According to financial experts you should plan on spending 3% of your home’s value on repair and maintenance annually. We have never allowed for this and now I can see how nice it would be if we had an account with 4 years of accumulated savings for this specific purpose. We live in a 20+ old house and will soon have to deal with big ticket items like a new roof, siding and replacing carpets.
Since we are working hard on simplifying our life we have decided to sell our house next year. The plan is to spend a year getting it ready and then to list it in May as that is the beginning of the busiest time for real estate.
In trying to assess how much it would cost and how long it would take to get our house ready to sell, I did a critical walk through and made note of everything that should be done. The first walk through was more of a de-cluttering process in which I took ‘stuff’ to the garage and got an area ready for the Salvation Army. I dislike garage sales so instead I take everything to the SA and I consider it a charitable donation. There was lots of old clothes, books, toys, dishes rarely used and all of the misc. stuff that had accumulated in the basement.
I then had a look at the house from the street, does it have curb appeal? Does it look inviting and does it appear well kept? We need to repaint the garage door and power wash the siding and install a new mail box. Once I opened the front door, I stopped and had a good look around – you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression – it is so true. What do you see from the front door? Is the room tidy and inviting? We need new light fixtures throughout the house as everything is brass and very dated. Now walk slowly from room to room and make note of what needs to be done in order to sell. From watching real estate shows you quickly get an idea of what people are looking for when purchasing a home. New colorful pillows for the couches and a large buque of fresh flowers for the coffee table always helps.
Watching home improvement shows and real estate shows like House Hunters will quickly give you an idea of what should be done to appeal to as many people as possible. The home should be free of clutter and very clean, hardwood floors are very popular and is something we are considering.
Our main floor washroom – we need a new toilet and sink, paint and a new mirror and accessories - $500. Plan on doing one room at the time so it is not so overwhelming.
Master bedroom – the bed is the focal point – does it look luxurious? I need new matching side tables and lamps and I am going to buy a new duvet and pillows.
Landscaping - make sure the grass is cut and everything looks tidy.
Make a list of repairs and upgrades needed and decide on when to do it. I came up with a two page list and and I then put dollar amounts after each one to see what it would cost to get ready to list the house - total $5,000.00 plus hardwood if we decide to do that. I will now take the list and start to schedule all of these improvements into our One Year Plan starting with the more time consuming ones in the Fall. September - painting the spare bedroom, October - replace light fixtures throughout the house etc. Whether you are going to sell your home or not, a critical look once a year is not a bad idea.
If you have any comments you can contact me at ullameredith@gmail.com
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