Prepping House to Sell After Renter Moved Out (tenants, incentive, duplexes)

[TimeMachine]

Hi Guys, My husband and I have held on to a house in Michigan for years waiting for the market to come back up a bit, we are finally ready to sell. Renter has moved out now that his lease is up, and we are prepping to put the place on the market.
A few questions:
1. No pets have been in the house, but carpets are stained. Looks like normal wear and tear, I don't think there is a case for damages. Replace or just try to clean them as much as possible?

2. Cracked window, replace? Possible charge back to renter? Would this be a turn off to a buyer?

3. Handle broken off the over the stove microwave, repair? Possible charge back to renter? Or just remove microwave and leave the "hole" there, wouldn't that be unappealing to a buyer?

4. Walls, interior needs total repaint. There are scuffs and stains, may fall into "normal wear and tear" as paint is ten years old. Am I right that a freshly redone interior painted house will fair much better at showings?

5. Washing machine full of stagnant water , who know for how long, renter will not communicate about it. Should we just junk the washer and leave the hook up area nice and tidy, or replace the washer as a selling feature?


Thanks for your ideas!

[BirdieBelle]

ANY visible damage or broken items will be a mark in the negative category.

One person's "normal wear and tear" is another person's "disgusting dirt."

If it were me, I would replace anything broken or uncleanable. Repainting is easy and cheap and makes a HUGE difference. I certainly would not leave the current washer in place. At least have it looked at by a repair person. A new one would be a plus to me as a potential renter.

"Chargebacks" are a whole different issue and should have been clearly outlined in your lease.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by TimeMachine

...we are prepping to put the place on the market.
A few questions:

Start with CLEAN and CLEAR Inside and Out. Attic to the Basement.
Progress to fixed and functioning. Hinges. Light bulbs. Switches. Knobs.
Neutralize appearances. Eliminate questions. Make Nice.

1. carpets are stained = Shampoo by a Professional
2. Cracked window, replace? =Yes
3. broken microwave handle, repair? = Yes
4. Walls, interior needs total repaint. = Do it.
5. Washing machine full of stagnant water = drain/pump.

[TimeMachine]

Perfect, I suspected as much, I'll be on my way booking a painter.

[Lacerta]

1. Most new owners are going to want to replace the flooring anyway. If it is really bad, then replace, but otherwise, a good cleaning. If you really want to give an incentive, and they aren't terrible, offer a flooring allowance for the buyer as part of the sale.

2. Replace the window. We typically don't charge this to tenants unless it looks like an impact, like a rock flying up from the lawnmower.

3. You can typically get replacement parts cheap from a local parts place. We get ours from WL May. Last time we needed to fix an oven, it was $8 for the heating element, rather than $65+parts for the appliance company to come out and fix. But if you don't know how to take the micro apart, best to hire an appliance repair company. This could be a tenant expense if it appears to have been broken through misuse, but they do just break sometimes.

4. I'd repaint. 10 years is normal wear and tear. Unless there are crayon markings or obvious "damage", this would be owner expense.

5. I would remove the washer, because in my area, home sales rarely include a washer/dryer. In fact, lenders typically consider them personal property, and don't even want them referred to on the contract. But your area may be different. Ask your agent whether you are expected to leave a washer/dryer.

So, as someone who works in a real estate office (I'm not an agent, but worked here for 14 years), and manages 165 rental houses/duplexes, those are my opinions.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by TimeMachine

Hi Guys, My husband and I have held on to a house in Michigan for years waiting for the market to come back up a bit, we are finally ready to sell. Renter has moved out now that his lease is up, and we are prepping to put the place on the market.
A few questions:
1. No pets have been in the house, but carpets are stained. Looks like normal wear and tear, I don't think there is a case for damages. Replace or just try to clean them as much as possible?
REPLACE

2. Cracked window, replace? Possible charge back to renter? Would this be a turn off to a buyer?
REPLACE OR GIVE CONCESSION

3. Handle broken off the over the stove microwave, repair? Possible charge back to renter? Or just remove microwave and leave the "hole" there, wouldn't that be unappealing to a buyer?
WEAR AND TEAR FROM USE. REPLACE AT YOUR COST OR GIVE CONCESSION

4. Walls, interior needs total repaint. There are scuffs and stains, may fall into "normal wear and tear" as paint is ten years old. Am I right that a freshly redone interior painted house will fair much better at showings?
PAINT OR GIVE CONCESSION

5. Washing machine full of stagnant water , who know for how long, renter will not communicate about it. Should we just junk the washer and leave the hook up area nice and tidy, or replace the washer as a selling feature?
UNLESS THE W/D IS PART OF THE SALE REPLACE FIX OR REMOVE COMPLETELY


Thanks for your ideas!

There are two ways of selling this house but it depends on who your target buyer is. If it's investors or someone who is looking for a fixer upper ( and both those people are gonna want a deal) then sell as is just get rid of the W/D and basic clean up.
If your target buyer is anyone who is not the first two then spend the money.
It's really up to you how much you have to spend, how much you want to get and how realistic you are on price vs condition.

