Selling a house that needs repairs can be challenging.
Maybe tenants damaged your home, or maybe the house’s age is starting to show and you don’t have the funds to fix it, or maybe you’re an out-of-state owner who just now realized that your property has been damaged by squatters.
At Old Harbor Properties, we’ve seen it all.
The good news is that you actually have quite a few options if you want to sell your home as-is without repairing it. You can sell to a professional home buyer, focus on high-priority repairs, and/or even work with a real estate agent.
It all depends on how much money you have for repairs and how quickly you need to sell.
Below we’ll give you 6 tips for selling a fixer-upper.
1. Sell To a Professional Homebuyer
The easiest and fastest way to sell a house that needs repairs is by selling to a professional homebuyer in New England.
In fact, that’s exactly what we do at Old Harbor Properties.
We can make you a fair cash offer on your home, purchase it as-is, and close in as little as two weeks — we’ll let you choose the closing date.
This works for us because we’re real estate investors who are looking to purchase properties in New England. And it works for you because you need to sell your home fast for a fair cash price.
Give us a call at (781) 549-0271 to learn more!
2. Focus on High-Priority Repairs
If you decide that you’re going to try and sell the traditional route — through a real estate agent on the MLS — then you’re probably going to need to make some repairs to your home.
But we recommend focussing on the most important things first.
Specifically, that means starting with any of the following repairs…
- Roof problems
- Electrical problems
- Water heater problems
- Termite, mold, or water damage
- Pipes, sewer connection, or septic system problems
- HVAC system problems
Obviously, these repairs can get expensive quickly.
So before you get started, you’ll definitely want to get a clear idea of what needs to be repaired before you can sell on the MLS and, more importantly, how much it’s going to cost you.
You don’t want to get halfway through repairing your home only to realize that you don’t have the funds to finish (we’ve seen it happen before).
3. Make Easy Upgrades
Once you’ve fixed everything that needs to be fixed, we recommend focussing your time and money on easy repairs with a big impact.
Give your home a fresh paint job, mow the lawn, deep clean the bathrooms and kitchen, invest in some better lighting, and put some fresh flowers on the table.
All of those things are relatively inexpensive… but they have a sizeable impact on potential buyers.
4. Get The Price Right
When you’re selling a home that needs repairs, it’s critical that you price it correctly. Selling on the MLS, it’s likely that a fixer-upper will take longer than average to sell anyways… and that’s three times as true if you overprice the property.
If you don’t have any experience in determining the value of a home, then consult with a house appraiser or a real estate agent to figure out how much your home is realistically worth.
And don’t be surprised if that number is lower than you were expecting… a home that needs repairs is difficult to sell on the MLS and often requires a heavily discounted price tag.
5. Consider Curb Appeal
Curb appeal has a big impact on buyers.
When someone comes to see your home for the first time, they’ll start forming an opinion before they even walk through the door. Is the lawn well kept? Is the driveway in good shape? Is the external paint chipping? Is the doorway welcoming? Are the windows open? All of these things have an impact on the buyer’s first impression… which of course, is the most important impression of all.
So spend a little bit of time thinking about your home’s curb appeal and getting it ready for potential buyers.
6. Market The House as an Investment Opportunity
Who, you might be thinking, is going to buy a home that needs repairs?
The answer? A real estate investor.
Real estate investors seek out properties that are selling for a good deal so that they can buy them, fix them up, and make a profit when they sell.
And since you’re selling a fixer-upper that most traditional house buyers won’t be interested in, it’s a good idea to market the home as an investment opportunity.
Final Thoughts
There you have it!
That’s 6 tips for you to sell a house that needs repairs in New England.
In the end, you really have two options: you can sell the house as-is to a professional home buyer or you can try and sell it on the MLS through a real estate agent after repairing the property yourself.
The first tactic is far quicker and doesn’t require you to make any repairs. The second tactic is a much more DIY approach that will require a lot of your time and money.
If you want to learn more about selling your house fast for cash, then give us a call at (781) 549-0271 — we’d love to help!