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Top 5 Home Repairs Before Listing Your Home

As Americans tend to not live in the same home their whole adult life, but like to “move around” a bit, knowing what to bother repairing for a quicker sale at a higher price point is something every homeowner should care about.

Top 5 Home Repairs Before Listing Your Home

First of all, take a peek at the market averages for you area (we’ll use Santa Rosa as an example.) The median value of listed homes in Santa Rosa, CA, is $550,000 and rising rapidly, or $360 per square foot. The median rent is $2,500 per month, and note that many of the same must-do repairs needed to sell your home are needed to lease it as well.

You want to sell your home, if/when you sell it, “as is,” and the buyers expect that. Therefore, they will be leary of having to do a lot of immediate “emergency” repairs as soon as they walk in the door – unless, of course, it’s someone looking for a “fixer upper.”

But most are searching for the “already fixed up” home and you won’t be able to sell as high with a home that needs major repairs. On the other hand, all repairs made for the purpose of making a sale must deliver a good ROI and/or significantly speed up selling time to be worthwhile.

Top 5 Home Repairs Before Listing Your Home

Here are our top 5 home repairs to make before listing your home:

1. HVAC Repairs

Before I listed my Northern California home for sale in 2017, the first thing I did was contact reputable Santa Rosa heating services. The furnace needed a check-up and a few small repairs to get it up to its top efficiency level.

I didn’t end up having to replace the furnace, and my AC ran off the same unit, so costs were minimal. But it was peace of mind to me because I could now honestly say the HVAC was in excellent condition and maximally efficient for its age, which is a big selling point to climate-change and budget-conscious buyers.

2. Roofing Repairs

A leaky, old, or damaged roof is the number one anti-selling point for listed homes, and “how’s the roof” is one of the first questions you’ll hear interested buyers ask you. You can’t afford to look a bit squeamish and have to say, “It maybe has a few more years left in it if you’re lucky!”

Have the roof inspected by a professional contractor no matter how new it is, before selling. And have all loose shingles, potential leakage points, or out of place flashing fixed immediately. If your roof has less than 5 years left in it, best to replace it before listing your home.

And do tear off because going over the old shingles can damage the new shingles and limit their effectiveness.

3. Solve Plumbing Problems

Leaky faucets may be something you can put up with personally, but they will drive away your buyers. Any and all plumbing problems are dreaded by most people, who are plumbing-challenged and worried about a sticker shock plumbing bill.

Many plumbing issues can be fixed cheaply, but home buyers don’t want to take that risk. So you absolutely must eliminate them.

4. Install New Carpeting

A nice touch that has a high ROI and a relatively low overall cost is that of installing new carpeting. Old, worn, or badly stained carpets are an eyesore and should be replaced. Also consider that if you end up failing to sell or change your mind, new carpeting won’t be a wasted investment because you will enjoy it yourself in that case.

5. Switch Out Old Light Fixtures

Finally, if there are old, out of style light fixtures or ceiling fans that most prospective buyers wouldn’t prefer, it’s best to switch them out. Even better, upgrade to LED or other highly energy efficient lights at the same time. This is a nice touch and a good selling point that everyone at your open house is sure to notice.

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