Justifying Value: What is an Upgrade vs. Maintenance and Preference?
The other day, I received an email from a Seller's Agent that was justifying value in a Western Prince William County, VA home that had appraised $40,000 lower than its sales price. Mind you, the agent had met the appraiser at the property and handed them the same list of upgrades that she was now emailing. So already, these items were taken into account when the appraiser was coming to a final value, so in my view, the list was irrelevant. But the sellers were unwilling to lower their price and badly wanted to justify their sales price. So out of pure professional curiosity, I opened it up. Reading the list would have served as a comedy routine at a comedy club devoted to real estate professionals.
The interior was painted.
The exterior had been power-washed and painted.
The hardware on all doors had been replaced.
The vent covers had been replaced to be more stylized.
Ceiling fans had been added to a few rooms.
Carpet had been replaced.
The lawn had been professionally maintained.
Appliances had been upgraded.
The pool's bottom had been resurfaced and filter been replaced.
Realize that we were dealing with home built near the end of the 1970's. Of course items like appliances, carpet and paint had been brought current. But to nickel and dime over door handles, vent covers and ceiling fans? And wanting extra credit for having a lawn service? For fixing things when they are broken or in need of service? That's the cost of home ownership. You aren't going to recoup every penny you've ever spent on your home.
An upgrade that may have brought value up were additions to the property. Rooms. Deck. Patio. Finishing a basement. Not this piddly junk that home owners are supposed to do, or just want to because they like a certain decor.
Just because you've come out of pocket to maintain and personalize your home doesn't equate to expecting to sell for ten percent more than appraised value.
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