Why Maintaining your House is Important for a Successful Sale
Household problems that need fixing can be enough to make a homeowner cringe. But how about when you’re preparing to sell your house and the inspection revealed issues with your roof, HVAC, or windows? Now on top of listing the property, you’re also dealing with shingles falling off or a giant hole in the roof, drafty windows, a leaking toilet, or a broken furnace no longer blowing hot air. It might be easy to shrug it off thinking it’s not worth it to spend money on household repairs before selling because “you won’t be there long anyway” and if that’s the case, it’s time to shift your thought process. Yes, you may have to fork over hundreds or thousands of dollars to tend to these issues but in the end, it IS worth it.
Sell your Home Faster
When you’re browsing through real estate listings, pay attention and you’ll notice something that appears in nearly every one: it’s almost always mentioned if the roof was recently replaced, when the furnace was installed, and whether or not there’s new windows in the home. A huge selling factor in real estate is ensuring big ticket items are updated. Why? Because it’ll ensure the new home-owner is saving money.
When someone is on the market for a new house, remember they aren’t only looking at yours. Before making an investment, they are considering plenty of options and researching what will be the best bang for their buck. Real estate seekers are looking for places that will save them money, typically through energy-efficient components in the home. When deciding on a property option, if the house has dated windows or an ancient furnace, they’ll be spending more money on heating costs in the winter. Even worse, if a big ticket item needs to be repaired or replaced (and you didn’t do that before listing the property) they’ll likely move on to the next one and say good riddance to yours.
It’s risky to wait for someone looking for a “fixer upper”, especially when the pieces that need fixing are extremely costly. Want to sell your home faster? Fork over the cash and repair or replace what needs to be fixed.
Increases Value
This one is simple. Existing home-owners who took the time to replace their big ticket items generally saw an increase in value. Property hunters see that your listing has a brand new roof and they know they won’t need to worry about it for years to come, saving them money. If you installed a new furnace last year, your home now becomes an energy efficient option, a HUGE benefit to closing the sale. In this competitive market, when you’ve recently updated cash-saving items in your home, your house becomes a desirable option and this is good news for you. Buyers generally won’t simply offer the asking price, they’ll increase it.
If you’ve noticed a problem with expensive items like your roof, it’s best to just get it fixed by a certified company you can trust. By repairing the issue, potential home-owners won’t deem your listing as a risky purchase and you’ll have a better chance of being offered your asking price. By replacing the item, you’ve increased the value of your home and you’ll likely see a higher offer. Leave broken items alone and you’ll be waiting a long time before successfully selling or experience a decrease in value.
If you’d like to know more on how maintaining big ticket items can help you sell your house faster and/or increase your property value, contact Danielle! She’d be happy to go over the many beneficial reasons with you along with other tips on how you can successfully sell your property.