I often get asked what improvements can be made that give the biggest return. I think a lot of folks are hoping I will say new flooring, new counter tops, stuff like that. I say do those if they are common for your neighborhood and/or price range, and only if your house does not have big negatives that future buyers will have a hard time overlooking. Not all improvements add more value than they cost. Keep in mind that you are focusing on that one new improvement. Sure, it is exciting. You are removing one negative from your house. When you go to sell, the buyers are looking at your whole house. They are weighing the positives against the negatives.

Many years ago, I had two older home listings that both had fabulous features. One of them had a reaaaaally narrow staircase to what had been the attic. It had a new kitchen, great deck, and 2 fantastic bathrooms. Another listing had the smallest living room I have ever seen, but the whole upstairs was brand new. I mean the seller took the roof off and had it rebuilt all new by a very reputable remodeler. It had a walk-in closet and master bath like a new high end house. It was totally superior to any other house in the neighborhood and its price range. Both of them took a while to sell. I would call the agents that showed them for feedback and they would go on and on about how much the buyer loved certain features and what a nice job the sellers had done with their improvements. I was always tempted to interrupt them and remind them that the house was for sale. I let them finish and they always started their last sentence with the word “But”. It was like this: “Buuuuuuuut that living room was too small.” Or “Buuuuuuut they just couldn’t handle those stairs.”

(Since I brought up the whole adding value verses cost of the improvement thing, would you like to know what is the highest return when getting your house ready to sell? Paint. Nobody ever gets excited when I tell them this, but it is true. Fresh paint always make any house feel better.)