The Updates You Shouldn't Stress About When Trying To Sell Your Home

Your home is likely your biggest financial asset, so deciding to sell it is a big deal and requires preparation. Early planning is ideal to ensure you get the asking price or beyond. Zillow recommends beginning at least six months before listing to allow time to complete repairs and updates. The site offers a checklist that creates a schedule of actions to be taken before the house is listed. For example, six months before listing, design and initiate a plan that includes performing market research, picking a listing date, and assessing the property to determine which projects need addressing. You'll want to begin decluttering, gathering legal paperwork, and making a marketing plan at the two-month marker.

Although it isn't required, you could consider working with a realtor who can guide you through the selling process and help assess your home's value potential based on its condition and local market trends. A real estate professional can also be beneficial by directing focus to necessary maintenance and upgrades so that your time, money, and effort are not met with a low ROI. While repairs are important, not all upgrades are necessary. You're likely to see the best ROI on lighting, flooring, painting, and minor landscaping, according to Her Money, which also states that doing these improvements is more likely to get you higher offers. But which projects should you avoid? Read on to find out.

Landscaping is integral to a home's curb appeal, but overspending on a major overhaul isn't necessary. Forgo paying for professional landscaping, which, according to Rocket Mortgage, has an anticipated ROI of just 5.5% to 12.7%, and refresh the softscape details on your own. Rocket Mortgage suggests maintaining your yard in a clean and simple fashion. This means keeping the greenery trimmed, pruned, and neat so potential buyers can visualize their personal touches if they decide to own the home.

Inexpensive touches can go a long way in improving the aesthetics of your yard. Begin by cleaning up any debris, clutter, and dead foliage. Simple Showing says that adding 2 to 3 inches of additional mulch is a great way to bring life back to a flower garden. Don't go overboard on adding new plants; instead, strategically place potted and hanging plants around the dwelling and yard to increase attractiveness.

It might be tempting to gut that half bath or replace outdated kitchen cabinetry, but experts say it's a bad idea. Rather than diving into the expense and commitment of large renovation projects right before putting your house on the market, Sell My Home Cleveland recommends making only smart and necessary modifications to your home. These improvements don't require a significant investment but will add value to the house. According to Smart Mortgage, two of the best rooms to improve without completely renovating are the kitchen and bathroom. Cabinets can look new again with fresh paint and hardware. Updated lighting fixtures in the bathroom can also be an inexpensive upgrade that's noteworthy. Hommati says it's essential to keep the style classic and to avoid trends as they become outdated quickly.

Two additional areas that give great ROI are on the home's exterior: the garage door and the roof. Performance Building Products reports that spending a little money on a new garage door can significantly impact curb appeal with a greater than 90% return on investment. And if you have the budget to do a larger project, choose to replace the roof if necessary. Buyers always want a roof that's in good condition. Replacement can be costly, but according to Home Inspection Insider, it may significantly boost your home's worth. In contrast, a damaged roof can decrease the value and make the home challenging to sell.

All three of these points are true: Paint is one of the most affordable design tools to update the look of a space (if you do the work yourself), it's a popular go-to for a quick refresh on dated décor, and it's not always necessary when preparing your home for the market. HomeLight recommends investing in a paint job only if the surface needs it. A house in good condition may just need a thorough cleaning or power washing, which means money can be spent on other worthwhile projects. But if the paint is peeling, faded, or damaged, it's probably a good idea and worth the hassle to give it a fresh coat.

Hiring a contractor removes the worry of having to do it yourself, but it can be costly. The good news is that new paint on the exterior and interior can bring a return on investment greater than 100%, according to HomeLight. And there is one super fast update that can pack an incredible ROI: Painting the front door black, or dark gray tends to net offers of about $6,000 above the asking price, according to RealTrends.

Before you decide whether or not to jazz up your home prior to selling, it's important to understand that ROI on most major home renovation projects is 70% or less, says RenoFi. And it's even less for purely aesthetic and entertainment luxury upgrades. Some examples of those, according to RenoFi, include backyard sports courts, pools, hot tubs, upscale kitchen or bathroom makeovers, in-home movie theaters, and wine cellars. These projects are costly and only make sense in exceptionally high-income areas.

Additionally, RenoFi explains that upgrade materials for any improvement project should be in tune with other homes on the market in the area because low to medium-income buyers won't pay for those extras. So, if you're looking for upgrades that will increase the value of your home and give a good return, stay away from fancy, luxury updates, and finishes that might not appeal to the average buyer.

If you replaced the windows for your comfort recently before deciding to sell the home, then mentioning it in the sales description is a great idea. But don't worry if your windows are aging and outdated; it's not a dealbreaker for buyers, says Bankrate. Sometimes, if a buyer is concerned, they might attempt to negotiate a concession for replacement. Of course, address any leaks, broken panes, and peeling caulk; otherwise, a good cleaning and maybe some fresh paint should do the trick. 

According to Southwest Exteriors, new windows can potentially increase the value of your home with an expected ROI of around 67%. Still, generally, the replacement needs to happen at least a few years before you put the house up for sale. If your windows need updating before selling, you can make them more appealing by adding or repainting the shutters and using attractive window dressings during staging.