As a successful real estate broker, I get asked frequently… “What can I do so my house sells?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trick to selling a property is the same as fishing. If we knew what kind of fishing lure to use every day, for every type of fish, for every body of water, there would not be fishing, it would just be catching. Real estate is the same way if we knew exactly where or who that buyer was, it would be a piece a cake & are overhead would be nil. The cost of compensation would come way down, and I would get a vacation. That’s not the case.

There is a plan in the big scheme of things, and while I would like to have more control over that plan, I don’t. My crystal ball is cloudy, my all seeing eye has lost its vision, I do not know when the buyer is going to find it in my advertising, see it on my website, drive by and see the sign, be told by someone else who saw it, or just put some feelers out there and happen to find this property that they are then going to fall in love with.

What can Seller do so I can do my job???     Sellers that continue to reside in the home should stage their homes for potential buyers prior to putting it on the market. They should reduce the contents by as much as possible to allow the buyer to put themselves into the home when they look at it and envision their possessions and life in that space. It should be clean and well-kept at all times, it should not be camouflaged with overwhelming scents from fragrant air-conditioners. Lights should all work. Curb appeal has been hammered to death on television shows but I will mention it again if they don’t like the look of it when they drive by, you are not going to get them to drive-in. Personal property inside the home such as family pictures, awards and spatial artwork should be removed if at all possible. Your office desk where you pay your bills should always be secure, mail should not be lying around waiting for someone to pick it up. The same for your jewelry. More people than not are unable to envision in their mind removing your property and putting their property in its place. The bottom line to preparing a house is to allow someone to come into your home and be able to put their life in your space.

Now to address the question ~ what should I do to my house to help make it sell?

Many clients believe that enhancing a property, as they would like to see it, will enhance the property value and bring a higher price at market. When a client says “should I replace my kitchen or should I drill my own well which one will make it sell better?” What do you think the answer is? Let’s weigh that out.

The house already has water and a shared well. The kitchen has Hickory cabinetry, formica countertops, stainless steel sink and matching appliances. The kitchen is not damaged and it is not dated – such as 1970 orange. What’s your answer?

My answer has drill your own well.

Picture this, a custom 3000 square-foot home. The answer from the real estate agent was people do not like your spiral staircase. If you build another staircase in this house it will sell in a heartbeat. Now the original plan of the house was to have another staircase but because it was not what we wanted, we did plan for it to be there, but we did not build it. But we built that staircase as was originally planned. Big house, big space, a massive staircase was required to balance that space. $10,000 later it had a beautiful glue-lam and iron staircase. The house did not sell in a heartbeat, it didn’t sell in a month, I didn’t sell in six months. The staircase has not made it a point of sale.

Let’s talk about what I look at as a Broker then a few more examples.

When I do a walk-through on a home, aside from the personal property that detracts from the show-ability of the home, I look for:
1. safety issues
2. damages in need of repair
3. outdated
4. obsolete
5. just absolutely butt ugly or hoarder potential
6. paper

Safety issues would be, missing plate covers on receptacles, railing missing it’s spindles or spindles too wide to be safe, missing GFI’s in kitchens or bathrooms, railing on deck’s missing, etc.

Damages in need of repairs would be holes in the wall, carpet needing clean or stretched, bullet holes, etc.

Outdated and obsolete would be ‘the 1970s look” of the kitchen with the paneled dark doors, ornate iron pulls, and the orange countertops. While they may be clean and in good condition, generally they do impact value as outdated or obsolete. However style does make comebacks and currently we are at the 1950s come back.

Butt ugly, well that’s enough said about that. Hoarder, yipes, order a 20 yard dumpster and fill it !!

Paper, we also review what’s on the ground as well as what is filed against the property. These can impact value greatly. Examples: easements that serve other individuals and properties that divide this property, encroachments, difficult to deal with and usually creates tension between neighbors. Bad fences, shared water wells, septic systems and wells not permitted by the appropriate authorities, code violations of the local building code, and while seller usually can’t do much about it ~ having a neighbor that has extreme “collections” in short eyeshot, it does impact property value in that the degree of difficulty to sell is higher.

The last thing to evaluate in repairs and upgrades to a home that you currently have for sale are the following:

1. does it increase the value
2. will the cost exceed value in the market value
3. can you control your taste to a universally accepted taste in design

Examples:

We had some clients with carpet that was the original carpet in the home when it was built in 1980. It had visible holes in it, it needed stretched as it rippled on the floor and a wear pattern was extremely evident.       Oh yes and it was at the end of the shag era.     They of course wanted premium dollar for the property, and so I asked them what their plan was with the carpet. They told me that they would take care of it. The next time we viewed the property, they had purchased some area rugs and thrown them over the ripples and over the holes.

We had a young man who had an accidental discharge of a firearm and in his living room which put a skimming whole across the carpet as it ricocheted through a closet door and embedded into the wall on the other side. We recommended replacement of the door patching of the sheet rock and have a carpet guy come in and see what he could do with that slice across from the ricochet. The seller had the sheet rock patched, the door patched with the sheet rock mud, and a rug placed over the ricochet in the living room.

And last but not least we had the three month remodel. We listed the home and the seller was replacing flooring, he was replacing the Kitchen and he was finishing a second living room. He assured us that in three months this project would be completed. It made it very difficult to sell the home because in three months it was not done, in six months it was not done, it was not done in a year, it was not done in two years. AND the last six months of the project there was no kitchen in it at all. Remember I said about people not having a vision. Made it very difficult to sell.

So the final question is still the first question. “What can I do to my house to make it more sellable”.

Take an honest look at your home and decide if you could actually buy a home that is in that condition for that price. Think safety first, then freedom to enjoy the property, if the carpet needs stretched have the carpet stretched, if it needs cleaned have it cleaned. If after cleaning and stretching, it still looks like it’s a 1980 shag, it would probably make the sellability enhanced if you replace that. But, the question is, can you remain neutral with the color and quality that you choose, so that it still is an enticement to a buyer?

There does come a point where the cost of your upgrades will exceed the return you will be able to recapture when you sell. Exercise caution. Learn the market, be pro-active in determining the cost and return on your investment. Let’s talk about it at our listing appointment.