Selling a house as is vs fixing up: how to decide
Selling a house as is versus fixing it up is a money choice you can write down before you hire anyone.
Selling a house as is versus fixing it up is a choice about this house, not a label you put on a sign. As is does not mean you stay quiet about what you know. You still decide which problems you will repair and which ones you will describe. Fixing up does not mean a new kitchen. It means a short list of work, each line with a price you can point to. Write both plans before you pick one, while you are not standing in a store aisle.
Walk the house once and sort every issue into three piles. The first pile is what has to work: a leak, heat or cooling that will not start, a loose step, a latch that does not catch. The second pile is what a buyer will see in a photo or on a first visit, such as a scuffed wall or a faucet that drips into the sink. The third pile is work you do not want to fund, with a sentence you are willing to put in the A form where you report what you know about the property. Your state decides which forms you sign.. Do not paint over a problem you have not stopped. A fresh coat on a damp wall is not a repair.
Price the first pile with written bids. A truly small job can be a hardware-store receipt instead of a contractor. Then open the what to fix calculator and enter the cost you were quoted and the price change you honestly expect from doing the work. The page does not supply a return, and it does not know your buyer. If you cannot name a dollar change, leave that cell empty. A repair that costs more than any extra a buyer is likely to pay is a candidate to disclose instead of do. A repair that keeps the house from being shown, or that fails a test a visitor will actually try, is a candidate to do.
Compare two nets, not two moods. One net assumes the repairs are finished and the bids are spent. The other assumes you leave the work and offer a credit you would actually accept. Use the same payoff and the same commission in both, so the only difference is the work. If the repaired net is not higher by enough to cover the time and the hassle, leave the work and describe it. If a buyer later asks for that repair, you already have the bid. This page is not legal, tax, or financial advice. The A form where you report what you know about the property. Your state decides which forms you sign. form is a legal paper where you live. Ask the closing company which form you sign.
What to do
- Sort each issue into fix, show, or disclose before you buy materials.
- Get a written bid, or a receipt, before you decide a repair is worth doing.
- Enter your cost in the what-to-fix calculator, and leave the value blank if you do not know it.
- Compare the net with the work and the net without it before you hire.