[M05/S04] Making Repairs to your Home prior to Selling It

Most homes out there could benefit from at least a few minor repairs – but is it always a good idea to make repairs to your home prior to selling it?

Although it’s a generally accepted idea that doing repairs prior to putting a home up for sale usually expedites the process and increases a seller’s net proceeds, doing repairs is never an automatic slam-dunk. Often times, a seller lacks the money to carry out all the repairs a property could use, or doesn’t have the time or energy to take care of them prior to selling the home.

Whether or not you can do repairs, know that in fact, it may be unnecessary and in some cases may not even pay off. If you feel that your ideal buyer is someone would perhaps prefer a home that needs a little work and views this as an opportunity to build some sweat equity, just market your home with the cost of needed repairs factored into the price. Remember: a lower price will invariably generate more demand than a higher price, and most buyers aren’t expecting to find an existing, older home to be in mint condition, anyway.

Is your home in a neighborhood where many homes are in need of some fixing? If most buyers in the price range are looking at other homes which need a similar level of repair, there’s less expectation that the seller will need to do these repairs themselves. Also, if you repair your home to the point where it’s in significantly better condition than the homes that surround it, it’s less likely you’ll find a buyer who wants to pay that premium to live in your particular neighborhood. On the other hand, if your home is in appreciably worse condition than other homes in the neighborhood, then bringing the home up to the neighborhood standard will in many cases pay handsome rewards.

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