Selling Worn Apartment without Renovating

Hi, I want to sell my apartment in NSW. Would it better if we renovate it before selling? We have done a little painting and made it look better but the lounge carpet is old and the bathroom seriously needs money spent to improve it. We would also be better off to take out the wall from the kitchen to the lounge to open it up.

Unfortunately we have been not able to afford to do this work and under financial stress so will have to sell without this work.

My question is how much of a difference would it make in the selling price by not selling it renovated? I estimate the value as is around $280k and seen a renovated one sell for 300 over a year ago. Have not seen huge gains in prices though around here but lots of building activity which is good as other places in the street have been done to make this a nicer street. Our unit has the best view in the street too which I think adds value.

 

Dear KbSwan,
you might like to ask what is your competition?
Is there 'nothing else' comparable, and 'strong demand',?
I hope this helps

 

You would need to look at the difference between comparable sales to work this out, it is to difficult to understand.

For a renovator they would typical want to make $1:$2-$3 typically (if not more) but requires funds.

The carpets might be a good idea as they are usually a good earner from investment but end of the day I would rather leave $20k on the table and sleep at night and have a comfortable life rather than spend $10-15k (even 20k+) just to get the 20k and not be able to sleep well at night due to the financial pressure.

Maybe talk to some real estate agents to get their idea if it is a good idea to do the carpets, I doubt many will say update the bathroom as someone might not like your choice in the bathroom (same as your choice in carpet but keep it neutral and you should be okay).

 

On the other hand, plenty of people who buy to reno do it with zero clue about their budget.

I would just put it on and get rid of it if you're under financial strain. If renovated are only selling for $20k more than unrenovated, there's no point doing anything.

 

My 2 cents.

Give the whole place a really good clean, then......
Get some color charts and carpet samples
(Maybe a super cheap quote for carpet)
Leave them on the bench and list it for sale

Prospective purchases will start getting idea's of what "they" could do, what color they'd paint, and before long have a personal attachment with your property
When that happens they tend to overlook things because they now "want it"

 

Hi @KbSwan from my experience sellers will often see a 50c in the dollar return for renovations. This is assuming that the property is in reasonable condition and there is no maintenance issues making the renovations a necessity. If the walls were horrible colours then it may be worth going through in a neutral palette, however, in general the buyer will have their own ideas and tastes and would like to make the property their own.

 

thanks for the feedback and ideas.

I agree that carpet is a good thing to change as it can make a dramatic difference. We already carpeted the rooms 2 years ago and it made them so much better with new paint. We have already touched up the paint again this time. Bunnings sell some really cheap carpet like this for just under $14 a metre. We could do the lounge for about $100 at a rough guess. As our current carpet still has a nice spring in it and is nice and soft but just worn and marked then I wonder if we could leave it there and put this cheap stuff over the top. That would also make it much easier to work with?