Short answer - no a seller doesn't recoup $1 for $1 on updates shortly before selling.

There are updates that do pay off to the seller. For example: recent HVAC system if the current system is beyond it's useful life, or newer roof if the current roof is at the end of its useful life. You get the idea. Other items that pay off are inexpensive updates like fresh paint, wall paper removal, repairs. Freshening a home will generally result in a very good return to the seller. A deep clean and declutter generate the best ROI's :)

However, it is difficult to recoup a whole bath remodel or whole kitchen remodel.

Yes, flippers do it. Some successfully, some not so much. They do it by paying very little for the property and having the contractor connections to get the new kitchen and baths at a lower cost.

You are in a better position to determine the reality of return by having your property's market value determined today "as is" by a Realtor and what it would bring with the freshening up and what it would bring with the kitchen and bath remodel. Figure in your costs and determine the return. An appraiser can give you those values too (AS IS and AS Remodeled). You will need to be specific to figure your costs and to give that info to the appraiser.

here is the link for the cost vs value report, where they analyze the return for a variety of home improvements. You can look at your region, and level of improvement. https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2019/

That said, if you are paying other people to do the improvements, very few renovations return more than 100%.

I agree with the poster above. Massively de-clutter (better yet, remove all the dated furniture and show it empty or get a stager to place a few more contemporary pieces). Paint the entire house and remove wallpaper. Even the kitchen cabinets can be painted, and you can make the orange Formica work for you if staged correctly. Remove the rugs (I assume hardwood underneath- here’s hoping!). Your MIL will not see the return on investment if she rips out her kitchen and baths, plus the time involved for planning and executing major projects that may not be the buyers taste. But hiring a painter to paint the whole house is worth the investment.

Sell it knowing that the new buyer is going to eventually replace the kitchen and baths, but paint and stage so that the new buyer can live with existing until they do the renovations.

Case in point... When we sold my parents house, we kept the pink and blue fixtures in the bathrooms, just removed the god-awful wallpaper throughout the house and painted the whole place. We removed the brown shag rug, painted the kitchen cabinets, (didn’t even replace the old refrigerator and dishwasher) and it sold for $25K over asking price! Granted, we also needed to replace the roof because it was leaking, but that’s an example of “big stuff” that brought up the value of the house. Luckily my dad had just replaced the Furnace a year or two before the house sold, so that’s another major item that puts peace of mind into the hearts of buyers.

Good luck!

If it still has fuses in the electric box you will want to take care of replacing it with circuit breakers. The new owner won’t be able to insure it with a fuse box in place. Other than that, clean, declutter, and possibly replace any carpet with a laminate or vinyl plank.

Wallpaper removal is a lot of work and usually entails at least some wall repair so you have to make a decision there. Personally, I would rather have to remove wallpaper than remove painted over wallpaper. Painted wallpaper never looks as good as removing the wallpaper.

I wouldn’t paint the cabinets. It is a lot of work and if the cabinets are in poor condition they will need to be replaced by the new owner anyway. I might think about putting a laminate countertop in, though. To me that would have a greater impact than painting the cabinets and working with the orange countertop.

I would disagree with most commenters that you shouldn't remodel. This is specific market based question. The best plan would be to invite expert real estate agent, and ask for comp with and without remodeling. Next step would be to get estimate for work and see if net profits make sense to do that. Base on pictures that you provided we only can tell you that it all needs to be done. I don't think just doing light or any other small thing will help you in this case. If someone will buy it as is they will throw everything out and get lighting that will work with new design. Getting cheap HD stuff will just add to landfills later.

I would also add that realtors have not your bottom line in mind, but theirs. You spend 20k to renovate bath or 30k to renovate kitchen but only get an offer of 10k more in sale price that you pay the realtor commission on and IRS tax on.

I just sold a house with site built pine cabinets in the kitchen. One realtor said to paint them so that I could put a different type of hinge on and I told him I would not do that. I had refinished them a few years ago and they still looked really nice. We had multiple offers in days and the person who bought them LOVES them. So I think there might be too much emphasis on getting property to just right for sale. Our objective was to get it on the market in a timely fashion before the fall. Sales slow down significantly in the fall. It worked!

Northern California? Depends on where you are, of course, but in some areas, it's a tear-down. Before you lift a finger, talk to at least 3 real estate agents from different agencies. Price it to sell, and don't give your MIL the grief and expense of remodeling plus the angst of having a house sitting on the market.

@mainenell, I understand your point, but that was your individual experience with that Realtor. It is not normal for a Realtor to advise huge renovations except on TV. At least in my market, because it is one way for an owner to lose their shirt.

I am a Realtor and constantly give the advice I mentioned in my first response to the OP. There are many Realtors that don't advise the seller to rehab just before selling because most sellers won't receive anywhere close to the money they have sunk into the property. I was being sincere with the deep clean and declutter advice. My fresh paint advice was not for kitchen cabinets (just to clarify here). The big ticket items - roof and HVAC - are only advised when it impacts any sale at all. Unless the house is a handyman special or a fixer where it is expected that the buyer is an investor. Totally different approach.

Congratulations on the sale of your home - and I'm personally glad you didn't paint those pine cabinets.

The answer is it depends. If you have the extra cash and can find affordable contractors to do the work at good price it might make sense to make the repairs. Keep in mind there is not a "one size fits all" renovation that will satisfy all potential buyers either. I've seen sellers spend way too much on renovations only to find out potential buyers didn't care for the upgrades that were made. Also, the repair costs could add up quick especially if you are replacing windows and siding too.

But if you do decide to move forward with the cosmetic improvements I would suggest a luxury Vinyl tile flooring. This is a very durable floor that looks like real hardwood. Neutral colors work best for paint and if the cabinets are in good shape but need paint/finish Rustoleum is a great solution for cabinet refinishing. When you say bathrooms does the entire bathroom need work?

From the kitchen picture I would suggest new countertops (granite /quartz), SS appliances, a new backsplash and a big money saver would be to paint or refinish the cabinets.

Selling "as is" is another good option if you don't want to spend the money. There are a ton of investors out there who buy houses for cash, or claim to anyway. Just beware because there are some that either don't have much experience or are not local to your community and they end up partnering with other investors to get a deal done. In many cases the deal could fall apart. But there are GOOD investors out there who make fair deals. Here is an example of a quality "We Buy Houses" company.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

Personally, we recently bought a 30 year old home with original EVERYTHING.
And I was so glad.

I don’t want a brand new kitchen or bath that’s thrown in as an ‘update’. If I hate the choices made, I’d have to live with them because I’d feel horrible ripping out a brand new anything for cosmetic reasons.

I’d rather choose finishes myself, any day of the week.

Focus on systems and infrastructure: furnace, roof, hvac, etc. Those are worth so MUCH more than cosmetic finishes that the buyer may or may not like.

@paintedpeggies I so agree! I want to have a kitchen that meets my vision and not feel guilty tearing out brand new granite countertops. I am living with this decor in my bathroom in my 1971 house for a while longer, though…