Steve Berges

The information in this book is mostly commonsense stuff we all know (matted shag carpeting and avocado green appliances deter buyers), but could serve as a useful checklist. Sometimes it's surprising: I would not have guessed that the impact relative to cost of replacing interior doors made it an excellent investment. The author is not entirely immune to confusion and foolishness: he spends several paragraphs explaining that getting rid of offensive odours does not rate as a highly useful exercise in his scoring system because you are taking away something rather than adding something, and anyway the odours are not visible; on the other hand he rates cleaning (which is also taking away something, i.e. dirt) and removing junk (which is certainly not visible after you remove it) as high-scoring improvements, which contradicts his odour arguments. Unique to this book, for those with a lot of perseverance and a magnifying glass, is a case study on comparative home valuation. Less useful is a 32-page glossary ranging from the legal ("encumbrance") to the lumberyard ("mortar"); I would prefer to consult my lawyer or a dictionary.… (más)