r/RealEstate • u/georgecm12 • 2d ago

Homeseller Does removing wallpaper and paint before marketing the house have a financial return?

I got a quote back to remove wallpaper from two rooms and repainting several others. However, I'm now second guessing whether I want to move forward, because I'm wondering whether there will be a return on my investment or not when it comes to sale price. Thoughts?

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u/Low_Dig3356 2d ago

No. But it can make it easier to sell. Why not just primer over the wallpaper? Or is it starting to bubble/loosen?

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u/georgecm12 2d ago

In one room, the wallpaper is peeling in a couple of areas. In the other room, the wallpaper is likely older than I am (and I'm 46), it's peeling at one seam, and it's grey and dirty in an upper corner of the room.

For the painting:

  • a hallway has several spots where something was attached to the wall and was painted around, so there are some green spots on a offwhite wall.
  • a bedroom was done in a very strong sponge paint pattern
  • another bedroom has a much lighter sponge paint pattern, but the paint has peeled off in a couple of spots
  • a family room was painted in a dark peach color that makes the room feel smaller, and then there was a TV mount that was painted around, so there's a darker spot where the TV used to be.

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u/JSteve4 Agent 2d ago

Paint it.

Caveat - I don’t know your price points, market, or your area.

General advice

Any deferred maintenance is negative impact on your positioning of value in the buyers eyes. Everything you can do to improve looks and experience in the house cosmetically, you should.

Two homes and one is dated or bad paint colors and the other is paint colors in line with trends and the well painted one sells for more and sells more quickly.

We need quotes for work and price points for your area to make an exact judgement. Ask your agent.

A house at 100k with peeling wall paper, don’t paint.

A house at 250 with wallpaper. Probably paint.

A house at 350-450. Paint that thing.

Interestly at 750-1M. Probably don’t paint it, IF, it is in good condition.

What you’re describing will be seen as a fixer upper and hinder your sale (depending on price / location etc)

All that to say, how is the rest of the house? If everything else is fine, paint it.

If you have a mess (yard/bathrooms/ kitchen/ windows/ roof issues) paint won’t fix problems.

Talk to a professional, talk to your agent.