ERA Justin Reports On 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 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.

Michelle Korosy, an ERA Justin Realtor said, “First impressions are important. So, if the fence or porch portions are rotted and look shabby, you might want to repair them. If the exterior paint is peeling, repainting is in order if the budget allows. 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 vinyl covering in a bathroom. If the vinyl is worn and outdated, you’ll do better on the sale if you replace the floor covering with new covering. In the course of doing this, the damaged wood 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 and wasn’t unsafe. But there was dry rot 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. Upfront disclosure is better than surprises during the sale process.

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.”