Testing My Real Estate Theory - First Things

Once Mike and I decided to move, we sat down to make sure the move from our  would be financially viable.  We took into account closing costs, taxes, additional selling fees, title V fees, moving costs, building in some buffer to account for the unexpected and so on.  Once we felt comfortable with the rough numbers, we then made the list of repairs we needed to make to our current Boston North West home to make it more sellable. 

The list included refinishing our basement, new heating system, new water heater, new picture window and paint and trim touch ups throughout the house.  We enlisted the assistance of a contractor to help get some of the items taken care of.  Mike was on board with all of these activities with the exception of the picture window.  This is my first example of the actual cost vs. the buyers cost.   Let me explain.

When a buyer goes through a house, they go through the home to see if they can picture themselves living in the space.  Once they have determined it might be the home for them, they are then going to go through your Boston home even more thoroughly.  The quote we received for our picture window was $5,500, which is the actual cost.  However, when the buyer sees that the window needs to be replaced, they imagine the window will cost them $10,000 to fix.  When they go forward with their offer, they will take into account that the window will cost them at least $10,000 to fix, even if you have a quote to show them.  On the other hand, if you remediate as many issues prior to listing your Boston area home and take them off the negotiation table, you don't overwhelm the buyers with items that need to be done.  You, in turn, will receive a more realistic offer in line with your asking price.

It was interesting to have this conversation with Mike, since I have this conversation with just about 75%+ of all the sellers I work with.  It is difficult to put money into your house if your goal is to sell it soon.  Your house is one of your greatest investments.  It is generally worth proactively investing in your Boston North West house before you put it on the market because you will see a bigger return when the offers come in.  You do need to be careful with your decisions.  You don't want to (legally cannot) hide anything from the buyers.  If you have a leak, fix it...don't patch it.  Kilz is great to cover over old water stains after the problem has been fixed, but it won't cover an active one, nor should it.

Tune in tomorrow for more of my journey...

Heather Plate, your source for Boston North West real estate

Read my other posts in the "Testing My Real Estate Theory" series:
Testing My Real Estate Theory - Setting the Stage