When you are about to sell your home there is a fine line between the repairs you will make and those you will not. This article is going to help you determine what repairs should be made and what shouldn’t. These suggestions will help limit the loans you need to cover the repairs and help you get more from the sale of the home.
The first thing to do is consider the actual value of your home. A realtor can help you find the value of other similar homes in your area. From this you can gain knowledge of what your home could sell for. You do have to keep in mind whether those homes had repairs done before they sold.
Base the value on the amount you still owe on your mortgage. If you owe a small amount you may not have to worry about repairing the home till it is perfect since you may be able to get a refinanced loan or equity loan to help pay for the repairs. However, if you are in negative equity or close to 100 percent on a loan to value you may find spending more for the repairs is unjustified.
If this second example is closer to the truth as it is with most home owners than you need to be minimalistic in the repairs you make. Do what is cosmetic and leave the larger repairs under the responsibility of the new owners. For example, you may get a cleaning service in to take care of the carpet in order to make it sparkle close to new, but you will avoid replacing it even though that would be better.
Instead, with home repairs paint the walls to get rid of the dings and scratches. Clean the house thoroughly including the carpets and make sure none of the doors squeak. By taking care of “punch list” items that are easy to fix you will be better off during the sale because you invested less, allowing you to keep the small amount you earn from the sale rather than breaking even.
