Should You Finish Your Basement before Selling Your House?

When you decide to put your house on the market, small changes tend to make a huge difference on the value and customers preference of the house. The state of the basement, whether finished or unfinished, is one of the critical areas of a home one has to carefully consider since it has the potential to make a home sell much faster and get a better selling price.

If you’re worried about the state of your basement before you sell, here are three factors to consider.

The Return on Investment

The cost of finishing a basement mainly depends on various factors such as the size of the basement or what you want to convert it into. The fact is that it could cost you a substantial amount of money to make some changes.

In a down market where the house prices are low, it would be difficult to recoup the costs incurred in improvements like finishing the basement. However, in places whereby the square footage commands a premium, a finished basement can be a great advantage. Therefore, it is important to find out whether undertaking such an investment will pay off when you sell your house or not.

The Current Market

Just like in any other business, it is important for the seller to consider the current trends of the market. If your house is in a new development where unfinished basements are common, with the aim of letting buyers have a space they can customize according to their needs, it is advisable to go with the flow. However, if most buyers in the real estate market expect a finished basement, then you may have to finish yours in order to attract potential customers.

Type of Finish

Homeowners put their basements to various uses depending on their specific needs and preferences, from spare bedrooms, a home gym or even a wine cellar.  However, the seller should know that the more specialized the basement is, the higher the chances of scaring off potential buyers who may not have an interest in these improvements or they are not willing to pay more for them.

If you choose to finish your basement, it is advisable to do it in a way that allows the customers to envision multiple uses where they can later customize it to their desire. This will make your home more attractive by having the potential similar to the unfinished basement, but with minimal work required to finish it.

Summary

With the above factors taken into consideration, anyone planning to sell their home should know that a finished basement is not necessarily a guarantee that it will help in making the house more appealing to buyers or that you will earn back the money you invested in the renovations of the basement. It is therefore important to study the local real estate advertisements or seek professional advice from a real estate agent before making any decisions.

Categorised in: Kamloops, Real Estate, Sellers, Sellers

This post was written by kamloopshomesearchcom