2013 Recommended Work Before Selling

ERA Justin Realtor salesperson Denise Leonessa shares valuable information for 2013 sellers about to put their home on the market. Denise, coming from a salesperson position from another area brokerage is active with buyers and sellers at ERA Justin Realty.

 

ERA Justin's Denise Leonessa Reports On 2013 Recommended Work Before Selling

Sellers often order pre-sale inspection reports. This inevitably raises the question of how much, if any, of the recommended work should be done before selling.  Ideally, any defect that would be hazardous to agents and buyers who preview the property during the sale process should be corrected. An example is a trip hazard that might cause someone to fall. In addition, to maximize your return from the sale, you should repair defects that adversely affect how the property looks.

Denise Leonessa, an ERA Justin Realtor salesperson who transferred from her position at Prudential Professionals  says, “First impressions are important. So, if the fence or entry porch is deteriorating and look shabby, repair them. If the exterior paint is peeling, repaint. You get positive results when you repair a defect and improve appearance by doing so.  For example, let's say that the wood pest (also known as termite) inspector finds damage under the linoleum in a bathroom. If the linoleum is worn and outdated, you'll do better on the sale if you replace the floor covering with a new, trendier one. In the course of doing this the damage can be repaired. The result is that the house shows better and a defect is eliminated--two benefits for the price of one.

You certainly can't be expected to rebuild your home in order to sell it. Nor is this a sensible thing to do economically. As an example, take a house that had a deck that looked okay but wasn't safe. There was extensive damage scattered throughout the deck. The only way to repair the deck was to replace it. It would be difficult to get the job done in the timeframe in which the seller wanted to sell.  The deck was old and no longer met current code requirements. It would have had to be redesigned. So the seller decided to leave the deck as it was and disclose that the deck needed to be replaced. The future owners could have the new deck designed to meet their needs at a later date.

When structural elements are in need of repair and you haven't the time or money to repair them, it's a good idea to get repair estimates and make these estimates available to prospective buyers before they make an offer. This way, you're in control of the process and can find reliable contractors or engineers who will give you reasonable and not exorbitant estimates.

It can be unsettling to a buyer to discover that the roof is in poor condition or the foundation needs work. Most buyers will have no idea how much it will cost to make repairs. Fear of the unknown makes people anxious, which isn't a good frame of mind for someone who's trying to decide whether to buy your home.

As reported in Inman News, a pre-sale home inspector of an Oakland, Calif., home recommended that an engineer be consulted about a foundation that had settled. The seller hired an engineer who made a proposal for the repair. The cost was $20,000--not an insignificant number. But, it wasn't $40,000 or $50,000 as an inexperienced buyer might imagine.  If you choose not to make major repairs before selling, this should be reflected in your list price, especially if you have competition from other sellers.

Leonessa concluded, “Your trusted name in real estate since 1950, ERA Justin Realty lives by the words, 'There is a difference in real estate companies.'  Because of our daily priorities, we proudly received the prestigious ERA world-wide ‘Commitment to Excellence Award’, one of 14 premier ERA real estate firms from nearly 2,600 ERA offices. For these reasons ERA Justin Realty should be your buying and selling Realtor of choice.” 

All of the ERA Justin Realty full service sales professionals can be reached at either of their two Rutherford offices at 118 Jackson Avenue and 57 Park Avenue.  By office phone (201) 939-7500, (201) 438-0588 or (201) 438-SOLD.  Additional cutting-edge real estate technology information awaits you at www.ERAJustin.com and www.ERAJustinRealty.com.