Dear Monica: We are about to sell our parents’ home where they lived for decades. How much prep work should we do? Claire M.
Dear Claire: If your parents deferred maintenance in their home, it is important to fix this neglect and make it appeal to a new owner. The simplest ways to do this are to paint, carpet, landscape, and make any obvious repairs that inspections show are needed. You don’t need to do remodeling of kitchens and baths, unless there is time and money, and these upgrades would attract more buyers. There are also sources of interest-free loans to do this work.
Your agent is your best advisor on the benefits of how much prep work you should do.
