How To Increase Home Value Before Selling
Learn the tips and tricks to cost-effectively increase your home value and avoid costly mistakes.
Should you renovate or sell as-is?
The traditional way of selling your home typically involves expensive repairs and upgrades. If you've read our guide Selling A House As-Is, you probably agree that there are significant benefits to avoiding repairs and selling in as is condition.
Think like a flipper.
If you could channel the knowledge of a seasoned fix and flip real estate investor, you will increase the value of your home and avoid all-too-common mistakes.
Flippers understand the local market and what similar houses are selling for. They understand the current condition of the property and what it would take to cost effectively achieve their target after repair value (ARV). They understand what their budget needs to be and they are disciplined to avoid exceeding it. Within this budget, they understand the highest ROI options to pursue.
Flippers also know how to keep their labor and materials costs low and maximize the productivity of their labor force. They buy the materials, provide a fair daily rate, and pack as much into the "punch list" as possible.
Less is more.
Most home renovations do not return the amount of money you invest. So it's never a bad idea to avoid significant investment altogether and focus on basic, low cost items that are easy to manage and control.
Here are the things you can do that don't cost a lot but increase your house's value and appeal:
- Professional landscaping: give your house a proverbial haircut (cost: $250 - $500)
- Power wash: get rid of the grime on the siding, exterior tim, deck, fence (cost: $200 - $500)
- Clear out and de-clutter: if you're still living in the house, spend a weekend to throw out junk and organize (cost: Free)
- Deep clean: hire a cleaning service to professionally clean the place (cost: $150)
- Professional photography: get a pro to take 25 high resolution photos that can be touched up (cost: $150)
- Paint the exterior: look for areas of the exterior like doors and trim that may seem worn (cost: $50 - $200)
You certainly don't need to do all of the above touchups, pick and choose and keep your budget as low as possible.
Best practices for selling AS IS:
The key to selling a home AS IS is transparency and clear expectations.
1. Transparency
Your listing should make is clear the property is offered in AS IS condition. We recommend "This property is offered AS IS, the seller will not be making any repairs or providing any post-inspection concessions." You should disclose as much as possible about the property and its known defects. Some as-is sellers go so far as to pay for a home inspection. This is not necessary, OfferMarket transaction data shows it's better to encourage interested buyers to bring a contractor to the showing and/or hire a structural engineer or home inspector to inspect the property before submitting an offer.
2. Expectations
Building on the concept of transparency in an as-is home sale, it is important to set and reinforce clear expectations that you will not be conducting any repairs. This will avoid situations where the buyer is surprised, becomes frustrated and walks away from the transaction.
How does as-is compare?
| Comparison | As Is | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| Listing price point | Attractive | Less attractive |
| Repairs | 0% - 2% | 1% - 10%+ |
| Time to sell | Fast | Slow |
| Hassle | Low | High |
Sell AS IS with OfferMarket.
OfferMarket is an AS IS real estate marketplace. We believe you should be able to sell your home AS IS and receive competitive offers. Our streamlined transaction flow and proprietary listing distribution technology is targets thousands of qualified buyers and makes them compete for your home.
How it works:
Step 1: Create your free listing, set your terms (1 minute)
Step 2: Buyers schedule tours and submit offers (1 - 14 days)
Step 3: Review offers accept or reject, you have no obligation. Buyers on OfferMarket are carefully qualified and expected to close within 30 days of offer acceptance. If you accept an offer, we send our contract to you and the buyer and introduce you to our title company for closing.
Step 4: Close your sale (typically within 30 - 45 days of listing)
Should you sell your house as-is?
A friendly, knowledgeable member of our team would love to speak with you. Give us a call!