As summer rapidly approached us and the sellers start to strategize on the selling their homes to move up, move down or move out of town, the questions about "To repair or not repair" looms large.
You could account for the cost of the needed repairs into your home's sale price, but you'll likely have to offer buyers a discount for the time and trouble needed to address the necessary fix-it work. If you elect not to repair, that same buyer could simply drive down the block and buy another home with newer ammenities, better interiors, better counters, cabinets, etc., for the same cost as yours and be move in ready!
So, what do you do? Weathered homes often will not sell conventionally -- at least for a reasonable price -- in this buyer's market. Very few markets would carry the necessary leverage to command top price despite the home's condition.
So you may have to do the work but be careful on your expenses as statistics suggest you will recoup less than three-fourths of your investment when you sell. Not the direction you want to be going if you are trying to maximize "nets."
While the aforementioned seem to indicate that sellers should offer buyers credits and let the buyers perform their own work, the reality is that if a home is too beat up, it may generate little interest from conventional buyers. Contractors or would-be home flippers, who will likely be your clientele and will most definitely lowball you because they can already get cheap fixer-uppers in REO market. Unless they're especially handy and have loads of spare time on their hands, would-be owner occupants typically don't want to wrestle with significant repairs.
We recommend that you attend open houses in or near your neighborhood to assess the general condition of area for-sale homes. Make notes of any apparent upgrades and other amenities and consider thier potential impact on sales prices. We can also tell you what buyer "trends" are in a given area and can provide you with up to date market data to assess your homes financial position.
The bottom line on the question, "To repair or not to repair", is simple...you might have to consider repairing the obvious items in your home if you want or need to sell your house soon for anything close to top price, but avoid unnecessary repairs or "upgrades".
If you are interested in selling your home (or buying) contact us today at:
Be sure to subscribe to our "blog" so you can get notifications sent directly to you when OCCOASTPROPERTIES let's you know:
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN REAL ESTATE TODAY?
No comments:
Post a Comment