The key to making a good decision when selling a home in poor condition boils down to determining what shape your home is in and whether it's better to put time, money, and energy into making repairs or just sell it in its current condition as is.
Before you sell a home in poor condition, you have an important decision to make: are you going to make repairs or sell as is?
Committing the time and money to improving your home before you sell could net you a higher price and a quicker sale. However, there's also a chance that you won't recoup your investment.
Not everyone has thousands of dollars lying around to make costly and extensive repairs and upgrades. Fortunately, there are several things a seller can do to make a house in poor condition more appealing to prospective buyers:
A comparative market analysis (CMA) is used to estimate the value of a home by comparing it to similar houses that have recently sold in the same area or neighborhood. Even if a house is in poor condition, it may still sell for a decent price depending on the neighborhood or if the area has a good mixture of as-is, partially remodeled, and fully renovated homes.
Many owners with homes in need of repairs go the traditional route by listing with a real estate agent and putting the home on the MLS. However, there are some other options for selling a house in poor condition that could be beneficial:
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Because a lot of these issues are cosmetic, professional presentation and artful staging can make all the difference when it comes to wooing buyers and home inspectors. Get in touch with a full-service real estate agent if you want to know more about staging a house in poor condition.
Once a buyer makes an offer, the results of the pre-purchase house inspection may precipitate negotiations about the repairs. Alternatively, the buyer may leverage the condition of your home to request a discount on the agreed price.
Consider using an agent matching service, which pre-screens and matches you to local realtors after first learning about your needs as a seller, to save time. You can request to work with a realtor who has experience selling homes in poor condition, for example.
This topic is more complicated than it might sound, because "poor condition" is really a spectrum rather than a set description. Additionally, other factors like the real estate market and your location can impact what it means for you to sell a house in bad condition.
When people use the term "bad condition", they can mean a wide variety of things. There is a spectrum between homes that are uninhabitable and homes that are structurally sound but desperately in need of updates. Let's take a look at the different places your house might fall on the spectrum to help you understand how your house measures up.
All of these issues create a scenario where it is dangerous for someone to live in the home. Whether the uninhabitable conditions were caused by storm damage, careless renters, neglect, or something else, selling a house in poor condition can entail a different process than selling a home that is habitable.
The next spot on the spectrum is when a house is habitable but has a number of repair issues and flaws. A home inspector might deem a house of this sort to be in "fair condition" rather than "poor condition".
Lastly, some houses might be structurally fine but there are some issues with deferred maintenance or the need for general repairs. A home inspector might find a house in this condition to be either "fair" or "good". However, some buyers and their agents might still claim a house of this sort is in poor condition.
As you can see, many of these issues are much more minor than with other homes on the spectrum of poor condition. These are more superficial repairs that might be worth making before putting your house on the market.
When you are selling a house in poor condition, you have a number of different options. Depending on whether the problem is more superficial or more severe, you will have to decide how much you want to invest in the property before trying to sell it.
When a house is in uninhabitable condition, you likely won't be able to sell it to a traditional homebuyer. This is because even if you found a buyer for your home, they will likely struggle to get financing for a house with significant structural or other major issues.
This doesn't mean that you cannot sell your house, however. If you have a house in bad condition and are not interested in or able to make the necessary expensive repairs, you might think about selling your house as-is to a real estate investor.
If you are in a real bind and need to sell your house fast, this is probably the way to go. Some home buying companies claim that the closing on your property can happen in as little as seven days. Typically, they will give you a no-obligation cash offer that you can choose to accept or deny.
Secondly, there are a lot of scams out there when it comes to buying houses for cash. It's important to do your research and look into companies before you sign any paperwork. You should never have to give one of these companies any money, even if it seems like a nominal amount.
Look around online for other people's experiences with real estate investors and home buying companies. Ask your friends and family that have sold their house as-is how their experience was with the investor they worked with.
Each property is different and what makes sense for your home before you sell it is going to depend on a number of different factors. That being said, here are some general tips to help sell a house in any condition.
Depending on the condition of your house and your sales price, it can be more or less reasonable to hire a real estate photographer. However, more often than not, having professional real estate photos taken of your property can help to ensure that your house is presented in the best possible light and garners as much interest as possible.
Lastly, if you're selling a house in bad condition or even fair condition, sometimes you just have to be patient. If your home isn't exactly move-in ready then it simply might take a little longer to find an interested buyer. Your real estate agent will probably discuss with you coming up with a timeline for reducing the price if you haven't gotten any bites after a certain period of time.
Selling a home in bad condition is totally possible, but it means making some decisions about whether you want to improve the condition of the house before selling it or let a buyer or investor take care of the necessary repairs. In order to help determine your course of action, you'll want to take the real estate market, your location, and your own personal circumstances and desires in mind.
This is a question virtually every seller of a house in less than perfect condition struggles with. The answer depends on several variables unique to your particular house as well as the local market.
By now you have a detailed understanding of what the condition of your house and its systems are in, the degree of damage or repair needed, and what is helping similar homes in your neighborhood sell for top dollar (even those needing some TLC).
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In some cases, selling your house right now might not make the most sense. This is especially true for those of you with houses in poorer condition. Generally speaking, the overall condition of a home is less important to a renter than a buyer. Renters, for example, often care more about surface level appearances and functionality, vs. say, a degrading roof or other major repairs that may need to be considered in the coming years.
Selling a house in poor condition can be a challenge, but with the right information and preparation, successfully unloading your property can be a rewarding experience. Knowing how to list, market, and prepare your home for sale, as well as what repairs need to be done and what can wait, will help set you up for success. By following the tips in this guide, your home will be well-positioned to gain the right attraction from the right buyers in your local market, helping you close the deal and move on to the next stage in your life.
Keep in mind your own objectives as a seller. Are you looking to get the most money possible? To get the house off your hands as soon as possible? Be cognizant, though, that buyers will have their own objectives, and buying a house in as-is condition might not be one of them. Familiarize yourself fully with the problems from which the property suffers and the cost and nature of the repairs those problems require. This will allow you to anticipate potential objections from buyers.
Selling a house is never easy, and selling a house that is in poor shape increases exponentially the number of problems and challenges that you will face. Be prepared to encounter some of the following problems that are particular to selling properties in disrepair:
There are some repairs that can be done to a house to help it sell and that are relatively quick, cheap, and easy. Often these are fixes that owners can make themselves, or even simply cleaning, replacing broken windows, repainting, changing carpets, and so forth. But other problems go beyond mere do-it-yourself projects and require contracting with licensed, insured professionals. The following are some of the more substantial problems that indicate that a house is suffering from poor conditions:
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