Believe it or not, HGTV could be keeping your Killeen TX home from selling!
After being stuck at home with the flu last week, I watched hours of home improvement programs on DIY and HGTV, and came to the conclusion that all these programs should come with this disclaimer: "This program may be hazardous to your PROPERTY VALUE!"
So what am I talking about? I did see home after home that turned out beautifully, and I saw the owners all giddy that their home value went UP because of the changes they made. It's fun to watch, but it is just entertainment, isn't it? It's not the reality of our Killeen real estate market!
The home owners in the TV programs are normally staying in their homes for years after they do the upgrades, so it doesn't matter what they do, it suits them. In our market, most owners sell and leave the area about four years after purchasing a home. You won't be in the house long enough to recoup what you spent on upgrades when it's time to sell the house (that's for another blog).
But, if you have been bitten by the HGTV bug, do an honest assessment of your skills. We see poor carpentry, poor drywall repairs, half buried ponds in backyards, and poor paint jobs all the time. If you aren't sure you can do your repairs to a professional level, then call in the professionals to maintain your property value!! After all, those folks on TV had professionals guiding their projects, right?
When it's time to sell your home, though, the harsh truth is that MOST buyers will NOT love your choices because they are YOUR choices, not THEIR choices. So keep that in mind when planning your improvements. You have put YOUR personality all over the home! Now you are going to have to take some of the personality out of it, tone it down, and make it more middle of the road to sell it. Yes, it may be boring to you, but buyers LOVE it because they can see the house, not your paint and decor!
There are homes all over the Killeen Fort Hood area that suffer from too much personality and are not doing well in the market. This video shows homes that were listed for sale in the past few months, but did not sell (they are expired), and it's pretty obvious that they might have beeen bitten by the HGTVDIY Bug:
Search for Killeen Homes for Sale right below!
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