If you are selling a home that needs repairs, I would urge you to be honest and upfront to potential buyers about any fixes that need to be done. No home is perfect, and it is okay to recognize your home may have faults. For example, if you know your roof is due for a replacement or your basement floods every time it rains, it’s important to communicate this information. Especially if you are selling a home near Lake George, NY, many prospective buyers are willing to sacrifice a perfect home for one built in the location they want to live.
Being honest about the fact you are selling a home that needs repairs can be stressful, but honesty is truly the best option.
Answering Tough Questions From Potential Home Buyers
To some home sellers, there is nothing scarier than the thought of answering questions from a potential buyer. If a potential buyer is asking questions about your home, that means they are considering buying it. This fact is both exciting and stressful. You may fear scaring buyers off by telling them an answer they don’t like. I often find many home sellers feel pressured to fib about some of the issues within their home, and I caution them otherwise.
Be Upfront About The Home Repairs Needed
Even if you are selling a home that needs repairs, the simple solution is to be honest. There’s a good chance the buyer (or their agent) already knows about any problems. If they don’t, they may seek an outside source for an opinion (i.e., home inspector, neighbors). Especially if the buyer is truly interested, they will do more research and perform a closer inspection of the home.
A simple lie could lead to the buyer backing out of the sale. Once trust is broken, a potential buyer will consider buying a home from you too much of a risk. Alternatively, if the home sale is already finalized, they may be able to take legal action against you. When you’re selling a home that needs repairs, a lie is not worth the risk.
A Buyer Will Not Expect a Perfect Lake George Home
A potential buyer will explore many homes around the Lake George Region, and all of them will be imperfect. When they walk through a home during an open house, they understand minor repairs will need attention. Unless they buy a new home, they expect to do some work and to customize a home according to their preferences.
It’s important to note, the other homes potential buyers have seen will have comparable issues to your property. So while I do recommend you do your best to fix your home up and stage it for buyers, it is understandable that not everything can be addressed due to available resources (whether it’s time, skill, money, or a combination of them). If you are selling a home that needs repairs, you can still make your house look attractive without fixing major issues.
What Should You Do If There is a Major Issue (or Issues) with Your Home?
If it is a major issue that may impact the livability of a home (i.e., the roof leaks or the basement floods), hopefully you can address the issue before the home is sold. Then, if a home buyer asks about it, you can let them know that there was once an issue, but it was fixed.
However, sometimes fixing the issue is outside of your control, and you must sell a home that needs repairs. In these cases, I would recommend speaking with a local real estate agent for more insight. Depending on your property’s particular issue, a different course of action may be necessary. For example, I might urge you to fix some issues while leaving others for the next property owner. If a problem will rapidly escalate and cause additional damage, it might be best to get it handled sooner rather than later.
Additionally, there may be issues you are not aware of. For example, not everyone checks their attic every other month for potential mold growth. Likewise, you probably haven’t measured the Radon level of your basement to know if it is high or not. These would be items for the home owner and their home inspector to find out.
Discussing Maintenance, Repairs & Upkeep with Buyers
If a buyer asks questions regarding timeframes (i.e., when was the last time the septic was pumped, the roof was replaced, the driveway was sealed), they most likely understand that they will have to budget for these items, so they aren’t expecting an answer of ‘just last week’. They want to get a better feel for what their monthly or annual expenditures would be if they purchased the home.
On a similar note, they may also ask about average energy bills. If you are willing to give them an answer, be honest. But you don’t have to give them an answer (although it may look like you are hiding something if you are not willing to do so). In reality, energy bills typically do not scare people away, as the bills tend to be closely associated with the size of a home in a particular area. So if they think your bill is too high, they probably will be looking for a smaller home if they plan to continue looking in the Lake George, NY region.
A Real Estate Agent Will Make It Easier to Sell Your Imperfect Home
If you plan on selling a home that needs repairs, it is best to have the assistance and guidance of a real estate agent. That way your home will sell faster, and you can avoid any unexpected complications with the sale. For properties in the Lake George Region, I would be happy to discuss your home’s situation with you. Together, we can develop a plan to get your home sold! Get in touch today for a customized plan tailored to your needs.
