Selling your house “as-is”
What does it mean to sell your Indianapolis house “as-is.” At first glance, it simply means what you see is what you get. But the implied expectations of a seller of an “as-is” house in Indianapolis can differ vastly from those of buyers.
Buyers considering a house that is being marketed “as-is” expects that he or she will likely have to invest some capital and a little sweat equity to make it their home. From my 12 years of experience rehab always costs more than anticipated. This is especially true of older homes or homes with neglected repairs that have caused additional damage. Once you begin a project one can quickly discover that other things need attention as well. Some call this “project creep,” but I like to think of it as part of the natural process of renovating a home.
Sell Your Indianapolis House Fast in “As-Is” condition. Tips And Tricks From A Seasoned Pro
Each buyer is unique, and if your selling a house in “as-is” condition you will need to sensitive and receptive to their individual limitations. Potential buyers are going to have varying degrees of real estate experience and experience with home remodeling. I doesn’t take much to scare away potential buyers if major repairs are on the horizon or if an extensive remodel will be required.
Getting into the mindset of the buyer
Three things every buyer of an “as-is” house is going to consider it the amount of money they are going to need to complete the work, the time available and their overall desire. Let’s begin talking about what you can do to ensure a successful outcome and sell your “as-is” Indianapolis house fast.
When purchasing a house, buyers have to fork over a considerable amount of money for the downpayment. This will likely limit funds available for any rehab or repairs. There’s the old saying “you can’t have it all.” This applies to buyers, especially when it comes to a project house. Buyers will have to think long and hard about how they allocated funds. Buyers will often times make lists, categorizing projects into one of three categories. The fist category are things that have to addressed or the “must haves.” These include HVAC repairs or replacement, roofs that are failing, electrical hazards, mold or water penetration issues, foundation problems or plumbing issues. This is not where buyers wish to spend their money. Once the work is complete, and many of these projects can be very expensive, the house looks the same as when they began.
Rather, buyers would prefer to invest in improvements like new kitchens, appliances or a fresh coat of paint and new flooring. These items and items just like them represent buyer “wants.” These are what turn a house into a home. If there is only enough money for the “must haves” and buyers can’t get to their “wants” you will likely lose the sale. Beyond the “must haves” and the “wants” are the “desires.” These include decks, pools or outdoor entertaining spaces, open floor plans, new energy efficient windows and screened porches. If you can price your house so that buyers can get to the third list of projects you will be well on your way to closing the deal. But this is where most sellers of “as-is” house tend to stumble. Unless you have extensive experience with home remodeling, homeowners have a tendency to underestimate the cost of repairs and updates. If you don’t take the time to inventory the work that needs to be done you could price yourself right out of the market and waste a lot of time along the way.
Take care of big ticket repairs to maximize your listing
While no one want’s to invest hard earned money in a house they plan on selling, it can be a useful strategy and help set your property above competing properties. Again, the trick is to eliminate as many of the “must haves” from the list as possible. Focus on the big ticket items, or the items that tend to scare away buyers most. You can offset or compensate for the expense with a higher sell price but moreover you will make your house more attractive. Replace that worn out roof (often times you can you can add a second lay to an existing roof and save some money). Invest in a new water heater or HVAC system. There are a lot of low cost HVAC brands on the market today that come with 10 year warranties.
You better believe that even buyers of “as-is” houses are going to stretch their dollars to purchase it. Down payments and moving costs eat away at reserves. If your heating and air conditioning system, roof or plumbing are nearing the end of their useful life, they won’t have the money to replace them. Buyers can live with tired landscaping or a dated interior, but no one wants to go without AC in the summertime! One additional note about big ticket repairs. The majority of buyers of houses below $250,000 will be FHA buyers. FHA stands for Federal Housing Authority. The government underwrites consumer loans in the event they default. This program doesn’t require large down payments typically associated with conventional loans. The drawback is for the seller. If there are major defects like a roof, HVAC, electrical or plumbing there’s a good chance they will not get financing approved. This program and these guidelines are designed to protect buyers from getting in over their head. It doesn’t matter how badly a buyer wants the house, if it doesn’t meet these guidelines the deal will fall through.
Buyers are always looking for a good deal. Project houses or houses being sold “as-is” represent a great opportunity for buyers to gain added equity by rolling up their sleeves. That said, buyers’ resources, time and desire for a project house are all going to work against you at the negotiating table. Taking care of the big ticket projects will make your Indianapolis house more manageable and help it sell faster and for more money. If funds are limited you may want to consider selling your house direct to a real estate investor like Ittenbach Capital. We’ll get more into that later in this article.
