Every listing has a different amount of required preparation to help maximize the net of the sale. In most cases my suggestions are pretty minimal. Get packed up, get cleaned up and take on a handful smaller project; I call this the low hanging fruit. In some cases, it is worth putting some serious money into the prep if there is an opportunity for a bigger return, but it almost always not worth taking on a bathroom or kitchen remodel for example.

Recently I had a listing come up that left the sellers will little choice. It had been a rental for a number of years and the place was kind of trashed. I saw it before they moved out and, I’ve got to give at least some credit, that they got a good bit of stuff out before bailing. I think it was a situation were one dude was on the lease and everyone else was just renting a room to take the place of the previous dude that moved out…you get the picture. There was one semi-responsible party and he did his best to retain the security deposit (which he did end up losing).

To get the place ready for market, the seller had to pay for stuff/trash removal, roof & gutter cleaning, extensive power washing and a complete interior paint job. Below is a video with the finished product. Scroll south to see the beginning and the middle.