The first thing most sellers worry about when trying to sell their house is how to get it sold as quickly as possible. While this can make sense, there are some things you need to look into much more closely.
Sellers often focus too much energy on ways to find a new owner. Less important factors like fixing up the property or improving the surrounding area are sometimes ignored completely.
In this article, we’ll go through several reasons why these assumptions are not only unnecessary, but also expensive and potentially harmful for your business sale. We’ll talk about what you should do instead!
Fixing up a house is usually very cost-effective
Most people assume that making repairs and changes to a house is bad because they want to keep it as close to its original state as possible. However, this isn’t always the case!
Repairing a house can actually be far cheaper than buying a similar looking model from the market. This is due to two main reasons. First, you may be able to pick up certain pieces of furniture or equipment at a discounted price if the seller doesn’t use it anymore.
The doors
Doors are one of the most common things people fix when trying to sell a house fast. They may try painting them, replacing them, or even taking them off completely!
It’s very tempting to make changes that seem “pretty” or “viral marketing-worthy.” After all, you paid less for this house with ugly doors, right?
But before making any investment in your home, you must determine if these doors are important to how well it sells.
And unfortunately, too often sellers assume they aren’t.
Fixing a door is a pretty expensive proposition. A average sized bedroom door can cost around C$150–C$340 alone! Add onto that the costs for supplies like paint and hang brackets and it gets much more expensive quickly.
Sellers also tend to exaggerate the importance of a door when telling potential buyers about their home. Many believe fake hardwood floors are essential selling points, but they’re not.
The roof
While some sellers choose to completely overhaul their homes, this is not advised for every seller. Before deciding whether or not to do so, you should check out if the roof is in good condition. If it isn’t, chances are someone will charge you a lot of money to fix it.
Sellers discover major problems that cost more to fix than the price of the house, when selling it!
There can be many reasons why a homeowner chooses to keep things like broken windows, leaky roofs, or bad gutters instead of selling his or her home. This article will discuss some common issues that affect the value of a house and how to deal with them.
The walls
While some sellers choose to totally gut their house, replacing everything from doors and windows to the brick or plaster interior wall covers is not recommended when selling to investors. This is because investors have large organizations like Apple or Microsoft whom rent these houses for their employees. This can save sellers a ton of money and time!
If you’re looking to make profit off of your home, this isn’t the best way to do it. Rather than investing in expensive renovations that most likely won’t be needed after a property is sold.
Another option is putting up For Sale signs and listing your house via Realtor.ca, both of which can be done from anywhere with internet access. Many people start their journey as real estate agents, and then later transition into being their own landlords.
The kitchen
Before you list your house, make sure your kitchen is clean and organized! This seems like a no-brainer, but so many people drop the ball here.
When an investor comes into your home, they will spend a lot of time in the kitchen because it’s usually the first room that most people check out when looking at a house.
But what if something isn’t quite right? Something that could potentially scare away potential buyers.
A dirty or cluttered kitchen may not be a good sign for future homeowners. Or perhaps for investors who hope to pick up some deals!
Fixing the issues in the kitchen can be a pretty easy way to increase the sale price of your house.
The bathroom
This is one of the most common things that sellers try to fix when trying to sell their house to an investor. They spend hours in the shower, bath or both taking very good care of themselves. Their hair is done, they shave every day, they make sure their skin is well-protected– but they are still very uncomfortable in those settings.
This feeling comes from something we all experience at some time in our lives – fear.
When you’re scared there can be many reasons why. Sometimes it’s because you’ve never been somewhere before so you’re nervous about going outside your home base. Sometimes it’s because you don’t know what to expect and fear getting bad news.
But sometimes it’s just because you’re not comfortable in your own mind.
The electrical
This is one of the biggest things that people will look at when buying a house whether an investor or not. Most people assume that if you have to ask how to do something, then you don’t know what you are doing!
However, being able to install your own lighting system is pretty easy and can save you money in the long run. By adding some light bulbs to indicate dusk and dawn, as well as basic task lights, you will eliminate expensive utility bills.
You should definitely be able to turn on each lamp by yourself, and even turn off each light properly. If you need help, there are many resources available to teach you these basics.
Once you have those down, you can pick up any number of low-cost light bulb types anywhere shopping centers, warehouses, Home Depot, Rona etc. depend on supply for their business.
The plumbing
While it’s tempting to make major repairs like replacing your home’s water heater or installing new pipes, don’t!
Many house sellers try to fix old plumbing themselves, but there are few licensed plumbers in each area. If you can’t find one anywhere, go with what you know instead of trying to learn something new.
You could end up making things worse by attempting fixes that work for people who have similar plumbing systems as yours.
Fixing your home’s plumbing is expensive, which is why most people hire professionals to do it. Although there are ways to save money selling your house, fixing the plumbing isn’t one of them.
The HVAC
After you have soldered down your listing, market, and pricing, your next major seller will be your house’s heating and cooling system. While it is true that buying a house with an old furnace can sometimes seem like a good deal, this isn’t typically the case unless you know what you are getting into!
Most people don’t realize how much energy a typical gas-powered home uses to stay warm or cool. A lot of wasted heat comes from the compressor in the air conditioning unit, as well as the engine running to power the refrigeration cycle.
By replacing your current HVAC unit with a more efficient one, you can save quite a bit of money in monthly utility bills. It will also help mitigate some of the harmful emissions associated with using fossil fuels, not only for the electricity used by the units but the greenhouse gases they produce.
There are many different types of air conditioners out there, so choosing one that is right for your home won’t be very difficult.
If you are interested in learning more your options for selling your home in Surrey, call us at Let’s Talk: +1 (778) 744-4277 or fill out the form on this page to get more information sent to you right away.