Thanks to HGTV, the ins, and outs of the housing market are a lot more transparent than they used to be. People purchase and sell homes every day on national television, giving the rest of us a glimpse into the struggles and rewards of selling and purchasing homes. One thing HGTV often doesn’t show, however, is people selling homes that are less than stellar. Typically, they’re fixing up older homes or selling newly renovated homes — there’s not much talk about selling a fixer-upper.

If you’ve got a lemon on your hands that you’re looking to get rid of, you might be wondering, “Can I sell a home in poor condition?”

The answer is yes.

Whether you’ve inherited an older, unkempt home or need to get out of your own home before you can make repairs, it is possible to your sell home in poor condition.

 

How Do I Sell My Home?

If you’re looking to ditch a home in poor condition, the first thing to know is that you’ll need to price it to sell. Nearly every realtor will agree that if you want a home to move quickly, your price should come down. For most people hoping to sell a home in poor condition, this makes sense. If you don’t have the money to make repairs or the time to clean up an older home with decades of clutter, it’s worth it to take a bit less money in the sale to get the home off your hands.

 

Setting the Price for a Poor Condition Home

If you know your home is in less than stellar condition, but you want to sell it quickly — first look at what other, similarly sized homes in your area are selling for. That’s probably the price you’d get if the home was in pristine condition.

To find your price, you’ll want to subtract the cost of known repairs. If the home needs a new roof at $20,000, and the kitchen is in desperate need of a $30,000 update, you should take $50,000 off the list price for your home.

 

Listing Your Home for a Quick Sale

Once you’ve set a price that’s sure to be attractive to dreamers, fixer uppers, and investors, you’ll want to list the home as an “As-Is” sale. This will clue in buyers willing to make repairs,  and weed out people who want a move-in ready home.

 

As-Is Home Disclosure

We have a lot of information about selling a home as-is, so be sure to check out a few of our other blogs, but a key thing to remember is disclosure. If there’s anything wrong with the home that you know about, you’re required by law to disclose that to potential buyers. It’s possible that there are other repairs to be made that you don’t yet know about, but it’s your job to tell any potential buyer about the repairs and damages you’re aware of.

 

Making the Sale

Whether you hire a realtor or not, if your home is priced to sell and you’re just looking for a good offer to get rid of it, you’ll start to see offers come in. For many people selling homes that they just don’t want, or don’t have time to repair on their own, cash offers are most attractive. Typically, cash offers close the quickest, and those buyers often do not request an inspection. Since they’re paying in cash, they also won’t need approval from an appraiser, which derails a lot of non-cash fixer-upper home purchases.

 

You can also go with a non-cash offer, but know that it’ll take a bit more time. Even if the buyers themselves don’t want an inspection, they’ll have to have an appraisal of the home done to ensure they can get the loan. If the appraiser doesn’t approve their loan for the amount you’re asking, the buyer will either have to supplement with cash, or you’ll have to pay for some of the repairs.

 

No matter how you do it, it’s great to know that you can indeed sell a home that’s in poor condition. Regardless of your reasons, if you price your home to sell quickly, you’ll be able to get it off your hands.

 

Renewed Homes often purchases West Michigan homes in poor condition or in need of repairs. If you need to get rid of a troublesome home, we can help. Call or text us at 269-362-0931, or leave us a message online, and we’ll get back to you with your free cash offer.