Is re-siding an ugly house before selling it a good investment?

July 11, 2013 2:01 PM

We're thinking of selling our house within the next 18-24 months, and the siding on it now is ugly-ass T1-11 that I put on myself about a decade ago when I was young and full of hubris. We're getting quotes in the $12-15K range to redo the whole two-story house in mid-quality vinyl. Is this an investment that will pay for itself in terms of resale value?

I know that not everybody loves siding, but the T1-11 was... not that well done, and I lack the time (and confidence) now to redo the house myself. I *could* repaint, but I'm really not sure it will look much better; T1-11 really doesn't take paint well, so I'd have to stain, and again, I'm not sure it's going to turn out anything less than crappy.

It's a hell of a lot of money, though, and I was hoping to get some perspective about whether it's realistic to think that a house in a mid-range market (Sherbrooke, QC) would really benefit from this level of investment. I'm not great with either renovations or real estate, and can't really get any level of clarity from searching on the subject.

A quick and dirty series of pics of the house is up at http://www.shep.ca/pages/housepics.html for the curious.

posted by Shepherd to Home & Garden (18 answers total)

Best answer: From those pics, my gut reaction is no, not worth it. I've seen much worse. I don't know the housing market in your area, but I doubt that $15k worth of siding could increase the house's value by more than $15k.
posted by jon1270 at 2:06 PM on July 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

Real estate agents in your area are good sources of information on this subject, as the answer is highly dependent on the market in your area.
posted by jojobobo at 2:08 PM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Have you looked at comps in your area? Have you had an appraiser or realtor come out recently to value your home? The siding would increase your curb appeal quite a bit and would likely positively impact how quickly you sell, but this is a strict numbers decision and is highly dependent on what the market is like in your immediate area.
posted by quince at 2:09 PM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

It also depends on house prices overall. If houses are selling for $50,000, paying five figures for any cosmetic improvement is probably not going to pay off. If houses are selling for $500,000 then it's a different matter.

As quince says it may be a matter of having more buyers stop by and selling the house faster (or at all -- really depends on the market), rather than getting more money for it. Talk to an agent, but keeping in mind that their incentive is to sell the house as quickly as possible.
posted by payoto at 2:15 PM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

The real answer to this is to ask a realtor. They'll let you know how houses in your area are selling.

This doesn't look like the kind of problem which would prevent the house from attracting reasonable offers in the first place--there definitely can be such problems, e.g., termites--but it may be the kind of problem that keeps your house on the market longer than you'd like. If it's a choice between spending $10k and selling your house in a week, or not spending $10k, getting only $5k less for the house, but having it sit on the market for six months, a lot of people would say that selling the damn thing this week is worth the $5k hit. For the hassle if nothing else.

Of course, I completely made those numbers up, and different numbers could easily produce exactly the opposite conclusion, as will your personal appetite for risk. All that by way of saying that you need to take time (and the associated expenses that go along with delay) into account.
posted by valkyryn at 2:16 PM on July 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

You are not going to recoup the cost of siding the house, unless you go for the absolute crappiest, cheapest junk you can find. Which might actually have the effect of turning-off potential buyers.

Build a "re-siding allowance" into your asking price for possible negotiation, to allow the new owner to side the house with whatever they want.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:17 PM on July 11, 2013

Just my point of view FWIW, but I don't think it looks that bad... it gives it kind of a reclaimed/industrial vibe that is so popular these days with home interiors. Of course, your photos are from afar and I'm not sure what it might look like if I took a careful look up close.

Plus, the market is pretty good for selling right now. It might not be worth it. Does it stand out in your neighborhood as the "ugly house"?
posted by akka at 2:19 PM on July 11, 2013

Best answer: I'd call a good painter, you can put primer on ANYTHING and then paint will stick to it. If the issues are cosmetic, I'd explore that route first.

I wouldn't spend $15k to replace it though.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:25 PM on July 11, 2013 [3 favorites]

In my experience, real estate agents will tell you to spend. It increases their commission. Whether they are consciously self-serving or not, I would not take their advice without a grain of salt. I'm not a fan of this type of siding, but it's not as horrible as you make it sound. An alternative is to offer a siding allowance to buyers. I bought a vinyl sided house, and would have loved the chance to choose the color, etc.

I would improve the landscaping. The front looks pretty good, can't really tell about the East. The West, with the slider, could use a patio(wood decking, maybe recycled) and some nice planting and that cement foundation wall needs some plantings, and the back could use plantings and/or fencing around the a/c (the trash could go there, too), and plantings near the door.

I quite like rhododendrums; they flower in spring, they look nice the rest of the time, and they aren't too pricey. I think they'll grow where you are, but the local nursery will know. For that cement wall, daylilies grow fast, and if you ask for some on craigslist/free or freecycle.net, you'll surely get some. I just gave away a bunch of them because they fill in pretty fast.

