So you wanna know how to sell your old house? That’s exactly what we gonna discuss in the next few paragraphs we’re going to discuss how you can sell that old house. One thing I want you to keep in mind, it all depends on how well the house is maintained….
This will be one of your key factors. One of the questions you want to ask yourself is if I was to buy my home tomorrow would I buy it the way it looks now, or would I want the seller to do some repairs to get the home in move-in ready condition…
Note that if you do not have the money to fix up the house you don’t necessarily have to do it. But you want to understand that the goal would be to make sure the home is fixed up so that the home will qualify for conventional, FHA or VA. That is the key to this all. It also will depend on what you’re trying to do next.
If you are only interested in selling your home and you need to get out fast then contact me right away so I can help you with the process. If you have more time and you’re not in a hurry then that’s fine to still contact me and I’m sure I can work with you.
Sellers Market or Buyers Market
Remember old homes can sell. Say this with me, My home can be sold (repeat it one more time.) Also if you want to get the home sold for a higher price it depends on what market you’re in. If you are in a Seller’s market. A seller’s market might allow you to be able to just put the house out and bam you have buyers… Almost like having a genie in a bottle. The more you rub the lamp the more buyers seem to fall in your lap.
But, when you have a buyers market. It will seem as though no one is showing up for the party. Your goal is to get buyers and you will have to offer incentives to the buyer. Buyers love discounts, so you would need to think about doing a price reduction on the home or providing the buyer with buyer incentives. If you say to me that your not willing to do that, then be prepared to wait a while for the home to sell in a buyers market.
Make sure you don’t get too greedy and overprice yourself out of a deal. I’ve seen many sellers lose out on getting a good price for the home because they became too greedy and didn’t want to sell at the actual appraised price or was not willing to place the home somewhere in the middle of the market and they end up getting even less.
Remember don’t be too greedy.Your Realtor’s goal should be to ethically represent you and get you the best possible price that the market will bear. But if the Agent says to you hey the house needs 30,000 worth of work and you saying that you still want that 300,000. You are setting the deal up to take longer to get sold. If you take the information and want to try at a different price its understandable because you own the property. But make sure that at some point you at least be open to a reduction in price.
Most properties are sellable
I want you to keep this in mind that most properties are sellable. It all depends on how you price the home. If the home needs a lot of work, then it would be a good idea to price the home at a discount price. If you want to try to get more for the home then it would be a good idea to call in a handyman or a contractor and get the home updated.
If you don’t have the money to do the repairs then prepare yourself to sell the home “as is” and tell you, Realtor, that you want to sell the house as-is and would like to only do repairs to get the home past Lender Condition.
What is Lender Conditions
Lender Conditions are conditions that they want to be done for them to loan money on the house. For example, if the appraiser comes in and notices that you have some missing fascia or shingles on the roof and sees that some of the fascia or shingles is possibly in need of repair.
The lender will approve the borrower’s loan with the lending condition that the seller(s) make repairs on the roof. Most lenders and mortgage companies have guidelines on what conditions the home needs to be for them to approve the borrower on a home.
So what they are saying is the main things have to be in tack… No missing roof, No broken windows, no missing flooring or carpet. No holes in the wall, No foundation issues. These can sometimes be considered conditions based on the Appraisal Report.
If for some reason it’s missing a water heater. Or if it is missing an AC unit or Heating unit or missing plumbing or electrical then it’s a strong possibility that it will not qualify for FHA 203B, or VA. Even conventional loans are now wanting some conditions done on some properties. One loan that you can use when your property has condition problems is the 203k loan.
This would give you a higher return. If you have a home and you know it needs these repairs then you can have a cash buyer(s) make offers on the property.
Selling to Investors
When a home doesn’t meet the lender’s conditions then the next possible solution is to sell to an investor. Investors will typically like to see at least 70 cent on the dollar. For example, if you have a home that you are selling and you want 250,000 for the house.
The investor is going to come in and offer you 175,000. Now I know some of you are saying I would never take that offer. But I want you to know that people are taking it every day.
You have to keep in mind that they have to make money too. All of the investors I know want to make sure they are going to make a profit as well. So I’m telling you this upfront so that when you call up investors you know what to expect. You have to remember it is all based on the condition of the old home.
Making these old bones live again
I want you to know that the old house can live again. But the old house can’t live again unless you are prepared to update those old bones.That’s right you have to put a little elbow grease in it and fix the place up.
Kitchens and bathrooms sell all day every day. Now I’m going to play a game with you and we are going to see buy the picture which homes you would buy yourself.
I’m going to show you picture one, and picture two. Then I want you to mental point to which one you would buy based on the pictures.
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture Taken by Sognaretile1
Ok, let’s move to the next set. Here I’m going to show you two pictures of a bathroom. You mentally tell me which one would you see yourself buying
Picture 1
Picture 2
Design picture from tileshop.com
If you choose both times picture two then you know yourself that even you would buy it if it was updated. So updates do sell. Possibly think about updating the kitchen with stainless steel appliances etc. and make sure that you think about doing the bathroom as well.
Another thing you can do is add a fresh coat of paint. New carpet never hurts and make sure that there are no roof issues or foundation issues. Think about serving all AC and Heating units and make sure you check the water heater.
Why using a Realtor can be an advantage
I want you to know that using a Realtor can be an advantage. According to Nar when you sell with a Realtor you typically will get more cash in your hand then if you went and sold the property by for sale by owner. Keep this in mind.
It means we can come in handy by increasing your bottom-line even if your home is older and it requires repairs and you want to sell it as is. As Realtors we can sell the home as-is, if it needs repairs even if you don’t want to do the repairs and want cash offers, we can help you.
Think of it as a blessing. We want you to feel good when you sign that offer. We want you to feel so good that you will refer your family, your friends, and your relatives. You can have it all your way. Just remember to be reasonable and don’t get greedy when the offer(s) come in.
Conclusion:
Selling an old home is very possible. But you must keep in mind these things we discussed. The overall goal is to make you happy. Because when you get that offer and you sign it, you want to rest assure that you are being taken care of. And that’s what true ethical Realtors want to do.
They want you to go to the closing table knowing you made the best decision to sell your old home. And when you sell it you can feel good knowing that you enjoyed the process.