Selling a home is never as simple as putting a listing in and waiting for offers to land. In fact, if the property you want to sell needs repairs, you’ll face a difficult decision from the start:
Should you or should you not proceed to do the repairs?
As it happens, there is more than one answer here, and it all depends on your objectives when selling the property.
Selling Your Home As Is
Selling as is means that even if the property needs repairs, you are not going to do them. Buyers are going to buy the home in the condition they see it. So, it’s important to understand that the property’s condition will affect the price offers you’ll get.
Here, there are still different approaches, which may affect both how much you get for the property and when you can expect to get the money.
Firstly, if you opt for the traditional buyer route, the buyer will need to get their mortgage approved by the bank before you can receive the money. Besides, this route also includes property appraisals and underwriting, which can stretch the timeline considerably. Price offers tend to be on the lower side, as they reflect the cost of repairs.
The second option is to reach out to cash buyers. If you are wondering, “How can I sell my house fast without making repairs?”, cash sales tend to be the fastest way out. A cash buyer doesn’t need mortgage approvals, which speeds up the process. You can receive the money from the sales much faster, typically in a matter of days.
Do the Repairs Before You Sell
If you want the highest price offer possible, you will need to bring a property in decent condition to the market, and that means doing the repairs. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to proceed to all the repair works. In fact, you can be selective about where you choose to invest.
Focus on issues that are likely to scare buyers away and dramatically affect the house value. So, emergency repairs will be:
- Obvious plumbing issues
- Electrical issues
- Leaks (from structural elements)
- Heating problems
Additionally, you can also add some low-cost cosmetic improvements, such as giving a fresh coat of paint, mowing the lawn, or updating fixtures. These are enough to help increase the price offers.
Sell as a Fixer-Upper
Fixer-upper properties tend to attract a different audience, namely, buyers who are eager to build equity and invest in flip houses. While there are still some buyers who want a fixer-upper as their primary home, this type of property works best for investors who want to buy at a low cost before selling for a profit.
Here, you are tailoring your market listing with potential in mind, aka focusing on the value the property could have vs the work it needs. House-flippers are unlikely to negotiate a high reduction in the price, but they do remain objective (so you can’t expect too high price offers either). They are also able to pay fast, as many have a separate investment budget for their portfolio.
Ultimately, as there is no one-size-fits-all answer, the best strategy to sell a property in need of repairs is to figure out what you want to get out of it.
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