Question 3: What Should I Fix Before Selling My Portland Home, and What Can I Skip?

The most expensive sentence in real estate might be “I figured I’d just redo the kitchen before we list.” Some projects pay you back. Many don’t. And a few, if you skip them, will come back to haunt you during inspection. Here’s how I sort them.

Tier 1: Fix it (it will come up anyway)

These are items a buyer’s inspector is very likely to flag, or that a lender or insurer may care about. Handling them early usually costs less than negotiating them under deadline pressure.

• Active leaks in the roof, plumbing or around windows.
• Safety items: missing smoke or carbon monoxide alarms, exposed wiring, loose stair railings.
• Obvious water problems in a basement or crawlspace, especially standing water.
• Broken things that should work: a dead outlet, a running toilet, a furnace that’s overdue for service.
• Rot on decks, steps or trim where someone might put a foot through.

Tier 2: Refresh it (cheap, and buyers notice)

This is where small money makes a big difference in photos and showings.

• Deep cleaning. Windows, door handles, light switches, baseboards, grout, the inside of the oven. Yes, they open the oven.
• Paint touchups or fresh neutral paint in rooms with bold colors or scuffed walls.
• Moss off the roof and gutters cleaned. In Portland, this is practically a civic duty.
• Yard tidy: fresh bark dust, trimmed shrubs, a cleared path to the front door.
• Lighting: replace burned out bulbs and use matching color temperatures so rooms don’t look like a gas station at one end and a candlelit dinner at the other. **This is my personal pet peeve. Please choose candlelit dinner vibes over gas station “daylight” bright white.
• Free, a little painful, and the highest return project on this list.

Tier 3: Leave it alone (usually)

• Full kitchen or bathroom remodels. You’ll rarely recover the cost, and buyers often want to choose their own finishes anyway.
• New flooring everywhere when cleaning or refinishing would do. Original fir floors under old carpet? Show them off instead.
• Cosmetic upgrades to personal taste. If you wouldn’t do it for yourself, think twice about doing it for a stranger.
• Big systems that still work. An older but functioning furnace or water heater can be disclosed and priced in rather than replaced.

Older Portland homes: the usual suspects

If your home was built before about 1960, a few items come up so often they deserve their own list. You don’t necessarily need to fix them before listing, but you should know where you stand.

• Sewer line. Older clay or concrete lines often have roots or cracks. A sewer scope before listing is inexpensive and takes the surprise out of the deal.
• Oil tank. Homes that once heated with oil may have a buried tank. A tank search and paperwork showing any tank was properly decommissioned is valuable. (Post 12 this month covers this in detail.)
• Knob and tube wiring. Some insurers won’t write a policy with active knob and tube. An electrician’s evaluation helps you decide whether to update or disclose and price accordingly.
• Lead paint. Homes built before 1978 require a federal lead paint disclosure. Peeling paint is worth addressing safely before photos.
• Foundation and drainage. Minor settling is normal. Water heading toward the house isn’t.

One important note: fixing something doesn’t erase it from your seller disclosure. Oregon sellers disclose what they know, and good repair records actually make that disclosure work in your favor.

How my walkthrough saves you money

Before we list, I walk the house with you and sort every item into these three tiers. Sometimes that means suggesting a sewer scope or an electrician visit so we’re working from facts, not guesses. Just as often, it means talking a seller out of a $30,000 project that buyers wouldn’t have paid for.

Getting ready to sell and not sure where to start? Let’s walk through it together before you buy a single can of paint.

Every home is different. Talk with licensed contractors and inspectors about specific repairs.