How To Know The True Cost Of Preparing To Sell

I'm not going to get into too much detail, but you can call if you have any questions.

Time: Yours VS. Theirs

If you don't have the money on hand or in the proceeds of your house, then prepping to sell will cost you either time or house value. The average amount of time to get a home on the market is 3-4 weeks, and that is if you are spending 2-4 hours a day 3-5 days a week on getting ready. 
If you like doing these things or can't afford to hire somebody, we may have a solution. But just know that if you DON'T do these things to get the house ready, it will reflect in your list/sale price. 

Sellers-Contact the agent early to put together a plan to get this done. Our agents have the contacts, resources, and guidance to save you both time AND money on many of these preparations.

Buyers-Find houses that didn't take the time, or tried to cut corners, with a keen agent who knows that the seller missed the mark.

Repair/Replace- Yes or No

The most common question I get is this: "What will my house be worth if I do {insert item}?" This answer is always it depends. Sometimes doing the repair or the replacement can actually hurt your house value. Homes and property need to be marketed correctly outside of snapping a few photos and putting it on the internet. It comes down to the overall presentation of the house. 
This is going to be harsh and true- most buyers don't care about the "upgrades" you did to the home, UNLESS they are part of the overall presentation. Your heat-pump? Not a deal breaker, just a bonus on a house that a buyer is considering because of the overall presentation and flow. Buyers Shop on price first, features later.

At this current time for a 2500/sq-ft house plan on spending $10,000-$30,000 to get the house ready. Yes, that is a large sum, however, we can take this out of the equity of the house, AND our measurement for spending this money is 2:1- two dollars back for every one that you spend. 

Sellers- Hire an agent willing to tell you the truth about these things (in a nice way) that also has a solution for them. Fix the presentation, or reduce the price. 

Buyers-Hire an agent who can see past a seller's poor presentation to get you a good price on a property and who has connections to make the adjustments that the seller did not.