Purron
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2007
- Messages
- 5,596
We are starting to prepare our house for sale. It's in Northern Virginia where the market is starting to recover. Most homes in our development are selling within 2-3 months. The one exception is a house that's clearly overpriced.
The place was built in the 80s and is in generally good shape. There are, however, a number of things we need to do. Here's where your advice would be most appreciated. We want to spend money on things that will help the house sell as quickly as possible and at the best price.
I believe these things are no-brainers:
- New paint in attractive, neutral shades.
- New carpet in the finished basement and upstairs 4 bedrooms. The main floor is hard wood in the living/family/dining room and nice ceramic tile in the kitchen.
- Spruce up the landscaping.
Here are some things I'm considering:
- New air conditioning unit. The current unit is over 20 years old and just didn't seem to work well during last year's heat wave even though we had it serviced. The heating system is fine. This would be expensive - I'm thinking several thousand $. The current AC system might limp along and I'm wondering if it's worth replacing.
- New kitchen countertops. Currently have old laminate that's worn out looking. I'm thinking a mid priced surface. Just don't think the place is fancy enough for granite.
- New refrigerator and stove. Both are old. Dishwasher is fairly new. Wondering the best kind to get.
DH and I think mid range improvements will be best. Decent carpet, appliances and countertops, but nothing super high end. Even though the market is doing a little better here, it's still a buyer's market. Plus, my research shows more modest homes are selling better than the McMansions in these parts.
Here's a picture of the place.
Thanks
The place was built in the 80s and is in generally good shape. There are, however, a number of things we need to do. Here's where your advice would be most appreciated. We want to spend money on things that will help the house sell as quickly as possible and at the best price.
I believe these things are no-brainers:
- New paint in attractive, neutral shades.
- New carpet in the finished basement and upstairs 4 bedrooms. The main floor is hard wood in the living/family/dining room and nice ceramic tile in the kitchen.
- Spruce up the landscaping.
Here are some things I'm considering:
- New air conditioning unit. The current unit is over 20 years old and just didn't seem to work well during last year's heat wave even though we had it serviced. The heating system is fine. This would be expensive - I'm thinking several thousand $. The current AC system might limp along and I'm wondering if it's worth replacing.
- New kitchen countertops. Currently have old laminate that's worn out looking. I'm thinking a mid priced surface. Just don't think the place is fancy enough for granite.
- New refrigerator and stove. Both are old. Dishwasher is fairly new. Wondering the best kind to get.
DH and I think mid range improvements will be best. Decent carpet, appliances and countertops, but nothing super high end. Even though the market is doing a little better here, it's still a buyer's market. Plus, my research shows more modest homes are selling better than the McMansions in these parts.
Here's a picture of the place.
Thanks