iTexas Realty Co. Blog: Monday's Child is Fair of Face

My mom, is a former second-grade teacher.  This small fact means that I have been subjected to more rhymes, prose, haiku - you name it! 

Although there is a lot of nonsense to those nursery rhymes; if you are selling your home, whether or not it was just built on Monday, it had better be "fair of face"!

Too often, Sellers are caught up in misguided thinking that Buyers will simply take the home "as it is" and "make their own changes".  Here in San Antonio, Texas, that thinking doesn't lead Buyers making offers.  Fixer-upper simply has no appeal and

If it's not move-in ready - they don't want to move in!

Additionally, if the Buyer has to paint and carpet, they will have to do that out of pocket, or apply for a 203(k) loan with FHA, that can allow for those repairs/updating - but a different loan is going to take longer (you want to have a longer close, right?), and

No Buyer wants to go out of pocket - especially for things  they feel the Seller should have already done.

Assuming that Buyers could get the loan for that repair/updating:  Do you think that Buyers want to spend their time choosing new paint colors or carpeting?  They do not.  Steve and I even carry a set of samples (paint, carpet and flooring), in the car because Buyers are overwhelmed by having to make those types of choices and need to see a product and a price.  Even then, we can rarely get them to commit to the purchase if they have to update. 

Buyers just don't want to do the work.

If a Buyer DID want to to spend a bit of money doing a bit of repair/updating, they would find themselves without much competition when negotiating for most less-than-perfect properties. Rarely are those homes in multiple offer situations - yes, those can still happen.

Multiple offers because your home is in demand?

Better offers - Faster sale?

Call me to talk about how to stack the (freshly stained), deck in your favor!

--Sara