Pricing your home when placing your property on the market carries many choices. Should I sell my home as is? Or should I fix up my home to get more money out of it? Depending on the current condition of your home and the circumstances surrounding your reason for selling, there can be a number of factors to consider. If the current condition of your home is not perfect and you really need to move, the question becomes a matter of what you are willing to trade-off. You will need to determine your resources, flexibility, and costs when you consider, "do I fix up my home?" or "do I sell my home as is?"
Typically speaking, agreeing to sell your home "as is" means the buyer agrees to accept the current condition of the property and will not contest or try to negotiate for the seller to make any repairs to the home before closing. Usually selling your home as is means you are compromising on the price of the home. There can be benefits and drawbacks to this approach.
When should you sell your home as is?
If time and money up-front are factors for the seller, then selling the home as-is can skip the expense and hassle of making costly repairs to a home before it is sold. Making repairs on a property, depending on whether those repairs are minor or major, can be time-consuming and stressful. Agreeing to "as is" means you can bypass lengthy concessions over the preferences of the buyer. If you want to be rid of the home and move on quickly, selling it "as is" can be the fastest option. This can also be beneficial for people who have inherited property in very poor condition and lack the means to invest in it.
Who buys a home as is?
Both individual buyers and investment companies buy homes "as is." Flippers often make a living off of buying a home at low cost, fixing it up themselves or through trusted contractors, and then turning it over to the market to sell again at a higher cost for profit. Depending on the extent of repairs needed on the home, flippers, cash-buy companies, and buy-and-hold investors can all see a profitable opportunity on a home marketed "sold as is." It can also be an attractive option to someone with a lower income who does not have a large investment for homeownership but does not mind living in a home while they slowly fix it up over time.
Benefits of fixing up your home
If you have the time and ability to fix up your home before putting it on the market, you will reap the profits yourself instead of passing the profits onto your buyer. You will also attract more buyers because the better condition your home is in, the broader the spectrum of home lenders will be. To qualify for traditional mortgage lending, homes have to be in good enough condition to meet evaluation standards. This means your home will have to be inhabitable and structurally sound during the appraisal process, otherwise, the buyer will need to use alternate sources of financing. Deciding to fix it up yourself will open doors to more potential buyers.
What should you fix up before selling your home?
Major repairs such as a new roof or heating/cooling systems are a lot higher of an investment than minor repairs such as fresh paint or landscape touches. Considerations should be made to which repairs will bring back a return. This depends on the current condition of the home as well as the typical standards of the local housing market. Not all repairs require a high payout. A massive kitchen remodels, for instance, may not be within the scope of what buyers in the area can afford. Whereas, fresh paint on a front patio can often bring the needed curb appeal to send offers in. Sometimes adding a second bath or a legal window to a potential bedroom space can transform the marketability of your home.
Making the decision to sell as is or fix it up
Ask the experts. Not all sellers can recoup the costs of upgrades made when they fix up their home themselves versus selling their home as is. You should consult with a local New Mexico realtor to discuss the full advantages and disadvantages in your area. A trusted, professional realtor from The Bigelow Team can expertly understand and assess the costs and returns of repairs for marketing your home.
