[quote=sdsurfer][quote=poorgradstudent][quote=sdsurfer] One consideration is that some people have vision and their own particular style so they would appreciate the credit, but many other people do not have vision and you need to do it for them to see the potential.
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We definitely had our own vision when we were looking. There were a few properties where it would note “brand new carpets and paint” and our response was “but they’re ugly!” and we’d pass; as a buyer you feel like you’re paying for it, especially if it’s done “wrong”. Paint is less of a big deal, but a lot of people seem to want to go too dark on carpets.
We also definitely skipped homes where there had been a quick kitchen/bath remodel. You can kinda tell when someone updates the kitchen as their “home” vs. trying to sell it. Again, it was frustrating to walk into a home and see that it had been remodeled sloppily.
Of course a lot of people want “turnkey” homes, and we did see quite a few places that were redone very nicely. Of course those places often wanted to get compensated for the money they sunk into it, which put those places out of our preferred price range.[/quote]
My wife and I have always felt the same way that it really sucks to have to pay for someone else’s remodel when you do not like the style of remodel/materials used. We’d much rather get it for less and do our own work to our preference.[/quote]
4th this
When we looked at our house — which hadn’t yet been listed on the MLS; they had just posted the sign and we went directly to the sellers — I told them not to even vacuum the carpets or spend a single cent on anything. We ended up pretty much tearing the house apart and re-doing everything to our liking because we hope for this to be our final house. It would have been a huge disappointment if we had walked in and it was all done-up in flipper “upgrades,” where the seller would want to recoup costs. Their “upgrades” would have been worth ZERO to us.
Livin’ is right about the timing, too. I’ve watched the housing market in multiple zips in SD County and LA County for many, many years. The best “selling season” seems to be right around early February through March. This is when buyers first come out of hibernation, and housing inventory is at relative lows (due to winter doldrums). You might be able to get a higher price a few months later, but you risk having the market turn against you as more sellers enter the market and the most anxious buyers who had waited through winter disappear with those first sales of the late winter/spring season.
IMHO, it’s best to get a somewhat lower price, but sell faster and with fewer headaches.
DO clean the house, even hiring professional cleaners to do a VERY thorough cleaning. Have someone come in every couple of weeks to touch things up, if you can’t do it yourself. Touch up the yard (especially the front) and hire a weekly gardener, if you don’t already have one. Do some painting if there are scratches, marks, etc. on the walls (inside and out), and have the carpets professionally steam cleaned (if you have carpets). If the carpets are gross, it might be worthwhile to put in some cheap carpets, but I also like the idea of offering a credit (we did that with one of our houses, too). And, as you probably know, nothing will sell a house faster and better than a good pricing strategy.
Sounds like you’re making the right decision on the timing because of the tax exclusion on gains (and you never know if that will be repealed at a later time, if you should decide to keep the house and try again later) and your employer-paid closing/moving expenses. Well done.
