Selling Your Home As-Is? We Have a Strategy for That.

Truth: I still have green countertops.  I, like many other empty-nesters pondering what’s next, must consider what I am willing to do to update my home to meet today’s market standards.  With the launch of Stetson Concierge, Stetson Real Estate is committing our expertise and resources to those clients ready and willing to tackle the to-do list to get their home ready to meet today’s market standards.  But I also understand that for a variety of reasons, that is not every buyer.

Not everyone is in the position to invest the time, money, and mental expense to make things perfect for a buyer.  While taking that path can yield many positives, there are some pain points.

1. It is incredibly distracting to have work done on your own.  If you run a business out of your home, take care of an elderly or sick family member, etc., or really, for anyone--it is hard having parts of your home in upheaval, with different people working for in the home.  I’ve had a seller who did not want to create the distraction to create something that is not from her. I found that to be a very valid point.
2. Whether you pay up from or after closing, you will incur an expense.  My own renovation of my childrens suite was 2 months of work and $29K.  Two bedrooms, lounge, bathroom. Nagging leak, bring in the painter, decorator for colors, shopping for furniture, getting it delivered.  The painters were in the house for 2.5 weeks. Very distracting. Just a small quadrant of the home.
3. It’s a major upheaval.  This happens after decluttering, which can be time consuming, emotional, some people can’t make that executive decision of should I keep this or not? Takes time. Trust me someone can’t come in and do that for you.  You are going to be involved. Domino effect to undergoing these types of changes. need lead time when it comes to unpacking a house that they lived in for 20 years.
4. It can be time consuming.  Before taking on this type of project, you must ask yourself how much time you’re willing to dedicate.  One month? Eight months? I’ve seen it run the gamut.

But there can be a major flipside to all of this. Sometimes, it might be better to go in and let the new buyers bring in their own style into your fabulous-yet-outdated-home.  “The great white out” as I like to call it (white kitchen, white bathroom, white walls… you get the picture!) tends to go in generic, whereas a fabulous home with incredible craftsmanship, a great layout, stellar location, and a great lot might be underserved with a run-of-the-mill facelift.  Some homes are simply done a disservice.

If you’re ready to sell and not yet ready to take on the great home white out, we have a proven strategy in place for you.  Your agent should understand how to sell your home.

1. Declutter and decorate around the outdated.
2. Don’t sell on photos.  Pictures on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com etc. give a blink factor that a home simply can’t get back. Buyers won’t see past the old furnishings once those images are out there.  I prefer to private list these properties, and only put the curb appeal on the internet: the front of the house and the floor plan. If the home features interesting architectural details, those could also be featured.  Today’s buyers are making a choice on the photos, and a savvy agent needs to work within that reality.
3. Write a glowing description.  The description should praise a home for its strengths.  If a home was tastefully done at the time it was decorated, let’s say it.  We’ll highlight the layout, floorplan, quality of craftsmanship, and the functionality.  We’ll market the home to sell on location and layout instead of location and look.  
4. Get buyers in the door.   A good buyer’s agent would be coaching their customers to see homes like this in real time.  No photos, no matter the quality, can capture a home’s feel. That needs to be experienced. When it comes to getting buyers in the door, we’ll do the standard open houses, but we aren’t afraid to think outside the box.   
5. Become certified pre-owned home.  Anything that would come up in an inspection would be fixed.