In a fast-rising market with buyers falling all over themselves to purchase homes, you can get by with not doing much to make your property ready to sell — although I still think you’ll make more money with even minimal effort.
No doubt you’ve seen TV shows showing people making their homes attractive and with staging and creating curb appeal. Yes, these things work. I’ve seen it, and I’ve done it. But I’d like to take a moment to look at the flip side — what happens if you don’t make your house ready to sell?
Suppose few years ago you had a small leak in an upstairs bathroom. You brought in a plumber and had it fixed, but it left a watermark on the downstairs ceiling. If you put your house on the market with that stain on the ceiling, it will cause red flags to go up. Everyone will wonder how long ago the leak occurred, if it is still ongoing, what has been done about it, if anything, and worse still, what else is wrong. Aaaack.
A stain on the ceiling is obvious, but what about other things that buyers aren’t likely to see right off the bat? Nowadays it is extremely rare for a buyer not to have a home inspection. A home inspector might miss a few things here and there, but he won’t miss much. You will have worked hard to find a buyer and negotiate a contract. Why risk having the buyer scared off and the transaction fall apart because of things that will have to be fixed in the end anyway?
For that reason we strongly recommend that you have a home inspection done before you put your house on the market, and we recommend that you repair the things that the inspector finds. Yes, it will cost you a few hundred dollars up front, but when you think about it, it is very powerful marketing tool. Buyers will notice your effort, and you will be far less likely to have everyone looking for “what else is wrong.”
If you are interested in selling or purchasing property in the Raleigh area of North Carolina, I would very much appreciate the opportunity to work with you. Please visit JustCallPowers.com.
