I showed a house, that met specific requirements, to a potential buyer in Grand Prairie, TX. It was well kept inside but had an overgrown lawn. With haughty disgust in her voice, the potential buyer spat out, “I can’t imagine anyone putting a house on the market and not even bothering to mow the lawn.”
Some homeowners continuously toil to ensure their home looks like a featured property on cable TV. Others wear themselves out at the last minute to remodel and spiff up their homes before listing to sell. Still others have no time, money, or energy to fix up their home before selling.
The fact is many sellers simply have priorities other than making sure their home is perfect.
Maybe a recently widowed mother was selling that home, and she was working two jobs to make ends meet for her young family. Maybe the owner was caring for elderly parents and was short on time. Maybe the owner had been working a lot of overtime, and it rained on the only day he had open to mow. Maybe chronic pain kept the owner from mowing often, and money issues made hiring it done difficult.
Accidents happen, illnesses occur, and people die. It is never a good time for tragedies to strike. One problem often leads to cascading problems that result in financial troubles.
Of course, the seller may have disliked yard work or been lazy, as the potential buyer implied, which gets back to different priorities… however good or bad in someone else’s opinion!
The good news for homeowners is that homes sell every day in a broad range of conditions. Repairs and the right upgrades help sellers get top dollar for their home. However if doing needed repairs and upgrades are not an option, for whatever reason, your home can still be sold.
There are buyers for everyone!
There are buyers like the one above who need to be redirected to only looking at homes in top shape.
There are buyers WILLING to do some repairs and upgrades if they can get the location or floorplan they prefer.
There are buyers HOPING to find a “tired” home to profit from by doing repairs themselves.
There are investor-buyers looking ONLY for needy homes to fix up. Investors are willing to buy homes with foundation and other major problems at the right price.
One could say, “At the right price, all homes will sell.”
So don’t despair if you need to sell your home and it needs repairs. The first step is to get a comparative market analysis of your home from a Realtor. A good Realtor can make recommendations to help get the most return on any needed repair or upgrade expense. Often low cost or even no cost improvements can be done that significantly improve your chances of a higher sales price. Home values are currently up, and you might be surprised at your home’s market value without competing repairs.
For a free CMA of your home value please visit: https://www.wgrealestate.com/whats-my-home-worth/
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