Selling a home can be difficult enough without extra issues. For example, if you’re trying to sell a distressed house, you’re going to face hurdles that other home sellers don’t have to worry about. However, if your home is in disrepair and you don’t have the money to fix it, it doesn’t mean you can’t sell.
Fortunately, you have several options. Making the right choice, however, comes down to understanding the dos and don’ts of how to sell a distressed house.
We’re here to help. Keep reading for a quick guide on what to do (and what not to do) when selling a home that needs work.
Selling Distressed Property
Do Understand the Condition and Value of Your Home
First, even if you’re not going to invest in updates or repairs, you must understand the current value of your home. We recommend getting an official home inspection and a home appraisal. Then, you can put your home on the market in a suitable price range.
If you list your home for too much money, you’ll likely get interested buyers, but no serious offers. As soon as they see the home’s issues, they’ll scoff at the high price and move on.
Don’t Try to Hide the Home’s Issues
One of the most important tips for selling a distressed house is being completely honest and upfront about the home’s condition. While you might be tempted to hide some of the home’s more unattractive qualities, this can come back to haunt you.
Not only is this tactic dishonest, but it will likely be uncovered. When a potential buyer sees something you tried to hide, it will make them wonder what else you were dishonest about. In most cases, the buyer will cut and run in the other direction, abandoning their interest in your home.
Do Consider Your Options
Next, understand that there are multiple ways to sell a distressed house. As such, knowing your viable options is one of the best tips for selling distressed properties.
For example, you can sell the house traditionally with a realtor and negotiate with buyers to get the home sold. Alternatively, you can sell the house as-is to fix-it-and-flip-it buyers. However, these two options take time and there’s no guarantee you’ll sell.
If selling your house fast is your top priority, we recommend selling to cash home buyers. Most cash home buyers will buy homes in almost any condition.
Just as importantly, they tend to close within one or two weeks. If you’re wondering how to sell a distressed property quickly, this might be your best bet.
Don’t Spend Too Much Money on Repairs and Renovations
Finally, when selling a distressed house, there’s a fine line between making necessary repairs and throwing your money down the toilet. It might be beneficial (or necessary) to make certain repairs and renovations.
These might make the house more appealing or could be required by the buyer’s mortgage lender. However, make sure you don’t invest in renovations in which you won’t get a full return on your investment.
Many homeowners invest in renovations so they can hike up their sale price. Unfortunately, they don’t always get back what they put in.
Are You Trying to Sell a Distressed House?
Are you wondering “How do you sell a distressed house?” If so, we hope our guide of dos and don’ts helps point you in the right direction. At the end of the day, you need to make the decision that’s best for you, your family, and your current situation.
Just don’t forget to consider how your choice will affect you in the future. And if you want more real estate, financial, or consumer advice, check out some of our other articles before you go. Our website is full of valuable information and insight, created for readers like you.
