This is a common response I get from homeowners who really want to sell, but for some reason think that in order to get your house listed with an agent, it needs to be repaired.

Being someone that has bought and sold houses that needed everything, I think that it isn’t worth it to put the time and money in repairs to possibly get incrementally more money. If you’re selling your grandma’s house that hasn’t been updated in decades:

a) Clear the clutter. Get the house cleaned, make the house look its best WITHOUT the repairs, allowing the buyer to see the house for what it is.

b) Get good comps of move-in ready houses that sold in the area, on a similar block, in a similar area, and same school district.

c) Can you expect someone to buy your house and live in it in the condition that it’s in?  If it needs new electric, has super outdated bathrooms and an unusable kitchen, you can’t expect a homeowner to live there- unless they are willing to do the work.  You are likely looking at an investor who will buy it and fix it.  If that’s the case, you not only have to consider the amount of work that it will take to fix your house, but also the costs that the investor will take on, to do the work AND CLEAR A PROFIT. Whether or homeowner or investor buys the house, you need to consider the time/expense they are taking on by buying something that isn’t move in ready.

For example, if brand new rehabbed homes in your area sell for $350,000 and your house needs everything, let’s just say that costs $125k to fix, just for repairs.  You can’t expect anyone to pay $225k for your house just because that’s what a repair estimate is.   You’ll need to consider what will make your property worth while for the buyer.  The homeowner will pay more, because they don’t have to factor in a profit to sell the house like an investor would.  But you still need to consider the costs that either the homeowner or investor would take on.

Lastly, many times I have people come to me with an appraisal, set on thinking that is what they can sell their house for.  Just like there are good real estate agents and bad ones, there are good real estate appraisers and bad ones as well.  I’ve seen appraisals where the subject property was in completely different condition than a property that was included in an appraisal.  I’ve also seen appraisals where the house that was included in the appraisal was something that sold over 6 months ago.  Don’t let an appraisal be the end-all be all deciding factor of what your house should be listed at.  If the area where your house is listed in doesn’t have properties that recently sold (within 3 months, no more than 6 months), then consider what is currently listed for the same price range and go from there.

Do you or someone you know have some hesitations on listing their house because of its condition?  Don’t.  As long as the house is priced right, it should sell.  As someone who has bought and sold houses for both myself and for my clients that needed tons of work, I have a good understanding of what buyers will pay for a place- both homeowners and investors. Before putting in the time and money to make those repairs, reach out to me.  It may be worth it to put a fraction of the time and money to get your house listed and sold!

If you are looking to sell your house- whether you’re an investor that just put in tons of money and rehabbed a house or someone looking to sell your owner occupied property, please don’t be fooled by numbers on Zillow, or agents who are just looking to get your house listed at whatever price sounds good to you so that you’ll list it with them.

a) Zillow’s information is based on public record and takes an average of houses that sold within a given area, not considering the condition.  A house that has similar square footage, that was just rehabbed and has a finished basement does not compare to a house that has been lived in for 10+ years.  Additionally, location drives the price of a house and we all know that many times values of homes vary from block to block.   A house on a wide tree lined street with parking on both sides, does not compare to a house on a narrow one way street with parking on 1 side.  Think about this. If you were a buyer, would you pay the same price for a house that needs work and on a not so appealing block vs. a house that didn’t need work, was move-in ready and on a street that was easy to find parking? No. So don’t expect to list your house for the same price as a rehabbed house and get it sold.

b)  Yes, there are agents who will tell you that they can sell your house for the price you want to sell it for, with no rhyme or reason for pricing, just to get your listing!  Why?  Because the MLS is a great way to market your property while also marketing for their own business.  Not saying that agents who have lots of listings are only doing it so they can market their own business.  Just saying that there are agents who will say that they can sell your house for the price that you want, without truly understanding how to get the pricing of your house right so that it will sell quickly.

As someone who is selling your house on your behalf, it is an agent’s job to get your house sold quickly and for the best price.  Additionally, not all agents that have had listings that sat on the market before they sold, are bad agents.  There are varying factors that effect the time in which a house can sell.  One of them being its ability to be shown.  If a house is priced right, it will sit longer than expected if it isn’t easily shown or if it doesn’t show well.

