Should I remodel before selling or just list it as-is?

[quintusquilter]

So here's the situation I'm wrestling with, and I could really use some outside perspective. I've been in my current house for about seven years now, and I'm planning to put it on the market sometime next year to downsize now that the kids are grown and out of the house. The kitchen and bathrooms are definitely showing their age, the cabinets are worn, the countertops have some scratches, and the bathroom tile is that dated beige that just screams early 2000s. Part of me thinks I should just sell it as-is and let the new owners deal with the renovations, because I know remodeling is stressful and expensive and I'm not sure I want to deal with all that chaos while also trying to get the house ready to sell. But then the other part of me worries that buyers are going to take one look at those outdated rooms and either lowball me or just walk away entirely. I've been reading about how updated kitchens and baths can significantly impact sale price and how quickly a house moves, and I keep going back and forth on whether the investment would actually pay off. I've gotten some rough estimates and I'm trying to figure out if the ROI makes sense or if I'd be better off just pricing the house a bit lower and letting someone else handle the work. I've been looking into home remodeling services in Palo Alto just to get a sense of what's available and what things cost, but I'm still torn. Has anyone here sold a house recently and faced this same decision? What did you end up doing and how did it work out for you? I'd love to hear real experiences because I'm really stuck on this one.