What to fix before listing — and what to skip

Before every listing I walk the property with a notepad and write two columns: things a buyer will notice in the first ninety seconds, and things that will show up on an inspection report. Almost everything worth doing lives in one of those columns. The rest is a renovation you're funding for the next owner.

Worth doing: paint in the rooms that photograph, deep cleaning including grout and windows, pressure washing the drive and walk, fixing anything that leaks or sticks, replacing dead landscaping, and getting the lighting consistent so photos don't go orange. These are hundreds of dollars that protect thousands.

Usually not worth doing: a full kitchen remodel, a new roof you install purely to market, high-end finishes chosen to your taste, or a permitted addition weeks before listing. If a system is genuinely at end of life, we price for it or offer a credit — that reads as honest and keeps your cash in your pocket.

The goal is a house that photographs clean and inspects boring. Give me a walkthrough and I'll write you the punch list, in order, with what I'd spend and what I'd ignore.