Get Your Listing Ready To Sell: Home Buyers Want A Move In Ready House

Get Your Listing Ready To Sell: Home Buyers Want A Move In Ready House

Invest in getting your listing in tip-top shape to demand a tip-top price. Home buyers want a move in ready house, and will pay handsomely for it.

You can list a home in almost any condition and it will sell in this market, but are you leaving money on the table by not investing a few thousand dollars to net hundreds of thousands more?

This Sierra Madre home was painted, had new carpet and lighting installed. It sold for $205,000 over the list price (20.9% over) and was pending 10 days after listing

Get your home ready to sell. Home buyers don’t want an allowance to repair the roof, replace the carpet, redo the kitchen or repaint. Allowances are for teenagers. They want a well priced home, in a decent location, that they can move right in to without spending another dime.

Its a big fallacy that home buyers want to choose their own carpet or paint colors. If you choose a nice, neutral color carpet and nice neutral color wall paint, most home buyers will see your home as more desirable because it is move-in-ready. They’ll be thrilled they don’t have to worry about picking out carpet and having it installed or find a painter who has time in their schedule. If your home stager can’t help you with this, then you are working with the wrong home stager.

Most home buyers are maxing out their home purchasing budget by making an offer on the nicest home they can possibly afford. They don’t have extra money to paint, install new carpet or retile the bathroom. They want to move in as soon as escrow closes, not after they have to make a lot of repairs to make their new home livable.

It’s amazing how much better this kitchen looks with painted cabinets. $205,000 better!

Here’s what happens when you offer a $5,000 allowance for repairing the roof that should have been replaced 5 years ago:

1. The buyer thinks “What else didn’t they repair that they should have?”
2. The buyer thinks “What structure got damaged by the leaky roof?”
3. The buyer thinks “Is it really going to cost only $5,000 to repair the roof?”
4. The buyer thinks “How much time will it take me to get bids, hire a roofing company & get the work done?”
5. The buyer thinks “What happens if (fill in the disaster: it rains, the contractor absconds with the deposit, a worker falls off the roof)?”
6. The buyer thinks “The seller must be desperate since the house isn’t in good shape.”

Here’s what happens next:

The buyer accepts your offer of $5,000 to repair the roof, and then also knocks off another 10% because they think the house is not in good condition or you are desperate…

~or~

The buyer rejects your house and moves on to the house down the street that is move in ready.

Here’s what happens when you offer a $3,000 allowance for new carpet:

1. The buyer thinks “Will $3,000 really cover new carpet for the whole house?”
2. The buyer thinks “I’m not from around here. Where do I buy new carpet?”
3. The buyer thinks “That house down the street already has new carpet. Why should I take on the added stress of shopping for & installing new carpet?”

Here’s what happens next:

The buyer accepts your offer of $3,000 to buy new carpet, and then also knocks off another 10% because they think your allowance won’t cover all the costs …

~or~

The buyer rejects your house and moves on to the house down the street that is move in ready and already has new carpet installed.

By not repairing and updating your home before you put it on the market, you are asking home buyers to assume risk and additional expenses. You add more stress and uncertainty to the situation. Many home buyers are already investing every penny they can get their hands on in order to purchase a home. They are unable or unwilling to purchase a home that will require repairs before they can move in. Additionally, the condition of your home may effect the appraisal causing the buyer’s lender to refuse the loan.

Want to get your listing sold? Price it right, hire the best full service Realtor you can find, hire a professional home stager and make sure it is in move-in ready condition.

 We can help you get your listing into market ready condition and we can help you select the perfect paint color, lighting or carpet to make your listing look it’s best.  Contact us today for a no-cost, no-obligation home staging estimate.