When meeting with a potential home seller, I always advise that three things determine how fast a home will sell.  They are location, price and condition.  Nothing can be done about location, but price and condition are within the owner’s control.  A home must be priced to sell as well as visually appealing to prospective buyers.  In this buyer’s market, new paint, updated light fixtures and fresh new flooring may not be enough.  Sellers must manage those minor updates and also keep up with home maintenance to sell quickly.

Buyers are looking beyond cosmetics and bypassing homes with near term maintenance issues.  For example, most buyers realize replacing the roof will cost at least $20,000.  If your home’s roof needs to be replaced in two years, your home may not compare favorably with one down the street that doesn’t have a similar maintenance challenge.  Buyers are carefully considering all near term costs and that other home down the street will require less cash out of pocket and be less of a hassle for them in the future.

In conclusion, if you are considering a home sale soon, you should give serious thought to putting as many maintenance issues behind you as possible.

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