Selling My Home Questions - FSBO or Agent, Windows, Refrigerator (sales, real estate market)

[agreeableone]

My home of twenty-five years is on market and probably easily sold.
I want advice on trying to sell it myself without a selling agent, although accepting offers through buying agents or individuals. This might save me $15K - 30K, a lot of money for me on a fixed pension.

Also, I need to know this: The wooden double-hung windows either are painted shut or have problems staying up. I do not see rotten wood or places open to outside air. Should I just repair them or put in least expensive replacement. They have storms and screens now and I am not sure if they can be kept with a low cost replacement, but as you know, we do need screens and well insulated glass or storm windows in this climate.

Appliances in kitchen are newer, except refrigerator which is simple and 10 years old, at least. Also it is white and dish washer and stove are black. I feel that color is not the problem, but age and size probably are, unless someone would simply like a deduction and put there own in. Replacing will need to include running water line around kitchen to get to refrigerator.

The house is small one family residence in great neighborhood of similar or larger homes with good schools. Close to everything and metro rail will be a mile or so away in 2013. Prices are steady, although no where near prior bust of real estate market here and everywhere else.

Problems hurting me right now: My liquid funds are low, my mortgage high, and my other debts very high too. I spent a small fortune on the house already over past ten years, right up to today,on the normal maintenance and updates so it is nearly mint condition.

My decision making is now thoroughly confused by various opinions, but a few more won't make it worse and might help me avoid bad ones. If you have no idea how to answer, but know who or where to ask these final questions I have, that will help. Especially, where advice and advisor are not apt to make money off of me. I have been maintaining a good part of some of the construction and renovating economy for too long now.

A break from that will be welcome.

[CaliTerp07]

I would think a lot depends on how quickly you want to sell the house. Can you sit around and wait a few months for someone who can overlook the windows/appliances? Or do you need to sell ASAP? Do you have the money necessary to fix the issues without spreading yourself too thin (you say your liquid funds are low)?

We bought a place with outdated appliances, but walked right past several places that needed updated windows (oh my gosh, that's $$$$!). I don't mind a mismatched (but working) appliance, but I wanted to see updated windows in the house, as that's a money saver down the road on energy costs.

[car54]

I think you should get a good realtor. Often they can negotiate a higher sales price that can more than offset their commission, plus with the million things that can go wrong....they earn their money.

disclaimer: I am not and have never been a realtor, but I've bought and sold over 30 houses in my time....and I always use a realtor.

[cb at sea]

I agree...homes sold with a realtor involved generally get higher prices (to offset the commission) and with MUCH less hassle on your part. Find one you like....and then see what they say about your minor problems...fridge, windows, etc... They DO earn their wages and it benefits YOU!

[athensvaasi]

Does a refrigerator even need to be part of a sale? I thought refrigerator and washer/dryer are your responsibility in a SFH.

In any case, and especially in your situation, I dont think there is any need to put in a new refrigerator. I think people have preferences (side-by-side, etc) that they are better off getting on their own.

[gammann]

Originally Posted by agreeableone

Also, I need to know this: The wooden double-hung windows either are painted shut or have problems staying up. I do not see rotten wood or places open to outside air. Should I just repair them or put in least expensive replacement. They have storms and screens now and I am not sure if they can be kept with a low cost replacement, but as you know, we do need screens and well insulated glass or storm windows in this climate.

Depending on how many windows you have, this can be expensive. Have a couple of quotes done to see the prices. There is nothing wrong with having wooden windows. I used this place, Window Repair Services, to do some repairs on my wood windows. They were one of the only places I could find that would replace the glass in my windows. They should be able to fix any problems with yours.

Originally Posted by agreeableone

Appliances in kitchen are newer, except refrigerator which is simple and 10 years old, at least. Also it is white and dish washer and stove are black. I feel that color is not the problem, but age and size probably are, unless someone would simply like a deduction and put there own in. Replacing will need to include running water line around kitchen to get to refrigerator.

If any of the appliances are old, you could offer a home warranty to the buyer. These generally only cost a couple of hundred and cover a number of things. We got one of these when we bought our first home. It cost $350 and within a couple of months the fridge died, and they gave us $600 towards a new one.

[vermonter16]

gammann - I am going to need someone to replace the glass in one of my windows before I put it on the market. The window has been cracked for the past 9 years, day 2 after move-in on the finest new construction money could buy . Thanks for the link!

[Margery]

agreeableone,

First, I second the posters who advised you to hire an agent to help you sell the house. You can find small independent brokers who do not have to pay a good portion of their commission to maintain a large staff at a main location. They often charge a total commission much less than the large brokerages, sometimes as low as a total of 4%. Do not skimp on the portion paid to the buyer's agent, they earn every penny.

Your listing agent/broker can help you price it correctly for the market in your area and give you advice about replacement of any appliances. In general, as long as they function, I would advise leaving them alone. Offer to pay for a home warrenty for the buyer. As for the windows that won't stay up, they could just need the sash cord replaced.

That leads me to my next advice, have the home inspected by an experienced home inspector and make the repairs he/she suggests before putting the house on the market. Keep a copy of the home inspection along with proof of these repairs and leave them in the house to be viewed by any prospective buyers.

Good luck, it sounds like you are in a good location, and that is what will sell the house.

[boyd888]

It's probably worth the $300-400 to get an inspection done so you have an actual list of repairs buyers would likely be looking for. The thing is you are going to pay for repairs one way or another, whether it be fixing things up yourself before going to market or taking a reduced selling price. If you don't have a ton of cash it sounds like the latter option is better for you.

If you are not in a huge hurry to sell you could always list the home "as-is" or not accept offers with an inspection contingency. It's a question of whether the lower selling price will be offset by money saved by not doing repairs. The best way to get an answer to have an inspection done yourself.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by agreeableone

Also, I need to know this: The wooden double-hung windows either are painted shut or have problems staying up. I do not see rotten wood or places open to outside air. Should I just repair them or put in least expensive replacement. They have storms and screens now and I am not sure if they can be kept with a low cost replacement, but as you know, we do need screens and well insulated glass or storm windows in this climate.

Absolutely do NOT replace these windows. I say this because as a historic homeowner, those wood windows are probably original to the house and could outlast (if properly maintained) anything new you put on there. If properly maintained, wood windows can last 80-100 years. Older windows were designed to be repaired (i.e., there is a plate on the inset of the window for the pulleys). My house (1930 Arts & Crafts) has the original wood windows. The previous owners installed storm windows on some and I plan to finish the rest. If properly installed, a single-pane wooden window combined with a storm window provides just as much or more energy efficiency as a new double-pane window. There is no way I would remove all of these windows and replace them with the cheapo stuff of today (besides, there are 33 of them).

The marketing of energy efficiency of windows has been a topic of many debates, now an FTC issue on window manufacturers and misinformation. See this C-D thread on the House Forum: https://www.city-data.com/forum/house...5-finally.html

However, they will need to be opened and if your potential buyer is getting an FHA loan, there has to be screens in every window.

As far as the other stuff, talk to a realtor and get their advice. The repairs will probably be relative to the price they suggest.

As far as the fridge, see what the realtor says but if it really bothers you, check out Craig's List or the Sears surplus or Habitat for Humanity's ReStores and find a black fridge. You might find something nice at a discounted price.

It sounds like the location and house will be a good sell, especially once it's staged. Good luck with everything!