Two houses on my street are being renovated. Exteriors have been power washed, landscaped, repaired and painted. Interiors have been cleaned out. New carpets and floors have been installed. Entire living areas have been repainted. Kitchens and baths have been refreshed. Repairmen and contractors have been working on these houses for weeks.
One house was owned by an elderly widower who died a few months ago. The other is owned by an elderly woman whose health had deteriorated to the point where she could no longer live independently.
It’s obvious that both homes are being prepped to sell. They are being fixed up in order to get the highest price.
I’ve owned 7 homes and have sold 6 of them (that I owned with my wife). We always took a different approach. We fixed up our homes to make them better for us to live in.
Some of our best upgrades were:
- Hiring professionals to paint the interior.
- Installing new tile and hardwood flooring.
- Installing new windows.
- Upgrading appliances.
- Landscaping.
- Replacing fixtures, lights, locks and handles.
Since we weren’t wealthy, many of these happened over time. Some we did ourselves and others we hired contractors to do.
In every case, our upgrades undoubtedly helped our sales price but we didn’t make them for that reason. We did them to make our lives better. And they did.
I didn’t know either of my neighbors well. They might have loved their homes exactly the way they were. Or perhaps they didn’t have the time, energy, money or interest to upgrade them. I will never know.
But watching their homes transform has inspired me to continue making small upgrades in my own home that I can afford – right here and right now – so that I can enjoy them while I’m alive.
As for my big upgrades, someday I’d like to replace my master bathroom tub with a stall shower. I’d like to replace my sliding glass doors with French doors. I’d like new windows that open and close more easily.
But for now, all of these projects are way too expensive and none are critical.
Perhaps, that is exactly what my former neighbors decided too.