Before Selling Your House
My husband and I have been having a heated “discussion” about some repairs that need to be done around the house. Or I should say I think need to be done before our house goes on the market and he thinks do not. The biggest one is the roof of our front porch.
We had to jack the front porch up and replace some of the supports that had rotted. When we did this it became obvious that the roof was also in bad shape. Right in front, the roof has a pretty big dip.
My husband thinks that it costs too much to replace the porch roof. I think that not replacing it causes potential buyers to question the quality of the rest of the roof of the house. A huge, huge roof that would cost a ton of money to replace. The rest of the roof of the house is in fine shape, but seeing that part of the house needs a new roof could just be the turn off that sends people fleeing. They begin to question the roof as a whole. Studies have shown that replacing a roof, though a very straight forward job that doesn’t take too much time or disrupt life in the house too much, scares people.
So who is right?
Turns out I am. The top five home repairs and improvements that should be done before selling a house:
1) Paint walls and ceilings that need painting
2) Update flooring. Time to get rid of that smelly old carpeting. Hardwood flooring is preferred by buyers.
3) Update bathroom fixtures
4) Update kitchen. No need to get top of the line items. Buyers want things that are clean and not damaged. Look over the room with a critical eye.
5) Curb appeal. Repair or replace roof, repair cracked driveway, edge lawn, and plant some flowers.
I will be calling the contractor ASAP.
