plumbing, leaky pipes or outdated electrical wiring, exist, you may want to repair those before putting your home on the market, or expect to give concessions to the buyer. "Buyers want to take the basic systems for granted," says Sal Alfano, Remodeling's editorial director. " According to Remodeling Magazine (http://www.remodeling.hw.net/) you're less likely to recoup your investment in a major kitchen or bathroom remodel than you are to get back what you spend on basic home maintenance such as new siding. STARTING WITH THE B G WITH THE BASICS Every listed home should meet the basic expectations of any buyer. It should have a sound roof, foundation without cracks, functioning heating and/or air-conditioning system, solid subflooring, and safe and secure electrical wiring. With finance- mandated home inspections, any shortcomings may be required to be remedied to get buyer financing approval. It is important to understand that the market value of a home is determined by the prices of comparable homes recently sold in the area. Extensive remodeling to sell the home or to increase the value may not pay off. The property needs to be up to the standards of neighboring homes, so while the kitchen has to be comparable to others, spending $25,000 to remodel a kitchen in an area where comparable homes recently sold for $275,000 will not increase the house’s value to $300,000. While it may be a helpful selling feature, it won’t return dollar-for-dollar value. National Association of Realtors listed the following to help with remodeling. (https://www.nar.realtor) Avoid these pitfalls: CNNMoney.com recently highlighted(link is external) a few such common mistakes: 1. Being too trendy. The home will look out-of-date a lot faster if you just reach for today’s trends, according to design experts. As such, you might want to bypass such trends as glass tiles, wire- hung track lighting, and vessel sinks, says Curt Schultz, a real estate professional and architect in Pasadena, Calif. Instead, opt
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