Is Fixing Your Home To Sell It Worth It?

So, you’re busy and don’t get around to all of the little things that need to be done in your home.  Because of that, you have some deferred maintenance.  Join the club.  Maybe your carpet is old or your roof needs help.  Now you want to sell your home and don’t want to come out of pocket thousands of dollars to sell it.  So, what do you do?

One of the things I hear on a pretty regular basis is, “We need to do a few things around the house before we put it on the market.”  OK, fair enough.  Chances are that you’re right.  Two questions for you.  First, do you know which things that you need to do to satisfy your market?  Second, if you didn’t have the time, money, or both to do them before, what makes you think that you are going to have the time, money or both to do them now?

Do You Know Which Things That You Need To Do To Satisfy Your Market?

No offense intended here, but the answer is probably not.  Just because your neighbor did this and sold his home for that doesn’t mean that you need to do that or your going to get the same amount by doing so.  Much to the disbelief of a lot of people, homes are not commodities.  Just because you don’t have granite and the guy down the street did doesn’t mean that you need to go out and install granite.

True story about the first home I ever owned.  Before I was a Realtor®, I was selling my first home.  I happened to have had a fantastic Realtor® sell it for me.  My home had less in amenities than several others for sale, had been lived in by a couple of mid-20′s single dudes, and was in no other way superior to comparable units.  My agent helped me stage it, we priced it higher than anyone else by several thousand dollars, and sold it for nearly full price in 23 days.  I made zero repairs.  If I had, they would have been a waste.

So, without a market expert to assist you, it is very possible that you would be throwing money away.  Bottom line, if you feel like you need to do some work on your home, at least let your agent take a look and consult with you on what should or shouldn’t be done.  Also, make sure to hire an agent that knows about staging and what will sell your home in your market area.

If You Didn’t Have The Time or Money Before, What Makes You Think That You Will Have It Now?

This is actually a three part question.  The second part is, “What is that delay going to cost you in your market?”  The third question, of course, is “Is it worth it?”

Again, you have an idea of what you think you need to do to sell your home.  Again, you are probably wrong in at least one area of that assessment.  So, why waste the precious time and money doing things you don’t need to?  If it is going to take you a month to make the repairs, what are you missing in that month that you aren’t on the market?  Don’t waste the time and/or money.  I use the term waste, because it seriously is a waste.  You might as well set the money on fire.

A good agent can help you decide what you really do need to do, when you need to do it, if an allowance is a better option, and/or what not to do because it isn’t necessary.  If time is a genuine concern, and you have a time in mind to sell your home, start early.  Don’t put it off.

Examples

These are real examples that I have heard in the last month or so:

“I want to put granite in the kitchen.” – Do the other homes in your community have granite?  How much are you going to spend?  How much are you going to get out of it?  Not listed yet, but no need to put granite in the kitchen.  It is a beautiful home.

“I want to paint the garage.” – Huh?  Why?  People generally don’t care what your garage looks like.  We sold this home in 26 days for more than market with no paint to the garage.

“We are thinking of painting the nursery back to neutral.” – Why?  Do you live in a neighborhood where buyers have kids?  Chances are people are not going to decide against a home because you had a baby.  If so, they are nuts anyway.  Sold in 6 days with multiple offers.  No paint in the nursery.

There are more, but you get the point.  Work with your agent before you list the home so your work after you list is made easier.  Trust me, it will pay off.

Bonus

Here are a couple of tips to make your home look better to a buyer.  For more, I have a series of entries on staging that starts here.

• Rent a storage facility and get everything you possibly can out of your home.  This includes furniture that is more than a room needs, everything from your counter tops, excessive kitchen appliances, bathroom “stuff”, clothes, toys, etc.
• Work on your curb appeal.  You only get one chance to make a first impression.
• Buy an air freshener, especially if you have kids, pets, etc.  They cost a couple of bucks.  Buy vanilla.  You might not think your home needs it, but what is it going to hurt?