The instinct before listing is to renovate. It's usually wrong. Most major renovations return less than they cost when done specifically to sell. The money is in the small, visible things.
Worth doing
- Paint, in a neutral. The highest-return item available, consistently.
- Anything broken or obviously deferred: a dripping tap, a cracked pane, a sticking door, a dead bulb. Each one individually trivial; collectively they tell a buyer the house hasn't been maintained.
- Lighting. Modern fixtures and correct-temperature bulbs throughout. Cheap, and it transforms photography.
- Curb appeal: edged beds, fresh mulch, a clean door, working exterior lights, pressure-washed walk.
- Grout, caulk, and silicone in kitchens and bathrooms. Half a day, and it reads as "recently redone".
- Deep clean including carpets. Or replace the carpet if it's past cleaning.
Usually not worth doing
- Full kitchen or bathroom renovations. Expensive, slow, and the buyer may well have wanted something different anyway.
- Finishing a basement to sell.
- Anything requiring a permit on a listing timeline; unpermitted work is worse than no work.
- Replacing functional-but-dated appliances. Price for it instead.
- Windows and roof, unless they're actively failing; disclose and price rather than replace.
You do not have to find the trades yourself
This is the part sellers dread, and it is the part I can take off your hands almost entirely.
I keep a roster of top-tier contractors across the range of work a listing usually needs: painters, electricians, plumbers, handymen, floor refinishers, landscapers and cleaners. They are people I use repeatedly because they turn up, quote honestly, and finish to a standard I am willing to put my name beside.
I will also manage the work rather than hand you a phone number. Scheduling it around the listing date, being there when access is needed, checking the finish before you are asked to pay for it, and pushing back when something is not right. The standard I hold a contractor to on your house is the standard I hold myself to on the listing, and that is not a distinction I am willing to blur.
Sequencing. Painters before floors, floors before staging, staging before photography, photography before the listing goes live. Get that order wrong and you pay twice for something. Knowing what has to happen before what, and having people who will actually be there on the day, is most of the job.
Book them before the listing date is set, not after. Get the quote in writing with a completion date. Confirm insurance and WSIB coverage. Pay a deposit, never the full amount up front, and keep every invoice. Buyers ask, and documented work is worth more than undocumented work.
"James was professional, diligent and a pleasure to work with."Danny, Leslieville