
If you want to sell your house but it’s not in the best shape, you might wonder whether you should lay out the money for repairs before trying to sell. How do you know what’s worth fixing? Will you get your money back with a higher sale price?
Can you afford the necessary home repairs?
Maybe you got a new job across the country and you need to sell your house quickly. Maybe you inherited a crumbling eyesore from your Great Aunt Bertha and can’t wait to get rid of it. Is it worth it to shell out the money for extensive repairs?
First, consider whether you have the money at hand for repairs in the first place. Is it going to be worth it to put yourself in debt to finance home repairs you can’t really afford? Probably not. But if you have plenty of cash to work with, or can afford even a few minor fixes, you may be able to entice a buyer to submit a more attractive offer.
Once you have a good handle on your financial situation and how fast you need to move, you have a couple of options: do some repairs, or sell as-is.
Fix it Up
If you decide to do some repairs, you don’t necessarily have to go all-out. Depending on the time and budget you have available, you may decide you want to focus on certain things and skip others.
You might choose to spend your time and money on only fundamental home repairs like mold, leaks, or foundation damage. These are likely to make your home significantly more attractive to buy, says RentSmartUSA, as many people will pass upon discovering potentially major problems like these.
You can alternatively decide to focus on cosmetic fixes, which can be achieved more cheaply and will give your home more curb appeal. These might be things like landscaping, painting, or professional cleaning.
You might want to focus on the big-ticket, costly repairs that many buyers may worry about how to afford immediately after buying a home. These would include things like roof replacement, replacing the heating or air conditioning system, or replacing or updating major appliances.
Sell As-Is
It is also a perfectly valid option to sell your home as-is. This may result in a lower selling price than you might have been able to get with significant repairs or refreshes, but if you’re in a hurry or cash-strapped, selling as-is is definitely the most viable option. Sinking a lot of money into a house you’re planning to sell doesn’t always work out to be profitable anyway, and there are plenty of real estate investors and cash buyers such as FL Home Buyers who are willing to pay for an as-is house.
There are some considerable advantages to selling your house this way. Most importantly, you won’t have to come up with money you can’t afford to spend and try to make it back on the sale price. You will also be able to complete the entire process of selling your home much more quickly and relatively hassle-free. You may even be able to skip a house inspection, if the buyer is willing to pay without one.
Even a fixer-upper may be attractive to the right buyer. The lot, location, and floor plan of your home can still be great selling points even if the house itself needs work.