A lot of people think that repairs are needed in order to sell their homes at a higher price. While repairs and upgrades almost always increase the appeal of your property, it’s important to know which types of repairs are essential to getting the most bang for your buck, vs repairs that may not necessarily net you much more of a return.
Note, there are typically buyers who are interested in buying a home “as is”. This means you may still get a great price without hiring a painter, plumber, or a carpenter; the investors often understand a home’s value and have all the costs of surface-level touch-ups calculated. If you understand a bit more what they look for, you can sell your home at a reasonable price without going through all the hassle of repairing it first, which can actually cost you money.
Are Repairs Value-Adding?
The answer to if a repair should be done or not heavily depends on the circumstance and the number of repairs needed. If you have time for some small touch-ups and some basic cleaning, these things are inexpensive and can go a long way to improve the visual appeal of the house. However, deciding to paint a house to try and cover up wall marks etc may be excessive as that requires a much larger project, timeline and expenses, and often home investors may consider painting anyway.
Another situation is when the damage is too big. If you’ve got a major problem with plumbing or structural issues, you’ll need to hire someone for a major fix. Larger repairs that deal with complex systems of your home should be avoided and are actually the perfect thing to leave to the next owner who is buying the home as-is and has a better plan for how to repair it etc.
Face-value upgrades can also be a good idea as long as it is a minor project that makes sense. If a minor landscape job will add a few thousand dollars to your home’s value, then it may be worth a weekend doing the improvements. New backsplashes and some new fixtures can also add value to a home by increasing the aesthetic value. Again, it really comes down to the scope of the work needed and the impact of the repairs or upgrades relative to their price.
What Repairs Don’t Add Value?
From Visually.
Here are three major repairs that people think that add value, but typically aren’t worth the money if not absolutely necessary:
- New Appliances
New appliances always look good, but the price to add the visual appeal is not usually worth it opposed to keeping existing functional appliances. Most buyers looking for a quick deal just want the appliances to be functional.
- Swimming Pools
Building a swimming pool when you didn’t previously have one is a waste of money, and not something that buyers may even be looking for. A lot of buyers don’t want a swimming pool because of the cost of the upkeep, and families with younger children often don’t want them for safety reasons.
- A New Room
Unless you have an existing space that can be easily converted to a new room, it’s not worth doing any new construction before selling a home. If you have a space that’s setup properly and includes finished walls and floors, then a new room can add possibly add some easy value to the home – just be careful that you understand the budget and timeline required before taking action.
Who Buys “As Is” Houses?
There are plenty of people as well as investment companies who buy houses in as-is condition. Most of the time, they understand what the potential value is of a home with proper work applied to it, and have the resources and financial capability to acquire your home, even if it’s not in the best condition.
It takes professionals to know exactly what to do, but professionals still offer good prices for homes and the true benefit of this is the expedited timeline that professional buyers can work with.
At Cash Out My Vegas Home, we are exactly those professionals who help you get rid of your house, especially if you don’t have the time nor the resources to repair it. We understand that it is an inconvenience to prepare your home just to allow people to walk in and out and later decide not to buy it. This trial and error phase of home selling takes up a lot of time which we don’t want you to waste.
To prove to you that we value your time and money, our process is just three steps. You fill out the form on our website, expect a visit to your home by us and then receive an offer. With just these steps, you don’t save a lot of money, you also do the selling in your own time.