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Selling a House Long Distance? 5 Key Things to Know

Whether you’ve just relocated for a new job, inherited a house in another town, or have found yourself needing to get rid of a house you’ve moved away from, you may need to sell a house long distance. If you’re in this unique situation, there are five things you should know about the process.

#1 Selling a House Long Distance Might Require Travel

Before you can list the house for sale, you’ll likely need to visit the property to assess its condition and determine what repairs or changes need to be made before it can be ready to sell. You may need to get formal inspections done to locate any major issues, such as leaks, pest damage, or repairs, so you can address them before selling.  You’ll also need to evaluate the area where the house is located and settle on a realistic listing price. If you have the time and cash to fix up the property, you may be able to list it at a higher price. However, if the house needs more work than you can afford, or you want to sell quickly, you might consider a more competitive price point.

#2 You’ll Have to Prepare Your Home For Sale Long Distance

Once you know what the home needs in order to be sale-ready, you can start making the repairs or changes. If you’re selling a house long-distance, you may not be able to do this work yourself. You’ll either have to make time to travel back and forth and work on the home a bit at a time, or hire a crew to do the work for you. Depending on how much work the home needs, these preparations could get expensive.  Be sure to budget out the work in your original assessment to justify the time and cost it will take to make the changes. There might be some problems not worth fixing if you won’t be able to earn that money back in the sale of the home. Particularly if you’re selling a house long distance, the less effort and stress required to get rid of the extra property, the better.

#3 You Can Hire a Professional to Sell a House Long Distance 

One way to limit the number of trips needed to visit the property is to hire a professional. A representative like a Realtor or legal advisor can act as a go-between to facilitate the process of preparing the home for sale, showing it to potential buyers, and even negotiating any offers on your behalf.  Whether you hire one person or use a team, representatives with your best interests in mind can help make selling a house long distance easier. You’ll likely need to have a few trips to consult with your Realtor, or schedule regular meetings, and you may need to pay a retainer fee for legal consultations.

#4 You’ll Need to Maintain the House Long Distance

Another factor to consider when selling a house long distance is property maintenance. Regular upkeep will include paying any utilities, landscaping and lawn care, occasional cleaning, collecting mail, making any repairs as-needed, checking faucets, or other maintenance tasks.  You’ll need to have these needs covered during the time you’re preparing the house for sale, while it’s listed, and up until the sale is closed. Your representative may be able to look after the property for you, or you may need to hire separate services for cleaning and mowing. Traveling back and forth to take care of these tasks isn’t practical if you’re selling a house long distance.

#5 Selling a House Long Distance to a Real Estate Investor is Quick and Easy

For a fast and hassle-free sale, you can sell your home to a real estate investor. Selling a house long distance this way is simple and can be completed in a single visit. A real estate investor will walk through the home with you and make you a fair offer based on its market value. You won’t have to travel back and forth to make repairs, hire a Realtor, or wait around for a traditional buyer. If you sell to a real estate investor, you receive a fair offer and can have your home sold in as few as five days.  If you’re selling a home that you’re a long way away from, a traditional sale might not be the best option for you. If you’re hoping to get a fair offer and move on, talk to the team at Hometown Development. Reach out to us today for your free cash offer.

What Not to Fix When Selling A House

Selling a home can feel like a huge task, and the process of getting there can be complicated, time-consuming, and pricey. Before listing your home on the real estate market, you may have a hundred things you think you need to fix, change, or update to make your home ready to sell and attract a buyer quickly. How many of those things will actually help you sell your home? How many are not worth the effort and cost? To help you narrow down your list, here are some things not to fix when selling a house.

What Not to Fix When Selling a House

Some home repairs you can eliminate from your list because they’re too much work for the reward, too expensive to earn back in the selling price, or just not feasible with your timeline.

Cosmetic Repairs

Cosmetic changes and fixes, such as changing paint colors or upgrading the landscaping around your home, are relatively easy to do yourself, but may not be worth the extra effort. Most times, it’s better to leave these changes up to the buyers to customize according to their preferences. 

If your home has brightly colored walls that are loud and distracting, painting with a more neutral palette might be a useful change to make. However, unless the paint or landscaping majorly detracts from your home’s appearance, don’t place these types of repairs high on the list of priorities. Make sure things are clean and tidy, but don’t feel like you need to completely makeover your home before selling.

Updating Kitchens and Baths

Kitchen and bath updates are repairs that make the list of what not to fix when selling a house. Could they help increase your home’s value? Probably, but are these changes worth the time and money? It’s unlikely that you can earn back the costs of these repairs in the sale price for the same time and money you spent. Leave the upgrades to the next owner, so they can get exactly what they’re looking for in a new kitchen or bathroom.

Halfway Repairs

If you can’t afford to make the full repair, don’t do it halfway. Repairing problems with your home with temporary or “creative solutions” are things to not fix when selling a house. It’s better to spend the money to make the repair completely and effectively, or disclose the problem to a buyer than try to do a patch job for a low cost.

What You Should Fix When Selling a House

If your home needs a lot of work, there might be a few things you should fix to help you sell your home. Some traditional buyers may not make an offer before you have these types of repairs resolved.

Major repairs like foundation damage, faulty electrical or plumbing, a leaking roof, mold or water damage, or other major problems should be addressed before selling your home. Although they may not be the least expensive to tackle, any problems that make your home unsafe to occupy need to be addressed before you can sell.

Major repairs are red flags to buyers. If a home needs a lot of expensive work upfront, buyers will be more hesitant to make an offer, unless they can purchase your home for a very low price to justify the extra cost and effort of repairs.

How to Sell Your Home Without Making Any Repairs

If you don’t want to make any changes to your home at all, or can’t afford the major repairs your home needs, you still have options. You can sell your home as-is or sell to a real estate investor for a quick, cash offer.

Sell Your Home As-Is

In an as-is sale, you put your house on the market in its current condition, without making any repairs or updates to the home. You avoid the time-consuming and expensive changes to make your home ready to sell, and wait for a buyer looking for a project. Be aware that, in order to sell your home as-is, you may need to price it competitively. If your home needs a lot of work, only specific buyers looking for a project may be interested.

Sell to a Real Estate Investor

When you sell your home to a real estate investor, you can sell your home as-is, without worrying about what to repair and what not to fix when selling a house. You can sell without a Realtor and on your timeline — often in as few as five days. Real estate investors have the time and capital to make the repairs your home needs, so they aren’t scared off by outdated kitchens, cosmetic repairs, or even major repairs like leaking roofs or water damage. They will make you an offer that is fair for your home’s value, so you can sell your home fast, for cash, without the hassle of a traditional home sale.

If your home needs work on critical issues like the foundation, water damage, mold or roofing, a traditional sale may not be right for you. If you’re interested in a fair cash offer based on the market value of your home, Hometown Development can help. For your free, personalized offer, reach out to us today.

Lin Snider

I contacted Hometown Development regarding a property I needed to sell that had been neglected and was really in bad shape. The response was quick and professional the seller had inherited the property and wanted to see it restored. We had multiple offers for the property and after reviewing them chose Homrtown. Professional and dependable would be my description.

Brooke Finlan

The team here was great to work with. They were professional, reasonable with negotiations, and quick to respond to all inquiries. I represented the buyers that purchased the home they rehabbed. We found the craftsmanship to be great and my buyers are very happy with the end result! Highly recommend!

Licensed Contractor

Licensed Builder
Licensed Real Estate Agent

All closings performed by Bell Title
Meghan Vandenhout 616-942-8955

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