The huge and quickly growing DIY market is headed toward a value of $14 billion in the next few years.
If you’re selling a house that needs repairs, you might think you’re holding onto a hunk of junk but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The home you’re trying to get rid of is a potential treasure to someone else.
Here are five tips to ensure you sell your home for the value you’re looking for.
1. Get Inspected in Advance
If you know that your home has some issues, you should look into getting inspected ahead of time. If you suspect there are problems but don’t know the details, remember that knowledge is power. The more you know about what your home needs, the more empowered you’ll be about your home sale.
Getting inspected ahead of time means that you’ll be able to price your home fairly to get what you need at a price that makes sense for buyers. If you know what the major problems in your home are, you won’t be blindsided. When someone hires their own inspector and comes to you with problems, they’re going to try to negotiate down.
If you’re firmly set on your number, having a framework to judge it by ensures that you won’t have to sell your home for less than you want. Your inspection provides that framework and shows that you’re an informed seller. Once their inspector comes back with the information you gave, you’ll appear like a trustworthy seller.
2. Be Upfront with Buyers
Aside from talking about the problems with buyers, talk about potential solutions. If you show that you’re informed about the house’s faults as well as what it’s going to take to resolve the problems, they’ll consider you trustworthy. It helps if you’re open and honest about what problems you’ve faced and hurdles you’ve had to fix it.
Talk about what you’re getting rid of the property in the first place. If fixing the repairs is part of the issue, don’t hide that. It’s not easy to rehabilitate a home with lots of problems and not everyone is built for taking on that kind of work.
When you’re talking to the people interested in buying your home, give them all of the information that you have. When you take the time to be straightforward, you get buyers on your side.
At the same time, when you’re honest, you can be firm about what you want for the home.
3. Offer a Cash Discount
When you want to sell your home, the best way to ensure that you get the amount you’re looking for is to offer a discount when people pay with cash. If you want to get paid for your home as soon as possible, this is the best way to ensure that you get what you need while getting rid of the home.
Selling a home that needs some repairs is difficult and challenging. However, for people looking for a project to take on, it’s an attractive prospect to get ahold of something to work on. Since there’s a lot of risk at hand, the best way to attract buyers is with discounts.
A cash discount is a way to ensure that you attract investors who are interested in fixer-uppers. If your discount is deep enough, people might end up coming out of the woodwork who never considered buying a house like yours before.
I buy Pueblo Houses is one example of a company that go out in search of homes to get for a cash discount. Making your home one potential candidate will attract someone willing to buy it up in a jiffy.
4. Come Up with a Flexible Range
When you’re working on pricing your home, you need to come up with a price that makes sense. In all likelihood, you’re going to come up with a range of potential prices for your home. The goal of your range is to ensure that you’re able to come up with a number that you’re comfortable with.
People are going to try to talk you down to a number that’s better for them. Everyone wants a deal but when you’re already offering a deal, there’s no need to have to negotiate farther down than you feel comfortable.
Set a range for the amount that you’re willing to go down. Don’t share this with your buyer. Start with a figure that’s close to the top of your range to ensure that if they talk you down you’re still in a place you feel good about.
When the buyer is talking you down, they’ll feel like they’re getting one over on you. Let them feel that way as you still end up with more than the lower limit of your comfort range.
5. Hire a Broker
If you’re struggling to sell your home that needs repairs, start off by managing some of the repairs that you can. If you’re still having a hard time selling, try to call a broker to help you out.
Now, working with a broker isn’t free. They’re going to eat into your profits, so be aware that it’s not going to be without its downside.
At the end of the day, the broker is going to want to sell your house to ensure they get paid. When this is the motivation, you’ll be surprised how hard your broker is going to work.
Selling a House That Needs Repairs Is Easy
The DIY and rehab market is so huge right now that it’s not as hard as you think when it comes to selling a house that needs repairs. However, if you’re not knowledgeable about what the home needs, it’s going to be a challenge to sell it.
If you want to add value before you sell it, check out our guide for making your home more energy efficient.