Selling a home is totally different than…. selling a car for example, doing a lot of work to your car before you trade or sell it to a dealer isn’t generally a good idea, you likely won’t recapture your costs. However, as a home seller you’re selling to the end user – being strategic in your advance prep work and making needed repairs are a good idea if you want to optimize your home sale.
Home buyers in many cases, are using all or most of their available funds for the down payment and purchase costs, they don’t have the additional funds to spend on repairs or updating the home. They would need to live in it “as is” for a while until they can afford to make the improvements. That’s just not very appealing to a home buyer who is comparing your home to another in the area that’s move in ready. Presenting your home as the best choice and best value is a good way to optimize your home sale
Even if the buyer is willing to get a home improvement loan after the sale, it will be at a higher interest rate making their payment higher than if they financed it through the original mortgage with lower mortgage rates.
As the home seller you may experience some inconvenience going through the updating process, but if done strategically, it will result in a higher sales price in less time.
Occasionally, we hear sellers say they’ll let the buyer choose their own colors but not all people can see beyond what is in front of them, they don’t have the ability to picture what something will look like after it is finished. If you want to optimize your home sale, it’s better to go ahead and get the work done before putting it on the market.
The Kitchen and Bathrooms are the most important rooms to focus on. If the finish on the cabinets is bad, have them painted. New countertops and appliances can make a world of difference. Fresh paint, new countertops and fixtures in the bath give the home a great feel.
In addition to the repairs, a major deep cleaning and decluttering can make your home stand out from the competition. Hotel Ready is a term we use in real estate when a Buyer just needs to show up with their personal affects, everything else is ready to enjoy.
The first step in this process is to go through your house and pack up what you don’t use regularly. Donate, sell, or get rid of anything you don’t need or things that are a distraction like excess furniture, exercise equipment, personal artwork, etc. Now, do the same with the closets and cabinets. By getting rid of things, there will be more room and the rooms will look larger. To optimize your home sale, Buyers need to feel there’s lot’s of room for their “stuff”.
Next, walk across the street from your house and give it a critical look. How is the drive-up appeal? Would you want to go inside to see the rest of the house if you were a buyer? Are the trees and shrubs trimmed? Yard cleaned and well manicured? Do you have blooming flowers in front to welcome the buyer? Does the front door and mailbox need a new coat of paint, don’t forget the garage door leading to the house? Does the house, driveway, patio’s and sidewalks look like they need to be power washed? Do the windows and screens need washing?
Buyers are visual people and beauty is always rewarded. Restaurants know that people eat with their eyes first and they go to a lot of effort to plate the food so it is visually appealing. The same approach works for selling your home. Ask your agent if they have ever taken a buyer to a home but they refused to go inside because they didn’t like the looks from the street. It does happen.
Your real estate professional will help you optimize your home sale, the best agents will make specific recommendations, provide staging services and can assist you in finding someone to do the work. This is what they do. TRUST THEM!
As one of the leading teams in the Desert Real Estate Market, we represent Home Sellers. We are a full service team of professionals and offer a full suite of services to our clients. If you would like more information about how we sell homes for more, send me an email, we’re happy to discuss our winning strategies with you.
