--- title: Home Audit | David Zadareky, Compass Northern Virginia description: A Home Audit scores your home's condition the way buyers judge it, so you know which repairs and improvements change your price and which don't. --- [Skip to the main content.](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit#main-content) [![David-Zadareky-White-Logo-588x164](https://www.davidzadareky.com/hubfs/David-Zadareky-White-Logo-588x164.svg "David-Zadareky-White-Logo-588x164")](https://davidzadareky.com?hsLang=en) [![David-Zadareky-Black-Logo-588x164](https://www.davidzadareky.com/hubfs/David-Zadareky-Black-Logo-588x164.svg "David-Zadareky-Black-Logo-588x164")](https://davidzadareky.com?hsLang=en) - [Home](https://www.davidzadareky.com) - Who I Help - [Rightsizing](https://www.davidzadareky.com/rightsizing) - [Retirement](https://www.davidzadareky.com/retirement) - [Helping a Parent](https://www.davidzadareky.com/helping-a-parent) - [Estate Sales](https://www.davidzadareky.com/estate-sales) - Services - [Selling and Buying](https://www.davidzadareky.com/services) - [Home Audit](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit) - [On-MLS vs Off-MLS](https://www.davidzadareky.com/on-mls-vs-off-mls) - [Insights](https://www.davidzadareky.com/insights) - [Contact](https://www.davidzadareky.com/contact) Search Toggle Menu Search Toggle Menu - [Home](https://www.davidzadareky.com) - Who I Help - [Rightsizing](https://www.davidzadareky.com/rightsizing) - [Retirement](https://www.davidzadareky.com/retirement) - [Helping a Parent](https://www.davidzadareky.com/helping-a-parent) - [Estate Sales](https://www.davidzadareky.com/estate-sales) - Services - [Selling and Buying](https://www.davidzadareky.com/services) - [Home Audit](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit) - [On-MLS vs Off-MLS](https://www.davidzadareky.com/on-mls-vs-off-mls) - [Insights](https://www.davidzadareky.com/insights) - [Contact](https://www.davidzadareky.com/contact) - Example Link - Example Link - Example Link [Facebook](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit#0) [Instagram](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit#0) [Linkedin](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit#0) [X](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit#0) [YouTube](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit#0) [Medium](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit#0) # Buyers don’t pay premiums. They charge penalties. A Home Audit shows where your home falls short of what buyers expect, what each shortfall will cost you, and which ones are worth fixing before you sell. It starts with a walkthrough of your home, in person. [Request a Home Audit](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit#request) ## What the audit measures Buyers don’t judge your home in the abstract. They judge it against what a home in this price range and this area is supposed to have. That expectation is the baseline, and every feature of your home meets it, beats it, or falls short of it. The audit scores every feature that matters, including kitchen, baths, systems, flooring, layout, curb appeal and location, on a simple scale: −2 · −1 · 0 · +1 · +2 Zero isn’t bad. Zero is average: exactly what a buyer in your price range and area already expects. A +1 or +2 exceeds that expectation. A −1 or −2 falls below it. ### Why the baseline matters more than the ceiling A feature at 0 adds nothing to the price. It’s the price of admission. A feature at +2 rarely returns what it cost to build; buyers notice it, but they don’t pay a full premium for it. A feature at −2 gets penalized hard, and buyers subtract more than the fix would have cost. Here’s why. Buyers estimate repairs and improvements at two to three times what they actually cost, and they deduct their estimate, not yours. A $10,000 fix can cost you $20,000 to $30,000 at the negotiating table. You don’t make money taking a home from good to great. You make money taking it from below average to average: moving a −2 back to 0 before it costs you at the negotiating table. ### Who’s buying matters too A home sold as-is competes for a smaller pool of buyers than a finished, move-in-ready home. Most buyers want to move in without taking on a project. So even when the numbers are close, fixing up is sometimes what it takes to sell. The pool also shifts with the market. At times the buyers who pay for premium condition aren’t active, and the buyers who are out there are value-minded. That’s why the audit is paired with a full market assessment: recent sales, the homes you’ll compete with, and which buyers are active now. Recommendations come from both, so the plan fits the buyers you’ll actually get. ## Where the audit fits The audit covers the first five steps of the path every client follows. It’s part of discovery, and nothing commits you until you decide to move forward. ##### 1. Start With What Matters Tell me what you want to change, what you want to keep, and who’s involved. That’s the request at the bottom of this page. ##### 2. Explore Your Options I walk your home in person and give you an initial read: the penalties that matter most and where you stand. ##### 3. Understand Your Home’s Value A full market assessment: your home scored feature by feature against what buyers expect, compared with the homes it will compete with, and matched to the buyers active now. ##### 4. Work The Numbers For each penalty, the cost to fix it against what buyers will deduct. Then three paths with estimated net proceeds. ##### 5. Decide What’s Best Your Strategic Improvement Plan, built on the audit and the market assessment: what gets done before launch, what it costs, and what the market is likely to return. Sample audit · Illustrative figures, not a real property ## What a finished audit looks like ### The house A 1992 