10 Condo Renovation Tips for Resale That Work

Last Updated: 2021-08-12By Steven H.

There will be a day that your condo will be going on market eventually. Regardless of your situation and location, the place has to be presentable before real estate agents walk in with potential clients and we will discuss how to make it look better. There are condos that will sell below hundred thousand dollars and there are prime location luxury places that will enter the market with price above ten million. The question is how to present the place for ideal buyer.

Our team came up with 10 condo renovation tips in all markets:

Tiny touch ups and paint job
Upgrade hardware and outlets
New Flooring Installation
Open room separations and bulkheads
Remodel bathrooms
Complete kitchen transformation
Install new appliances
Walk in closet
Upgrade lights
Get new doors and door handles

Some of touch ups you can do by yourself within few days and some remodeling jobs will require month and month of work with contractors.

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Tiny Touch ups and Paint Job

In situation where your place is relatively new and there are no damages than you might get away with work that will not cost much to bring condo unit back to its original state.

Moving in and out furniture even in brand new condo will have marks on the walls and drywall dents that will require fixes. You can easily do it by yourself or hire local painter and within few days it will look fresh again.

Fixing dents and repainting works for all types of condos. It can be very cheap place for quick flip or luxurious unit that has nothing wrong with it to get back on market.

Upgrade Hardware and Outlets

Another quick item to change in condo before selling it is hardware and electrical outlets. These things wear out in time and have out-dated look that turns away some clients.

Outlets and hardware does not cost too much to change. Some people may think you need to hire licensed electrician for this work, but in reality you just need a screwdriver. Obviously if you don’t want to get involved in any physical work you can hire handyman.

Hardware is something that people pay attention to all the time. It gets loose and starts showing rust on edges. You can easily purchase it online or in local chain shop like Lowes for quick condo fix.

Condo Renovation tips and New Flooring Installation

Floor definitely can brighten up new condo or underline specific style look. One specific reason to update the floor is because in older condos carpet was popular and now it is not. Forget that it is old, dirty and has many holes in it; the problem is that carpets are not in trend anymore.

In some condos previous owners could have had beautiful hardwood, but after moving furniture or living with pets, hardwood will have tons of permanent scratches. If you have leftovers of that floor material it can be very quick fix to replace damaged planks but in most cases you would need to change entire floor.

Expect to spend over $10,000 on materials and installation for new floors.

Open Room Separations and Bulkheads

After 2020 it is hard to find people that don’t go for modern, and modern style screams open concept. Our idea to make your condo sell faster is to open up unnecessary walls and bulkheads.

We often see those ugly bulks by the window that were built to hide connection of the curtains. There are separation walls between kitchen and living room that make entire concept look just wrong.

Our team suggest thinking of open concept looks as one of your condo renovation tips before selling it. Be careful with removing walls, because flooring will need to be filled in those areas.

Remodel Bathrooms with Tips

Recommendation of remodeling bathrooms before sale can be heard everywhere. The only two situations when we suggest renovating bathrooms before market set up are:

When your condo value is higher than average and updating bathroom with match the needs of buyer
When bathroom is in horrible condition with broken tiles, mold, or other damaged items that turn off all buyers immediately

Keep in mind that bathroom remodeling is expensive upgrade and performing it requires a lot of time. If bathroom remodeling is absolutely not required for condo before resale due to damages items or intensive upgrade we recommend not doing it.

Complete Kitchen Transformation

Dishwasher installed during kitchen renovation in condo

Most of kitchens in condos are very basic. Builders use same materials and layout to complete the job. If you open up real estate website and find listings in the same building we almost guarantee that kitchens are going to look the same.

Our idea to increase the chance of selling the unit is to attract with unique kitchen cabinets and countertop that would differentiate from everything else they see.

There are many ideas and materials for kitchen remodeling and it can range from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands, and the requirement for this upgrade will depend on location of your condo.

Install New Appliances

When you want to purchase a place and move in without any issues, old appliances could become the barrier you don’t want. On Point Remodeling suggests buying new appliances for kitchen and laundry before selling to increase chance of selling faster and at higher price.

Of course this method works best when current appliances are completely out-dated. Newer condos will not need you spend all these money for appliances if they will look similar to what you already have.

A trick we suggest for home buyers to notice this upgrade is to leave plastic on new appliances.

Walk-In Closet Cabinets

The extra space in your close could sell the place in no time. Women love walk in closet and new organizers and shelves with beautiful lighting is something they have been dreaming of.

Two issues with building walk in cabinets is first of all you need to have walk in closet already and the return value has to be higher than you spend. In other words your condo is in higher bracket.

Custom cabinets in walk in closet average $12000 for work and materials with amazing features and lights, but can spike up the interest of buyers.

Upgrade Lights Inside and on Exterior

It is very easy and cost efficient to upgrade lights in condo renovation tips. Sometimes you can simply change light bulb and have completely different look.

Suggested areas where to upgrade your lighting for condo resale are: kitchen area and cabinet under lights; bathroom vanity fixture lights and front entrance with hallway lights.

Some condos do not have living or dining area lights and we suggest to install them there if you have a chance.

New Doors and Handles

Measuring newly installed door with trims in apartment.

Door hands are one of the cheapest upgrades that you can think of in condo apartment, but may have significant difference in overall look. You can literally get awesome door hands for under $30 a piece and with screwdriver install them in less than an hour.

Actual door change is suggested when they are damaged or in really poor condition. Most builders originally install hallow doors and upgrading them to solid doors with modern design.

Conclusion For Condo Remodeling Tips Article

If you want to get detailed analysis of your situation with suggestions in what you should be remodeling for reselling purposes you can contact On Point Remodeling directly be email. Subscribe to our newsletter for more upcoming articles.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:

Asphalt
Concrete
Paver Stone
Crushed stone
Brick
Seashell
Gravel

To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway

Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
Patches and small holes can be fixed fast

Cons of Asphalt Driveway

Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
Almost everyone else has same surface
Oily surface and chemicals used in mix

Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway

Durable material for large weights
Long lifespan if installed properly
Winter and summer friendly

Cons of Concrete Driveway

Has marks and stains over time
Hard to repair without replacement
Super hard to DIY

To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway

Creative designs can be done
Personal looks, can match the house
Can replace single stone in minutes

Cons of Paver Stone Driveway

Weeds growing through
Stone can move over time
Most expensive material

There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway

Low maintenance required
Fits rural area style
Can be reused for other purposes

Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway

Gets very hot during summer
Can be messy after many drives
Hard to remove snow and ice

Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway

Variety of selections in shapes and shades
Bricks are recyclable
Slip resistant with rough top part

Cons of Brick Driveway

Needs regular maintenance
Change color over time
Old fashion looking

Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway

Environmentally friendly
Has natural drainage
Creates worm vibe of beach house

Cons of Seashell Driveway

Break and crack under light weight
Sharp and very hard to walk on
Gets stuck in shoes and tires

To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway

Cheapest of them all
Easy DIY Job
Can install another material on top

Cons of Gravel Driveway

Needs to be graded very often
Will mix with dirt and leaves
Washes up with heavy rains

It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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