Do you maintain your home?

nvtribefan

nvtribefan

Member
Location
Reno, NV
I've never understood the concept of "fixing up" a house to sell it. Doesn't everyone want to keep their houses "fixed up" to live in?
 

I've owned two houses and in each one I did some deep cleaning and sprucing up prior to selling. Mainly little things like, patching nail holes, washing windows, paint, inexpensive carpet, etc...

The real work was editing out all of my worn, comfy, personal, clutter. I was told years ago to neutralize the house and erase any traces of me to make it easier for the buyers to visualize themselves living in the house. IMO that is good advice, I've been to some open houses where the buyers spent more time making comments about the current occupants housekeeping, furnishings, pets, etc... than they did about the property. Little things like removing personal items from the bathroom, giving it a fresh coat of paint, adding a new shower curtain, etc... It's a lot of work to go through the whole house, garage, basement, that way but it can pay big dividends.
 
nvtribefan said:
I've never understood the concept of "fixing up" a house to sell it. Doesn't everyone want to keep their houses "fixed up" to live in?
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Our home is our investment, when its time to sell we want the most $$$$ for it!!!
 

Of course! But for some of us living on a single and fixed income, and without the knowledge or ability to "fix up", things just don't get done.
 
We just finished fixing up the house. Barring something unforeseen, we have no plans to move for several years. Some of the work, HAD to be done, but much was also cosmetic. We HAD to replace the bathroom floor (bones and all) due to a bad pipe leak. So we decided to by a lot of the flooring (faux wood) and do the kitchen and hallway too.
I figure, we paid for it, we want to enjoy it. That being said, a friend did a lot of remodeling on his deceased mom's house before selling, basically to modernize it and get it out of the 70's.
 
nvtribefan said:
I've never understood the concept of "fixing up" a house to sell it. Doesn't everyone want to keep their houses "fixed up" to live in?
Click to expand...

There are people who "flip" houses, fixing up and selling for a profit.

I maintain my house, always looking for new ways to improve furnishings. Never going to sell this house, the swat team will have trouble flushing us out. ;)
 
They will be carrying me out of this place in a box. If it's waterproof, warm and cold when it's supposed to be, a comfy place to sit and one to sleep, and remains bug free, I am content. My mortgage is half the cost of rent, and the fridge is new. Even though I hate this town, it's too late to relocate again. All I need to find is a woman I'm not gonna like so I give her this house.... Aren't those the rules?:eagerness:
 
We maintain our home, looking to stay in it and not sell it. If things need fixing we take care of it, my husband does a lot of the maintenance on the house and vehicles. When our roof had bad hail damage, we had it professionally redone, etc.
 
I try to maintain our home the best that I can. I paint when needed. Once a year I clean in back of the refrigerator,I am able to pull it out as well as the dryer.The washer I can't handle. Also fan blades in our wall heaters in both bathrooms. All are well past there prime and I think it helps. Two deep cleanings spring and fall. My daughter gave me a rug cleaner so I do that twice a year also. One time with the cleaner,the next time with vinegar water. I read the soap leaves a residue so I limit it to once a year with the soap. My Son has done a lot for us and keeps our yard equipment humming as well as our car. Installed new kitchen cabinets,replaced our sink and a host of other jobs. The hubby keeps the recliner warm.
 
Home maintenance is just part of the routine, unless you live in an apartment where the owner is responsible. Keeping up with all the stuff that breaks down, or wears out, is a yearly thing. Last year, we replaced the entire Air Conditioning system...earlier this year, we bought a new dishwasher...and a couple of weeks ago, we had the roof completely stripped, and new 30 year warranty roofing installed. I do a thorough cleaning of all the appliances every Summer, and have replaced a couple of bathroom sinks, and put new seals, etc., in all the toilets. The next major project will probably be new carpeting, as we have been here for about 15 years...I dread the thought of moving all the furniture around when that time comes.
 
I see so many that move into a nice home and just "wear it out", never fix anything, even the really minor stuff. Then there are those that do add-ons but never quite finish the job, never put the siding on, never apply paint, etc.
 
nvtribefan said:
I've never understood the concept of "fixing up" a house to sell it. Doesn't everyone want to keep their houses "fixed up" to live in?
Click to expand...
There is a difference between fixing up to sell and keeping fixed up to live in.
 

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