If you’re going to sell a house in Gainesville, even one that’s a real fixer-upper, you need to understand how the housing market works in cases of houses that require a lot of renovations.
Most homeowners looking to sell a property like this will make the mistake of thinking that they need to invest a ton of money in the house for repairs before it can go on the market. This is not only untrue, but many market advisors warn against it.
Avoid wasted renovations
The reason is that people looking to buy a house like that in Gainesville and elsewhere are looking to buy a fixer-upper on purpose. They probably have a dream home in mind that they can’t afford to have built from the ground up, so they want to turn a house in need of repairs into that home with a little time and money and lots of love.
What does this mean for you? It means that all the money you put into this house to make it look better is probably a waste. Companies that buy homes like that aren’t looking for new carpets next to shabby walls. They’re looking for houses to sell to people who want to choose for themselves whether they want carpets or not.
With this knowledge, the money you put into those renovations isn’t going to make your fixer-upper more attractive to real estate companies or prospective buyers. They’re looking for a house they can imprint on.
What to fix instead
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the house look good! There’s a lot of work to be done preparing a home like that for going onto the open market. The work just shouldn’t rely on aesthetic renovations.
Instead, make sure the house has working essentials. Invest in fixing all the doors, stairs, and windows. Make sure there’s no hardware exposed like wires or plumbing. Don’t buy expensive new lighting fixtures that your buyers will just replace anyway, but don’t leave the house looking like a health hazard, either.
Cleaning up the front, side, and back of the house goes a long way too. Maybe the house needs to be landscaped, but that doesn’t mean it should give off the impression that its previous owners didn’t care about it.
Regardless of how much or little time this kind of cleanup takes, a prospective buyer is not going to look forward to doing it themselves. That’s a little effort that goes a long way to getting this house on the market and ready to sell.
The Takeaway
No matter the house’s condition, contact Grid Home Buyers at 352-283-4267 for appraisals of houses in Gainesville. They’ll pay cash to put it up on the market so long as you know who you’re selling to, what the market is like now and what it’s looking for, and how to make a house look ready to be sold. Remember, with fixer-uppers, you’re not selling someone’s dream home – you’re selling them the chance to make it for themselves.