There are a multitude of factors that dictate what will make a house sell, so the key is to understand the buyers in your market and what they are looking for. If you’re in a city, looking at homes within .1-.25 mile should give you a good base.

• when meeting with your agent- (hopefully that’s me!) they should provide this to you- active, settled and pending. If not, ask for it.
• take a look at how long it took those houses to sell
• check out the block in which those houses are located
• consider how your house is different and how much more/less you would pay. Be realistic.  Would you pay $20,000 more for a house that had an extra 1/2 bath?  Probably not.  How about for a garage? Depends where.  Again, be realistic and look at the sale of your home from the buyer’s perspective, comparing your house to what has sold and what’s on the market.

If you’re in the Philadelphia or Main Line area and are looking to sell in the near future, let’s connect. I’d be happy to share info with you that will get your house sold quickly!

So this is a story that needs to be documented as quite possibly the deal from hell. It will probably be quite a long post, but here it is.

Back in 2013, I was referred to someone who wanted to sell her deceased father’s property, she was the Executrix.  The seller claimed that her stepmom may be residing in the property, but she was unsure whether or not she was actually there because she claimed that her stepmom was on drugs.  I did some due diligence to see if there was someone in the property.  I drove by at night, checked on trash day to see if the trash was put out and sent a letter asking to be contacted. Long story short, I purchased a possibly occupied property in an area that I knew was turning around in March 2014.  I obviously would not have taken this risk if the price wasn’t right. I took a leap of faith and trusted my gut that this was something worth pursuing and… did a lot of praying. I found an investor who trusted my intuition on the deal and backed me up by funding the purchase.  I did my due diligence to ensure that if there was someone in the property and they did fight me on gaining possession, that my chances of gaining possession may take long, but were in my favor.

Well… when I purchased the property, my investor and I didn’t think that it would take this long to have the property. And technically, I still don’t.  I need to wait until the occupant is actually out of the property, which could take another 90 days. BUT after 2 years of being in court with someone who swore she had rights to the property even though she made no effort to file a claim against the estate, did not file a will stating that she had rights to the property… basically did nothing for 6 years AND stole electricity from her next door neighbor, we won.  I got to the point where I almost gave up and was going to cut my losses just so I could move on.  I prayed a lot because it was really wearing me down and decided that whatever the outcome was, good or bad, that there was a lesson to be learned and that I would be fine with whatever God had planned for me.  There was so much that I could control and what I couldn’t, I left in His hands.  I’m so thankful and humbled because it took a lot of work, patience and trust. It was quite the roller coaster of emotions which I’ll detail in another post, but l’m so thankful we can finally move on from this!

It only took 6 months (I’m being sarcastic!) but I closed my first deal as an agent.  I received the referral from a good friend of mine. I was hesitant to take on the listing because the 2 properties next door were boarded up and vacant.  Just a few tips for anyone looking to rehab:

•  If you’re working on your first rehab, don’t be a pioneer in an iffy neighborhood.  Ideally, if you’re going to be the first rehab to hopefully turn around a neighborhood,  make sure there are similar sold properties in the IMMEDIATE neighborhood first.  The definition of immediate neighborhood can vary from place to place.  It’s up to you to understand where neighborhoods cut off to ensure you have the right comparables in order to price your property correctly, right out the gate.
• For something you plan to flip in the short term, don’t buy next to a vacant property OR if you plan to buy next to a vacant property, lower your anticipated sales price to entice your buyer.  If there are 2 completely renovated properties on the market priced exactly the same and one is next to a vacant boarded up property, would you make an offer on the one next to a vacant house? Probably not. BUT if that same house was $20,000 cheaper, do you think you would consider taking that risk for $20,000 less?  Maybe, maybe not.  But at least now you are making your property stand out by being priced lower.
• Rehab your property with the end buyer in mind.  High end finishes can sometimes be a waste of money, when it isn’t necessary for a particular market.  Again, this is about understanding what has sold in your immediate market.  If other properties are/are not doing things to their rehabs, keep the money in your pocket and deliver a product that is similar to what’s available, but stands out as well.

Happy rehabbing!