Cosmetic updates rarely move the needle the way sellers expect. A repainted room or a new light fixture photographs well, but an appraiser and a lender are both checking permit status and structural condition, not finish quality, so money spent chasing a showroom look is often money that never comes back at closing.
Permits are the repair question that actually costs sellers money when ignored. Work done without a City of Saskatoon permit, from a finished basement to an added deck, can get flagged during inspection and cost more in a price reduction than it would have cost to pull the permit years earlier.
Joel Dyck walks a home before listing and separates repairs that protect the price from ones that just spend it. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.