colonial in Fairfax County: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2,450 sq ft above grade plus a 900 sq ft finished lower level, two-car garage. The owners have been there 20 years and plan to move within six months. ### Feature scores Scored against what buyers expect from a 4-bedroom colonial in this price range and area. Original windows that work score 0: dated, but not a penalty. | Feature | Notes | Score | | --- | --- | --- | | Roof | 2012, about 14 years old | 0 | | HVAC | 2019 | +1 | | Water heater | 2014 | −1 | | Windows | Original 1992, working | 0 | | Kitchen | 2008 granite, oak cabinets, black appliances | −1 | | Primary bath | Original | −2 | | Hall bath | Refreshed 2015 | 0 | | Flooring | Hardwood on the main level, worn carpet upstairs | −1 | | Paint | Dated colors throughout | −1 | | Deck | Boards weathered | −1 | | Lower level | Finished, with a full bath | 0 | | Location and lot | Typical for the neighborhood | 0 | ### Market assessment Recent sales of similar homes nearby set the likely price for each path: - Dated, sold as-is: $700,000–$750,000 - Refreshed to baseline: $840,000–$860,000 - Fully updated kitchen and baths: $900,000–$930,000 Active buyers in this price range right now are mostly value-minded and looking for move-in-ready homes. Few are paying a premium for fully updated ones. ### Fix it or price around it Each penalty is priced two ways: what it costs to bring the feature back to baseline, and what buyers will deduct if it stays. Buyers estimate the work at two to three times its actual cost, so the penalty is two to three times the fix. | Penalty | Cost to fix to baseline | Buyer penalty (2–3x) | Decision | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Primary bath (−2) | $8,000 · Refresh: vanity, fixtures, tile | $16,000–$24,000 | Fix | | Paint (−1) | $14,000 · Repaint in neutral colors | $28,000–$42,000 | Fix | | Upstairs carpet (−1) | $7,500 · Replace | $15,000–$22,500 | Fix | | Deck (−1) | $6,000 · Replace boards | $12,000–$18,000 | Fix | | Water heater (−1) | $2,500 · Replace | $5,000–$7,500 | Fix | | Kitchen (−1) | $12,000 · Refresh: paint cabinets, new appliances, hardware | $24,000–$36,000 | Fix | Total to fix: $50,000. Total buyer penalty if left: $100,000–$150,000. ### Three paths | | Sell as-is | Selected improvements | Full update | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Work | Minor repairs and cleaning | The six fixes above | The fixes above, with a new kitchen and a full primary bath remodel in place of the refreshes | | Estimated cost | $4,500 | $50,000 | $117,000 | | Likely price range | $700,000–$750,000 | $840,000–$860,000 | $900,000–$930,000 | | Selling costs (est. 6.5%) | $47,125 | $55,250 | $59,475 | | Time to market | About 2 weeks | 4–6 weeks | 3–4 months | | Net before mortgage payoff | $673,375 | $744,750 | $738,525 | Nets use the midpoint of each price range. ### What the numbers show Fixing to baseline nets about $71,000 more than selling as-is. The full update nets about $6,000 less than fixing to baseline and takes three to four months longer. Estimates are confirmed with vendor bids before any work starts. The audit is a pricing and preparation analysis, not an appraisal. “We were specifically impressed with your ‘Pre-Market’ program designed to make the house look the best, right from the start.” Seller, Northern Virginia   ### “You control the condition and the price, and those decide which buyers you attract.” David Zadareky There’s no wrong price for the right house. And there’s no right price for the wrong one. Buyers decide what’s acceptable to them, whether they shop at the bottom, middle, or top of the market. The market decides how many of each are active. Your competition decides how many other choices they have. ## Request a Home Audit Tell me a little about your home. I’ll call to set a time to walk through it with you. There’s no cost and no obligation. If you’d rather skip the form, text me at [202-552-1628](sms:+12025521628) or email [david.zadareky@compass.com](mailto:david.zadareky@compass.com?subject=Home%20Audit%20Request). **Who I Help** **Who I Help** - [Rightsizing](https://www.davidzadareky.com/rightsizing) - [Retirement](https://www.davidzadareky.com/retirement) - [Helping a Parent](https://www.davidzadareky.com/helping-a-parent) - [Estate Sales](https://www.davidzadareky.com/estate-sales) **Services** **Services** - [Selling and Buying](https://www.davidzadareky.com/services) - [Home Audit](https://www.davidzadareky.com/home-audit) - [On-MLS vs Off-MLS](https://www.davidzadareky.com/on-mls-vs-off-mls) **More** **More** - [Insights](https://www.davidzadareky.com/insights) - [Contact](https://www.davidzadareky.com/contact) [![David-Zadareky-Black-Logo-588x164](https://www.davidzadareky.com/hubfs/David-Zadareky-Black-Logo-588x164.svg)](https://www.davidzadareky.com?hsLang=en) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.davidzadareky.com/privacy-policy) © 2026 David Zadareky [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/davidzadarekycompass/)[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/davidzadarekycompass/)[Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzadareky)[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@david.zadareky.compass/) ![Compass\_Logo\_H\_B](https://www.davidzadareky.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing/Compass_Logo_H_B.png?width=200&height=27&name=Compass_Logo_H_B.png)   David Zadareky | Associate Broker | 202-552-1628 | [david.zadareky@compass.com](mailto:david.zadareky@compass.com) Compass | 3001 Washington Blvd Suite 400 | Arlington VA 22201 | Office Phone: 703-266-7277 Firm License: 0226029518 | Broker License: 0225225537 Compass is a licensed real estate broker, licensed to do business as Compass in Virginia. 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