Home Seller’s Guide To Moneymaking Fix-Ups Series part 2

Home Seller’s Guide To Moneymaking Fix-Ups Series part 2



Painting Your Home

Time and again, painting proves to be one of the most basic, yet most profitable of home fix-ups. There’s virtually nothing a coat of paint won’t fix, especially if you plan to sell your home within a few years. According to the National Association of REALTORS, professionally painting the exterior of a home costs an average of $3,250, and recoups nearly 100% of its cost. But that’s not the profitable part of painting.

Studies also show that painting the exterior has a meaningful effect on reducing the time to sell. And reducing time to sell means you’re saving potentially thousands in interest, taxes, and other overhead costs required to maintain your home and mortgage during the
"for sale” period

Rather than spending money on less visible “infrastructure” issues of your home, you’re frequently better off fixing the cracked front steps and painting the entry and front door.


Selecting Painters

The key to a great paint job isn’t necessarily in the painting, but in the prep work. And this is the area where you’re going to either get “taken” or get a great job. If you own a two or three story home, it’s difficult to climb up a ladder to make sure every inch has been properly scrapped, sanded, patched, and primed. But taking the time and effort may pay off big dividends. Here are a few tips to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth out of your painter: 1. Verify that all priming and preparation has been done. Ask your painter to use a different color of primer paint than the current or finish paint color. For example, if your current paint is white, ask him/her to use a light-gray primer.
 
2. Get a detailed on-site estimate to avoid unpleasant surprises. You don’t need to go through three estimates for the same job. Just get two estimates if they’re in the same ballpark. But make sure they’re detailed so you know what you’re paying for

3. Don’t scrimp on paint. Get good quality paint, even if you can only afford a single coat. But don’t buy the top of the line either. Your best bet? Select a paint that’s one-step down from the top-of-the-line premium paint. 4. Remember that painters do better on paint prices than you will. Frequently called a “contractors price,” your painter can, for example, buy paint at $22 a gallon and resell it to you for $25. Even with the mark-up, that’s still a better deal than if you bought it for retail at $28. Make certain to ask your painter how his/her paint pricing works

5. When evaluating exterior painters, ask for addresses of homes they painted about five years ago. Then go look at them. A good paint job should last about seven years. At five years, you’ll see just the beginning of paint wear around the eaves and gutters

6. Remember, no matter how much you haggle with potential contractors to lower their bids; they still need to make a living. You can push too hard. If you pressure painters into lower prices, this only means they have to find cheaper labor to do the job. And cheap labor means a shoddier job. Either way, you generally get what you pay for.

Please join me for part three of this series where we will take a look at kitchen and bathroom easy fix-ups.

 Pamela Efferson, REALTOR
Better Homes & Garden Real Estate Anderson Properties
Phone: (713) 862-0000
Fax: (713) 490-3550
Email: pamela@SellingHomesInHouston.com

Blog: https://blogs.har.com/Efferson
Web: https://www.har.com/Efferson