Price Per Square Foot DOES Determine “Value”
If you are considering selling your house in North Oakland County or Lapeer County Michigan you can kiss those upgrades you added to your house over the years good bye! Had the house built and chose the $300 light fixtures over the $50 light fixtures? Went with a little better cupboard in the kitchen? You know- the ones that weather much better than the builders grade kitchen cabinets your neighbors went with. The ones that still look good 10 years later. And still aren’t dated.
Hope you had hardwood put in instead of liminate or carpet for your own enjoyment and didn’t consider re-sale one iota. I hope the ceramic and granite in the baths and kitchen made bathing and cooking that much more enjoyable. You know- the money you sank into those all so important rooms for both your own enjoyment, but mostly for resale. How much DID you spend on those upgrades? Probably enough for an extremely kick ass vacation.
Too bad those upgrades don’t mean diddly squat to your appraiser.
photo courtesy Shari Weinsheimer
photo courtesy Donna McNeely
VALUE IS IN SIZE ONLY
Gone are the days when the consumer set value. I recently had 2 buyer offers accepted- both sets of buyers were extremely happy with the prices they were getting their respective houses for. And the appraisers for both those houses seemed to feel that size alone ruled.
House #1 was a multiple offer situation on Lake Oakland. We came to terms at $380,000 and according to the listing agent we were NOT the highest offer. Other incentives in the offer swayed the sellers our way. Then the appraisal came in $80K low. She put almost all her eggs in the above grade sq. footage of the house and didn’t take into consideration the neighborhood, school district, the upgrades, the premium lot, she used comps on “inferior” lakes…… But the one place she was consistent was in her price per square foot.
I have another sale going on currently. Buyer and seller came to an agreed upon price of $98,800. The appraisal came in at $85,000. The problem is the house is a tad under 1000 square feet. Most of the comparable sales are around 1300 square feet. I’ve been in many of these houses- and they don’t compare. Except for size. All are 2 bedroom homes with basements and garages. The house my client is buying is meticously maintained. A better quality kitchen to start with and even though the house is 25 years old, the kitchen still looks great. Hardwood floors, ceramic baths, newer carpet. The current owners seem to be the type who repair or replace at the first sign of a problem- not after the roof leaks or after the deck boards rot and break.
The only adjustments made in the appraisal were for the basics like walk-out basement verses standard basement, 1 car garage versus 2 car garage. No adjustments for location, maintenance or overall quality.
So the long and the short of it is- All those upgrades your house has that your neighbor’s house doesn’t is not going to put one extra dime in your pocket. What it will do is make your house easier to sell.
Southeast Michigan Real Estate 