What do you think is the #1 new home project for a typical buyer? The answer to this question – at least in my humble opinion (and I mean that genuinely) given what I have seen in my years in the residential real estate business – is an eight-letter word…Painting. And the painting I mean is usually on the interior, and not the exterior, of the home.  It seems that this is how buyers can move into their new homes and fairly quickly make them more of their own.  It’s how they add their personality, style and taste to their new homes.  Painting can also be a fun thing for homeowners to do together and/or as a family.  Though given the hectic lifestyles of today, many people opt to hire professional painters.  The good news is that whichever route buyers choose – doing it themselves or hiring professionals – interior painting doesn’t generally “break the bank,” as they say…..

Interested in what is #2 on the project list?  From my perspective, the second project usually involves Flooring – either replacing the carpets, which can often be dated (think shag) and sometimes stained, with new floors and/or re-finishing the existing floors.  Some people prefer hardwood flooring to carpets, and so they rip out the carpets and install hardwood floors where they didn’t exist.  Others like to re-finish the floors, which may not be sparkling after years of wear-and-tear, and/or change the color of the stain.  I am finding that the darker stain seems to be quite popular and in vogue now.  And again, the installing or re-finishing of the floors can be done at a reasonable cost.

After painting and flooring, the list of projects can be endless – replacing the roof, repairing wood rot, installing central air, upgrading appliances, replacing windows and on and on.  But Painting (#1) and Flooring (#2) seem to be the first two items on a typical new buyer’s to-do list.  These projects seem to be relatively quick fixes, which don’t entail spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and that allow homeowners to put a face lift on their new homes and make them more of their own.  All good.

What are your thoughts?  What were your first few projects when you bought your latest home?  I can’t wait to hear….