4 min read · · by Luke Adkins
The Pre-Sale Punch List: What to Fix Before Listing a Home
One review on this site is a pre-sale list: drywall, cabinet doors, entry doors, grout, a fountain. It closed the way the owner wanted. Here is the list Luke works from.
Anything a buyer touches
Cabinet doors that do not close, drawers that stick, a front door that drags, a loose railing. Buyers open everything. Each of these is an hour and each one changes the impression.
Drywall and paint
Nail pops, corner cracks, the patch behind the door. A skim and a coat of paint in the main rooms is the highest-return dollar in real estate.
Grout and caulk
Stained grout and cracked caulk at the tub read as water damage even when they are not. Regrout, recaulk, done.
Trim and casing
Missing baseboard behind the fridge, a window with no casing, a chipped stair nosing. Cheap to fix. Expensive in a buyer’s head.
What to skip
A full kitchen or bath remodel before selling rarely pays back in full. Fix, clean, paint and trim. Save the big remodel for the house you are moving into.