Declutter you way to a sale
If it’s time to sell your Indianapolis house and you are selling it “as-is” now may be the best time to pitch those items you no longer need. Houses full of clutter, personal items and rubbish make it difficult for prospectives buyers to see its full potential. In some cases, clutter and unwanted odors can prevent or deter potential buyers from fully exploring your property. This is not a good situation to be in.
If you are having a hard time letting go, there’s always organization. I’ve been in houses packed to the gills with stuff, but it was neatly organized far outweighs disorganization. Additionally, there are great resources available to you to support your efforts of decluttering. Moving companies and more specialized companies like Packrat and Pods will drop off mobile units you can fill up and then they will pick them up and store them for you until you are ready to move.
Curb appeal is appealing
Don’t forget your yard! A well maintained yard is optimal, but at the very least cutting back overgrowth and removing dead or dying plants and bushes will go long way to improve your curb appeal. Is you yard full of weeds? You can call your local lawn care company like Trugreen or Lawn Pride to come by for a one time treatment without any obligatory contracts. This may just give your yard the boost it needs. The idea here is to eliminate as many obstacles as possible to get your buyer to say yes, or at the very least maybe!
A good solid weekend of pulling weeds, cutting back brush and raking leaves does a lot more to support home sales than most people give credit. If the effort is too much or if you are too busy, consider using a company like Thumbtack to find local labors to lend a helping hand.
Set the stage for a great performance
There is a lot of talk about the benefits of staging a house. Staged houses go a long way to solve visual problems. Statistically speaking, staged houses sell faster and for higher prices. When selling a house “as-is,” staging can be a great strategy to employ. When buyers tour a home, either online or in person, they are trying to envision themselves living there. They ask questions like; how is this room going to work or will my king sized bed fit. If your house has a challenging floorpan or an awkward room you will need to take extra steps to solve those visual problems for them. Most of us aren’t interior designers. Most of us don’t know exactly where to begin when it comes to decorating. A few thousand dollars to have a professional staging company to come in and set up your house could be a few thousand dollars in profit in your pocket.
What are your options when selling your Indianapolis house “as-is”
When selling your Indianapolis house fast and in “as-is” condition you have three options available to you. The first, and likely the most obvious route is working with a real estate agent. Agents take a lot of the work out of selling a house but they also take a big chuck of the proceeds in the form of commissions. You can expect to pay between $6,000 and $8,000 for every $100,000 of the sale price. This adds up quickly when you consider selling a house for $250,000.
Agents rely heavily on the Internet for marketing and promotion. I would venture to say that 90% of an agents efforts to sell your house include photos and a listing on the MLS or multiple listing service. Then it’s just a waiting game to see if buyers find your house among the myriad of other houses. Additionally, you have to consider the overall attractiveness of your house. We’re not talking curb appeal here but rather how attractive your house is to the real estate agent. Remember, the more expensive you house is the bigger the commission. This is now a good time to really consider the overall condition of your house and how desirable of an area you live in. How motivated do you think an agent is going to be to list and market your house if it’s worth less than $150,000 and needs work. This is a project house and it’s going to take a lot longer to sell than a house that is in “move-in” ready condition.
A second option for selling your house in “as-is” condition is selling it yourself. This will require more effort on your part and you have to get yourself into the mindset of a broker but it can be done. You will be competing against the real estate machine, all the big name brokerage firm spending lots of money marketing their real estate. A recent study by the National Association of Realtors indicates that only 7% of homeowners sell their house themselves or without an agent. It’s a small fraternity of homeowners but it has its advantages. The biggest advantage is avoiding an expensive commission. That said, there are greater than even odds your buyer will have their own broker. They will be expected a commission of about 3% to 3.5% that will come out of your pocket.
At third option, and one few know about, is selling your house direct to a real estate investor like Ittenbach Capital. Real estate investors do represent a smaller pool of buyers but are highly capable of purchasing your house “as-is.” In fact, we prefer a house that needs a little TLC. This provides us the unique opportunity to add value to a property and resell it for a profit. With Ittenbach Capital there are never any fees and we can usually close in as little as two weeks. Feel free to see what other satisfied customer have to say about Ittenbach Capital. We are a five star rated company with an A+ accreditation with the Better Business Bureau.
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