Before you sell, fix all the things. The electric plugs, the leaky faucet, the peeling vinyl floor, etc. A home inspector will find them and make you fix them, so you might as well fix them now and enjoy them. Start de-cluttering now, it's one of the things you really have to do.
posted by theora55 at 2:30 PM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Hiring someone to, sand, and re-stain might be cheaper than 10-15k. I'd investigate that before making any decisions.
posted by muddgirl at 2:52 PM on July 11, 2013

Trim that tree up, have a good paint job done, install some window boxes with bright flowers and call it a day. You don't care if the paint sticks ten years, just have a professional job done so it looks fresh and clean.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 2:59 PM on July 11, 2013

Siding the house with cheap vinyl for 15k isn't going to pay off. It will reek of cheap flip house and make people wonder what the hell is under the vinyl you are trying to cover up. Taking down the T1-11 and rebuilding the wall to modern insulation, house wrap and somekind of fiber cement or wood siding would pay off (if the neighborhood house prices will support it) but you are talking 30-50k most likely to get that.

So my recommendation is save that expense for your next home where you can enjoy it, sell the house with only stuff fixed that is actually broken and spend your money on your own home, not in an effort to make it pleasant for the next owner. Things like a new water heater, new switch plates (if yours are broken/chipped/discolored) doors and windows that open and close right, good window screens, clean carpet (and clean everything else) are fairly cheap things that really seem to help a house sell without a huge investment. If you need to paint, then paint but don't do it for the next owner. You can't predict what color the next buyer will want-that is their problem, as are most upgrades that aren't just basic stuff that is expected for every home (toilets flush, hot water works, wiring is safe, everything opens and closes, etc).

I see a lot of people try to 'fix' their home right before they move, and I don't understand it. Why would you spend a ton of money buying something for someone else that they may not even want to sell the house for a higher price (that you may not break even on, much less profit from) and you never get to enjoy the house you just fixed the way you wanted to since you moved in. Makes me go hmmmmmm.
posted by bartonlong at 3:19 PM on July 11, 2013 [4 favorites]

Have you considered insulating foam and stucco? Increasing the energy efficiency of the house would increase its value now by a few grand a year, as fuel prices increase.
posted by parmanparman at 3:51 PM on July 11, 2013

If you're looking for a quick sale, spend about 500 bucks on color plants and improve the walk-up appeal. The siding isn't going to have a good ROI.

Also, ask if it can be power washed. If the current siding is well adhered, then a wash will spruce it up. (For your description I'm not sure if it's cosmetically bad or damn near falling down.)
posted by 26.2 at 10:49 PM on July 11, 2013

If any part of that is rotting, replace just that part.

Then paint the house some friendly colour. That stain is terrible. It looks like the wood is rotten and covered in dirt and mildew.

My rather plain house in Florida had T1-11 siding and it was painted a warm cream colour with white trim and it looked pretty good, but when we were ready to sell we painted it canary yellow and refreshed the trim it looked fantastic.

So: ask a realtor what colour to paint your house, then do that.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:42 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Also *now* is the time to fix up a nice garden at the front; the entryway looks unpleasant and foreboding with that tree hanging all over everything. Trim that thing back, get some mulch in there, some smaller shrubs, and some colourful flowers. Do this stuff a year before you go on the market so it has time to fill in and look natural.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:47 AM on July 12, 2013

Best answer: A much cheaper solution is to hire someone from the local gardening center to re-landscape your property all around the house. Plantings of shrubs of different colors, textures, and heights around the foundation would very much soften the look of the siding. Trim the trees, especially the one in the first photo so that it "frames" the house and softens it. Remove all clutter away from the house--garbage can, grill, whatever else is there.

Make sure your pathways are in good shape. Put some large container plants flanking your doorways. The front window looks cluttered with the drapes and that shelf. Instead, take down that plant shelf, move the drapes to the side, and invest in some beautiful large indoor plants to keep at the windows. Get matched container boxes on your side/back balcony and put a small a small, brightly colored bistro set out there. Make sure the white trim, especially the front door are in tiptop shape. Consider painting the two front doors.--dark mustard, royal blue, or a dark red.

Start reading up on how to stage a house with landscaping fixes. Do it now so the plants have time to grow out. The whole thing is about making a good first impression. If the landscaping is soft and beautiful, no one will notice the siding. Plus you'll have inviting real estate photos when the time comes.
posted by Elsie at 5:03 AM on July 12, 2013

Oops, meant to show you how to cheaply add curb appeal with a colorful front door.
posted by Elsie at 8:04 AM on July 12, 2013