Improve the Value of Your Home

You may want to read the previous chapter on the importance of knowing your reasons to sell here.


It is never too early to start the preparation phase.  In the beginning, it is best to look at the house from a buyer’s perspective.  When you visit your family and friends, take note of the features of their home that you like and ones that you don’t. 

Granted, your friends’ houses will be full of personal possessions and decor, since they are living in them – try to disregard those items, as you will likely have to remove some of your own personal items from your house when it’s on the market.  But let’s talk about staging your house a little later.

What you ought to be looking for, when touring your own home objectively, are the big-picture things: features that need to be repaired, replaced, painted, cleaned, or disposed of.  Orchestrate a schedule of fixes with your family, so that everybody knows when to clean up their rooms and how to help out. 

It is wise to start with the maintenance work as soon as you can, so you can complete small jobs piecemeal and without much hassle.  If you find bigger problems in the process, you will have enough time to correct them before the first buyers start pouring in.Don’t hesitate to ask your real estate agent for her or his favourite spruce-up tips.

Renovation, Repairs and Upgrades

If you do your homework properly, prospective buyers won’t have much reason – or desire – to haggle on price.  If you know that some areas of your house may require a buyer’s investment after the purchase, you can adjust your asking price so that it properly reflects your home’s condition as compared to other, similar homes in your local market.

This approach (leaving issues unfixed but reflecting them in your asking price) may be useful when you are not sure how the buyer might want the issue amended, the room painted, or the roof replaced.  It is always professional to acknowledge the issue (with the help of your Realtor®, who may choose to market your home as ‘untouched’) so everything is out on the table for the buyer to decide.

Whereas improving the value for your buyer by upgrading can be a great way to push the sale price up, be wary of large-scale personalization or customization.  The last thing you want to do is undertake an ambitious, costly colour scheme throughout the house, only to discover this is a deal-breaker for your prospective buyer, who would have preferred a neutral palette and doesn’t want to have to change things back.

When you do repairs or renovations, always document them and keep the receipts from the professionals you call in.Read on to find out more about the do’s and don’ts of repairs and upgrades, and for valuable advice on selling your home ‘as is’.