A toilet seat is like $10. Frankly, if my realtor told me to replace the toilet seat, I would replace the damn toilet seat.

If you're in a hot neighborhood, clean and declutter and consider painting at least the rooms where the paint is scuffed or an unusual color that might turn off buyers with limited imagination. You'll get a lower price than if you redid kitchen and/or bathrooms, but that's to be expected, and someone else will have their own taste anyway, that might differ from yours.

I forgot. They also asked us to drop the price $10,000. Realtors want to sell your house as quickly as possible so they can move onto the next house. Whether a house sells for $10,000 more or not, is not really relevant to them because they don't get enough in return for waiting the extra couple of weeks to sell at that price.

Realtors ask you to do these things because they want to make their lives easier. It doesn't necessarily bring in more bucks. We had one realtor who asked us to paint the entire front of the house on a 2 over 2 house where we just owned the bottom piece and didn't even know the neighbors above us. We decided to sell on our own and came in within $10,000 of our original price which we knew was higher than we'd get during the recession and basically would have been the amount we would have had to give the realtor.

Every Realtor has a different opinion on what needs to be done. So use their expertise but also use common sense. We had one Realtor want us to put $10K into our house before listing. She was so picky and wanted us to change one of our toilet seats! It wasn't ripped or broken in any way. Our other Realtor made some of the same suggestions but not all of them. And the reality is, we were not willing to put that much into our home. It also sold in a few days' time.

Definitely clean it up to be spotless. Declutter everything. Change small things that look shabby - light fixtures, rusty mailbox, etc. Think twice with big items - whether you will get the money back that you put into it. Ripped carpeting - yes.

Anonymous wrote:I would say that having your home spotless is more important than everything upgraded.

I'm not a clean freak, but when I visit dirty homes (scuff marks, dirty doors, etc) I assume they're lazy and were lazy about everything. Lazy with home maintenance and not getting the major appliances worked on properly. I know that this isn't always true, but it's what crosses my mind.

In this market OP I think you can do everything wrong and still sell your house quickly.

+1. Even though it's not entirely rational, I was very hesitant to bid on a house if it wasn't completely clean.

I did what my agent said, and the house went under contract in 4 days. Do what they say. And staging is important.

+1 Ask your agent. They do not always say do everything. There is a presumption that the buyers can do some things.

Agent here. I do this for clients when I have a listing appointment. Ask your agent for sure.

I would say that having your home spotless is more important than everything upgraded.

I'm not a clean freak, but when I visit dirty homes (scuff marks, dirty doors, etc) I assume they're lazy and were lazy about everything. Lazy with home maintenance and not getting the major appliances worked on properly. I know that this isn't always true, but it's what crosses my mind.

In this market OP I think you can do everything wrong and still sell your house quickly.

+1,000 to trusting your realtor.

We had a house in our neighborhood sit all summer long because the owners refused to do even basic things like re-paint and do basic landscaping. They had already moved out and didn't bother with mowing the grass except right before open houses, didn't weed or plant flowers and so on. They told their realtor that they knew our neighborhood was hot and the house would sell regardless simply because people wanted houses. As a result, it showed horribly and the price came across as way too high.

Sat on the market for 6mos and finally sold after a new realtor gave them a tough love speech and refused to work with them unless they followed her advice. Price is much lower than their original asking price and it's their own fault.

I like the suggestion of asking a realtor: they will have the eye for clutter, which to you may look fine. Have them make a list of the key things to address, and see how much you can afford. I would also move the cat out while trying to sell.

I think details count.

Make sure water and light fixtures (throughout the home) are updated and upgrade the doorknobs (if they're still that yellow brass). I never understood, when we looked at homes, why people poured money into a new kitchen but kept up the same ugly flourescent light.

These things can be pricey to buy but in my experience it makes the home show better and sell faster.

Anonymous wrote:My realtor did a walk through and told us what to do. We did everything he said, put it up on a Monday and had a cash offer Friday.

I would listen and do whatever your realtor says even if it seems silly or a pain in the ass, they know what they're talking about!

Same poster here, sorry we put it up on Friday and had a cash offer Monday. It was very fast.

My realtor did a walk through and told us what to do. We did everything he said, put it up on a Monday and had a cash offer Friday.

I would listen and do whatever your realtor says even if it seems silly or a pain in the ass, they know what they're talking about!

We bought a townhouse in a short sale in 2009. It needed lots and lots of work. We did a lot of work (new HVAC, new appliances, new flooring in most of one floor, new carpeting in the upstairs, new hot water heater etc also new siding, roof and windows). We are probably selling in the next year. The basement is only semi-finished and looks pretty bad, the sink/counters, cabinets are old and ugly, the deck isnt so great, bathrooms are dated). It obviously needs a fresh coat of paint and probably new carpet upstairs (cats messed up the new carpet) but how do you decide what's worth replacing? Is that a conversation you have with your realtor based on pricing?