As a buyer I can tell you that if I see crappy paint and bad carpet non working w/d and broken stove I take 10k off my offer price immediately. No other reason than I can tell you to have the house painted (correctly) it's gonna run 3-3500. ( and I'm being realistic as lots of buyers don't want to paint. I'm not talking about the I can diy. Those are gonna want a deal too)
Carpet and pad will run $3-4 a sq ft. And that mid grade carpet nothing fancy. Cheap rental carpet runs 2-2.50 a sq ft.
W/D run about 800-1200 depending on hookups . A cheap stove runs 400 bucks.

[mdcrim]

My two cents- have the carpet cleaned and offer a credit if that doesn't work. Or if it's really bad you can get very cheap good looking carpet installed. Have the house painted. Replace the window. Replace the microwave and washer with craigslist finds (clean and in good condition). This is a pretty small punch list.

Buyers don't want to see items needing obvious repair. They will definitely mentally take money off their offer if they think they have to fix a lot of things.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Electrician4you

There are two ways of selling this house but it depends on who your target buyer is. If it's investors or someone who is looking for a fixer upper ( and both those people are gonna want a deal) then sell as is just get rid of the W/D and basic clean up.
If your target buyer is anyone who is not the first two then spend the money.
It's really up to you how much you have to spend, how much you want to get and how realistic you are on price vs condition.

As a buyer I can tell you that if I see crappy paint and bad carpet non working w/d and broken stove I take 10k off my offer price immediately. No other reason than I can tell you to have the house painted (correctly) it's gonna run 3-3500. ( and I'm being realistic as lots of buyers don't want to paint. I'm not talking about the I can diy. Those are gonna want a deal too)
Carpet and pad will run $3-4 a sq ft. And that mid grade carpet nothing fancy. Cheap rental carpet runs 2-2.50 a sq ft.
W/D run about 800-1200 depending on hookups . A cheap stove runs 400 bucks.

The OP did not really say what their "target" is as far as price or home owner vs investor but I tend to agree that those things DO MATTER!

If the OP believes the market "has come back" and they can get top dollar from someone that wants to live in the home then it probably makes sense to put in the effort to make the place "move in ready". If the home can be "well priced" and a little nicer than the competition that should speed the sale. The quicker a vacant rental home sells the happier the former is going to be!

Of course before the OP goes crazy it probably also makes sense to "shop the competition" and if other homes that have recently sold / are on the market are not going to support the cost of making the place "move in ready" they have some decisions to make...

Investors are VERY MUCH not looking to pay "full retail price" for a home that they might use as a rental or flip. If that is the most likely buyer for this property (and again that depends on things like current rents, employment, Sec 8 data, and whole lot of other info that good investors / smart landlords can track down...) then "clean enough is good enough" to get top dollar from such buyers. Some experienced landlords actually like a place that is going to require a little up front money as that "expense" may be tax advantaged -- The Tax Implications of Becoming a Landlord

Know your market!

[dblackga]

1. Normal wear and tear on carpets -- have them cleaned professionally. That normally at least gets the carpets to a point where people aren't going "uggggghhhh!" Then they know they have to replace the carpet -- or they may choose to put in hardwood floors. That's on them. Meanwhile, you haven't shelled out for carpet that might be taken out as soon as the closing is concluded. Offer a flooring allowance if the carpet doesn't clean up well. My only caveat would be if the previous tenants were smokers. If that's the case, then the carpets get replaced. Period.

2. Fix the cracked window. I wouldn't bother charging it back to the tenant, unless you have reason to think it was done maliciously. Cracks happen. *shrug*. If you don't fix it, you can bet their inspector will catch it. :-)

3. Microwaves are pretty darn cheap -- might be easier to just get a new one and install it, especially if the current microwave is broken and probably stained inside. I'd replace it, just not to leave a gaping hole.

4. Repaint, definitely. In terms of freshening up a house, this is one of the least expensive ways to go, and you can probably do most of it yourself, if you're handy with a paint roller. 10 years of scuffs and marks? Yeah . . . time to repaint.

5. Washing machine. Personally, I'd dump it. Washing machines generally don't convey with a house, and it sounds like it's pretty much toast, anyway. (The stagnant water sounds gross -- how did they wash their clothes?!)

How long had your tenants been there?

[Cape Cod Todd]

Good advice given so far.

Any buyer, investor or homeowner will be picky and knock the price down if something isn't right. I say repair all broken items, do charge the tenant for that broken window. you don't want anything ot be a negative. First impressions are very important and if a buyer sees more than a few things they need to fix suddenly their thoughts of buying your "fixer upper" turns into "what a dump"
Replace the microwave since a hole in the wall doesn't look good. If it were on the counter don't bother. It sounds like the pump is gone in the washing machine. If you have the know how give it a quick inspection to try and fix it but don't hire anyone that is expensive. many houses sell without a washer and dryer so just get it out of there.
Give the house the once over making it as neutral as possible to appeal the most buyers. If you can do some work yourself like the painting then go for it and save some money. It doesn't have to be perfect but clean and tidy goes a long way.
Good luck