What do I Fix Before I Move?

Has upgrading to a different home been on your mind? Thinking you're going to need to fix that rough flooring or the loose shower head? Let's talk about that.

This is one of the most common question I get from seller's as they are preparing to sell their home. They ask, what is your opinion on replacing the door with a hole in it? or should I change out the carpet?

Those a very great questions and it fully hinges on two major factors. What condition are you comfortable selling your house in? and What are the conditions of the market? I can't answer the first question for you. I have had seller's tell me about not feeling comfortable showing the house or selling it with these defects. So to them, it was a moral code that they felt they needed to follow. I have had other seller's state that it isn't a huge deal, that its a minor defect and they don't want to take the energy and money to make those repairs. I have also had sellers that are not in the financial circumstance where they can make those repairs. So you need to decide for yourself, are you comfortable selling your house with those defects? if so then you can then proceed to see how it could potentially effect the value of your home.

Now to the part of the problem that I can hopefully provide some clarity to. The conditions of the market. To answer that we need to discuss the cost of the repairs and resell value. From resources that I have read, on the majority of repairs you will not recoup the full cost when you sell. Minor repairs possibly. Doing a remodel or addition does not add the same dollar amount value to the price of your home. (not immediately, if given time the appreciation of the market can compensate and potentially cover the cost of what you put into the home.) Please note I am talking about your home that you live in and have kept in good shape, not a rough investment property. Those are different numbers you need to run to make it profitable and it is possible to big repairs and reclaim those costs and make money, but again, very different numbers and contracts.

I also want to clarify that if you make those repairs, you could potentially sell your home for more and your home could be worth more, but will your recoup the cost of those repairs? Chances are slim. It comes down to the difference in the cost for the repair and the amount of value it did add to your home. If it didn't add more than the cost, you wont net more on the sale of your home even though you were able to sell it at a higher price. There are so many factors that play into that and we can talk and analyze for hours but when it comes down to it and a seller is asking me, I will typically state that most repairs (especially major ones) wont make you a bigger profit if you are selling in the near future.

So you wont make more money on the repairs.... why do them? That is where the condition of the market will come into play. You have to think of how difficult it is going to be to sell your home.

Example, if it is a buyer's market and homes are sitting for sale for a longer period of time then you have to think if those defects on your property will keep a buyer from putting an offer in on your home. In a buyers market, yes... it will. You'll only be enticing buyers who either are investors willing to do those repairs or buyers looking for a deal that they can try and negotiate repairs or lower price because of those issues. So in that case, the repairs would be worth the cost and time because it would entice more offers and wont facilitate lower offers. So you will make a greater profit on the sale of your home even though you most likely wont recoup the cost of the repairs.

That's not this current market. We are in a seller's market. Check out my other blog "March Mayhem" to see where our market was last month and it hasn't had any significant change in the April. There are more buyers then homes for sale. Homes typically are getting multiple offers over asking price. If you price your home and market it correctly you will easily sell your home, even with its defects. You'll get top dollar. Though you are to an extent limiting certain buyers by not making the repairs, there are too many interested parties and you'll still get many aggressive offers.

So do you make those repairs? That's up to you, but now you know the market stance and can really just make the decision based on where you stand on morally selling your home in the condition it is in.

Thanks for reading! You got to the end! I really appreciate your time and energy. If you want to get more free information like this please sign up for my weekly newsletter.

If you are thinking of selling and want more of my opinion for repairs or on pricing your home. Click here! to contact me.