Remodeling vs. Staging Benefits for Home Sellers

Home improvement and staging each room to look its best can both make a huge impact on the buyer pool interested in your home.  Staging tends to be inexpensive compared to a remodel, but in some cases, may not get you the highest possible offers.  Remodeling tends to drive the asking price of your home higher, but not always high enough to compensate for the cost of the remodel itself. 

So when should you stage and when should you remodel a home you’re going to sell?  Your real estate agent can certainly advise you on trends they see buyers demanding, and areas of your home to consider either remodeling or staging.  They are also a wealth of information regarding costs of remodeling and staging related to any potential increase in your net from a sale.

Living/Family Room

These rooms often don’t need to be remodeled.  Most likely, they are somewhat more crowded than necessary for a home showing, so it’s a good idea to store any excess furniture and put away clutter.  If there are materials like children’s toys that you’d like to have access to every day, store them in a box in a discreet location.  That way they can be retrieved and quickly put away as needed.  Assume  that potential home buyers are going to open every closet, so don’t kid yourself that stashing things out of sight is the same as de-cluttering.

Kitchen

Remodeling a kitchen can have a big impact.  However, it likely doesn’t need a complete re-do from top to bottom.  If your appliances are old or inefficient, it’s likely worthwhile to replace them.  Consider replacing the floor as well, especially if there are any warps or cracked tiles.  Redoing the cabinets can change the look of the room, but you don’t have to completely replace them.  Upgrading the doors, replacing handles, and/or repainting can upgrade your look just as well as a full replacement.

Bedrooms

This is another area that rarely needs remodeling.  Clever staging and thorough cleaning is normally sufficient to make all the bedrooms in your home look great to prospective buyers.  You may want to consider downsizing a bed.  If a king sized bed makes the room look like a tight fit, a queen may be a better fit.  However, the perfect staging techniques for your bedrooms can be discussed with your Realtor.

Attics

A common problem with attics is poor insulation.  This leads to heat seeping out of the house, costing you and future owners money.  Upgrading the insulation is something you can advertise, especially in today’s energy saving economy.  If you have an attic that you can easily reach and has proper floor and walls, you can transform even tiny spaces into attractive studies.  A desk and chair with some lighting and a bookshelf turns an empty space into an extra room.

Basements

There are markets for both finished and unfinished basements.  If you have an unfinished basement, talk to your Realtor to see whether finishing it would attract more buyers in your area.  Finishing a basement turns a storage space into at least one extra room, which can have incredible appeal, especially for smaller houses.

Every home is different, so before beginning any major remodeling project, talk to a Realtor to determine how to make the most impact with the smallest financial risk.