Renovations that Help Sell Your Denver to Boulder Home

This post is directed to people who don't plan to sell their home right now. It is based on walking into thousands of Denver to Boulder homes with ready and willing buyers, and noting their reactions to home improvements, or the lack thereof.

Many home improvements may please you and your family but won't do anything for anyone else, should you decide to sell your home. If you're thinking about doing some renovations, but would like to know whether they will actually help sell your home when the time comes, or not, read on.

With ALL home improvements remember: Be careful to not over-improve your Denver to Boulder home for your neighborhood. Look at the descriptions and photos of homes for sale that are similar to yours, see what your competition will be. If all the homes in your neighborhood have a 1-car garage, and you add two more, you may have gone too far to get your money back. Read more about adding a garage below.

Here's some *good ones:

*'Good ones' will make your house easier to sell, but I'm not saying you should make these improvements JUST to sell the house. These are improvements you can enjoy in your own home, and reap the benefit when you do decide to sell.

Add a GINORMOUS closet in the master bedroom? YES!! That will help sell your home. But not if it means taking out a bedroom or a bathroom.

Add a second sink in the master bath, or replace the shower with a tub? YES!! Both of these improvements to a master bath will help sell your home. But don't do it like the one in the picture!

Add a master bath? YES!! But not if it means taking out a bedroom. If you're trying to decide between a master bath and a ginormous closet, that's a tough call, but I'd say the master bath is a bigger selling point.

Add a deck? YES!! I've never had a client say they would remove a deck unless it was already on the verge of fallling down. By the way - I've also never heard anyone say a deck was too big. So if you're deciding on how big a deck to add on, go for the gusto!

Add a front porch? YES!! Everyone I've ever talked to about it, loves a front porch. Try to make it wide enough to have seating and allow people to still walk around.

Wood floors? YES!! I thought the love of wood floors phase might phase out by now, but my clients still choose which homes to see based on finding wood floors in the photos. By the way - people who want wood floors are not usually satisfied with laminates.

Add a garage? YES!! A big selling point, whether there is currently no garage, or whether you're adding a second or even a third car space. However, this can be a negative if you use the majority of the backyard to do it.

Here's some maybe's:

Converting a wood-burning fireplace to gas? Maybe. Gas is more convenient, but many people love the snap and crackle plus the look of a real wood fire. They may not realize that they can't legally burn a wood fire very often here between Denver and Boulder, and that's another huge benefit to gas. I say do what works for your family on this one.

Adding a covered porch? The trouble with covered porches is, they make the interior look dark. So if you add one, try to add skylights, or have plenty of lights on in the house when selling your home.

Remodeling the kitchen? A stylish new kitchen will definitely help sell a house AND add value. However, if you don't plan to sell within the next five years or so, your lovely new kitchen could look dated by then. So, if you plan to sell soon take a look at model homes and talk to the folks at Lowe's or Home Depot about what people are buying. Remodel your kitchen according to the popular current style, even is it's not what you would have chosen (maybe I should say, 'especially' if it's not what you would have chosen?).

Air Conditioning? Maybe. But some people prefer an evaporative cooler. Having one or the other is important, especially if you plan to sell in the summer.

Landscaping? Maybe. If your yard is a mess and you clean it up and put in a few nice plants that will make a big difference. But you can definitely go too far, and buyers will look at it and say, "Too much work," and move on.

Here's some that don't seem to make a big difference:

New windows? I'm always surprised by this, but my clients rarely get very excited about windows whether they're old or new. They do like it if they will open and close properly, but most people aren't too phased by the idea that they'll need to replace windows.

Short list! Notice the list of improvements that don't seem to make a big difference is quite short. What does that tell you?

If you need assistance deciding what to do if selling your house soon, please call and I will gladly help you out.

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Copyright © 2011 Joetta Fort, Broker Associate, Equity Colorado