Expert: Emily - 6/27/2008

Question
QUESTION: I live in Upland (40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles), California and want to sell my house in the next 12 - 18 months (betw. June 09 and Dec 09).

I need to do some things to get my home sell ready.  I have a small budget and must choose between doing these two things:

1.  Replace all the carpeting with HARDWOOD FLOORS, or

2.  Replace the Living Room, Dining Area, and Hallway with HARDWOOD FLOORS, and use the balance of the budget to:

a.  Stain the Kitchen Cabinets
b.  Change the brass hardware to brushed nickel,
c.  Install Granite Counter top

Which would yield more return and move the house faster?

ANSWER: Hi Jasmin,
Kitchens and bathrooms are what sell homes! I'd do the second option so you can put more money into the kitchen which would yield you a better return on your money. Remember, it's a buyer's market right now so you may want to consider renting the property until values go up. You'll be hard pressed to receive a profit at this time. Hope this helps!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response.  Follow-up Question:

We want to sell to move-up.  So even though property values are down for sellers, we would be buying low in this same depressed market, right?  

So is it still better to wait to sell our house even when we want to use the profits (we owe $204, comps are $473k - $520k) to buy up?

When is the market expected to turn around?

Answer
Hi there,
Well, if you can make a little money to put down on a still fairly cheap home, then go ahead and do so. I would say by about the time you're ready to sell, the market will have turned around at least a little. But you're right, you'll be either selling and buying low or high, depending on the market!