard to know what to spend your selling budget on before you list. That’s right, it costs money to make money on your home.

A selling budget can cover everything from getting a builder’s report done to giving the home a lick of paint or getting your roof in tip-top shape.

It might even mean putting in a new kitchen or bathroom. But what you choose to spend your selling budget on will depend on the state of your home, who your ideal buyer is, and your price expectations.

‘‘Eighteen months ago, the budget for selling your house would be zero, it really wasn’t important,’’ says Wellington real estate agent Shane Brocklebank, of The Professionals. ‘‘There was a lack of stock and there were a lot of buyers. Now, every little thing you can do to make your home more saleable will help you.’’

It’s hard to put a figure on how much you should set aside. It’s a delicate balancing act between making your home as attractive as possible without over capitalising.

Many owners will consider repainting and re-carpeting throughout. For most homes, that might cost $10,000-$15,000, and it ‘‘just makes everything look fresh and modern’’.

‘‘You can modernise the whole home [that way], without spending $50,000-$60,000. But start with a tidy up, clear the front yard, clear the section as much as possible.

‘‘Repaint [inside] even if you do it yourself. Just spend an extra two or three months doing that before you list the house. You can achieve that on your own without too much cost.’’

The No 1 thing to sort out before you list your home, however, is practical: the roof.

‘‘It’s not a flash item, it’s not something everyone goes, ‘oh wow, it’s a nice roof’. But if the house is watertight and dry, they [the buyer] can sort anything else out later.

‘‘The roof is something that comes up a lot in builder’s reports. A lot of contracts tip over or there are price reductions based on the roof needing work.’’

If the roof is already done, and an owner is tossing up whether to spruce up the kitchen or bathroom, Brocklebank puts his money on the kitchen.

‘‘You’ll often find if it’s got a nice new kitchen, a purchaser will look at it and say, ‘well, I might do the bathroom in three or four years’ time when I’ve saved a bit of money’.’’

Some agents think how much you spend and where you spend it can have a significant impact on your sale price.

Independent property

company Goodwins has spent the past three months getting a property it used to manage in Hendon Ave, Auckland, ready for sale on behalf of the owner.

That work has included a new kitchen, bathroom vanities, and carpet, and an interior repaint and exterior house wash.

‘‘The total cost is between $44,000 and $45,000, to make sure we weren’t over capitalising,’’ says sales manager Catherine Goodwin.

‘‘We expect that that should deliver increased sales value in the region of $150,000. You’re constantly seeing the benefit [of renovating], particularly in this market for first-home buyers, because we know the banks are saying, look there’s not extra money for renovations.’’

Buyers are having to look at properties where they can move in and make it home without having to do any work, Goodwin says. That doesn’t mean there won’t be an opportunity to add value later – a deck, a more highend bathroom and kitchen – it means first-timers can secure that lending now, move in and make it home.

On its website, Goodwins recommends creating an improvement plan before doing any renovation to avoid over capitalising. This goes double when you’re about to sell.

Ensure you know what your home is worth on the market, which will help you determine how much you want to spend on improvements. Try to learn what buyers in your area are looking for and what they are likely to pay a premium for.

What’s key is not jumping into doing – and paying for – a lot of work before you know if you need to commit to it at all.

‘‘If the property is quite out of date there is absolutely no point spending money, or doing more than commercial cleaning and

light tidying up for the campaign, because it may return to you in the current market,’’ says real estate agent Sarah Tiplady, of Auckland Real Estate Agents Harcourts.

‘‘But if you have a property that’s quite tidy, and just the kitchen needs doing, in that context you can look at doing some light renovation or updating to the kitchen.’’

She and her sales partner Julie Kelman-Poto see buyers considering a lot of different factors, and cosmetics are often at the bottom of that list. More important is what the area is like, what the school zones are and how well-connected it is by public transport.

‘‘Everything needs to be in line and perfect for them. So, if you just have one or two boxes unticked, you may spend money that may not return to you. Feel free to get more than one opinion because otherwise, you may embark on what you think is going to return and the agent may go, ‘look that’s not going to make any difference.’

‘‘Some clients really focus on minutiae. One client went around and focused on tiny marks on the walls. That time and energy and focus, none of that necessarily returns to you.’’

Traditionally, buyers only look at a house two or three times before they buy, she says.

‘‘Yes, there are some buyers who get really detailed, but most buyers are looking for an overall feel. They’re looking at the big picture because in their minds, ‘we can fix little things’.’’

‘‘Buyers are having to look at properties where they can move in and make it home without having to do any work.’’

Catherine Goodwin