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Why don't you get a couple of local realtors who you might use to sell the house look at it and tell you what it needs most to sell for the best price?
Going to have to.
In the meantime I will just keep up doing what I have been doing - painting rooms and cleaning up what needs cleaning up.
Fixing up houses is costly. You can’t expect them to pay top dollar for a house needing fixing. You are only entitled to what the house is valued at in the condition it is in.
It would be helpful to know what kind of fixing needs to be done.
He/she never said he/she expects top dollar for not fixing it up. He/she SAID she wanted to fix it up.
I don't agree that you need to fix it up. In this hot market, houses can go fast, fixed up or not. The thing that matters is will you get a return on the investment. THAT is a question to ask a realtor. And make them tell you WHAT return you will get. They often want you to update it because it makes their job easier but ask the realtor if you will yield more if you fix it up than you spent. And how much more.
I could have spent a fortune updating our home but some buyer's can't afford to buy the updated home. We opted NOT to do anything and it sold in one day. I was curious to see if the new buyers were going to update and I found out they are not. My husband said he doubted they would because he saw their brokerage statement and figured out they didn't have the $$.
I've definitely considered that might be the way it plays out.
I inherited the home (or at least a large portion of it as I bought out my other siblings - still owe $100K on the loan).
My sibling's friend who is a realtor said we should have put it on the market (that was in the Fall) at $170K.
The company that was my lender quoted the home's value at about $200K.
I just don't want some "We Buy Ugly Homes" people to take what I believe is rightfully mine. Not if I can help it, at least.
DON'T do you ugly homes. Your instincts on that are correct. They will probably offer much lower than it's worth. No reason to do that in the current market.
It really depends how bad. When we sold out condo, there were a few door handle issues, a couple of feint settling cracks in the walls, the paint was OK but could have been spruced up. I was convinced we had to get it all fixed up. Our realtor came in and said just get it professionally cleaned. We then had it staged, which made it look absolutely incredible. We sold at full ask within a week.
Obviously it depends on the situation, but having it staged was the best decision we made (obviously that's tricky if you're still living in it).
I guess I'm kind of at the mercy of the market. That's what I keep hearing.
I don't know anything about owning a home - I inherited this house. Never owned a home prior to it.
I think my mind is kind of all over the place - doing this or that to the home will add value.
This house is "move-in ready" I believe - it's not a trash heap. My parents took care of it. Though it does need attention in places.
I guess I was hoping, though my sister's friend said get it on market at $170K, that I could just throw maybe a few thousand and a lot of sweat equity that I could turn this property into a $250K home. Maybe that's just not realistic (not at all how the real-world of home buying/selling works)?
Ok, now we're getting somewhere.
Don't be afraid of home ownership. Your parents are giving you a golden opportunity. If you do things correctly, you'll have no "step-up" in property taxes. Talk with your accountant before you do anything. Too many people fall into the "prop. tax trap." Don't be one of 'em.
What is your current living situation, now? Would your folks' house be an upgrade, or downgrade? What about in the future? These things you might throw some thought into.
If you had just lost your last parent, there's a good chance you're making an emotional decision. Best advice is to not make any financial decision for 6 months. This gives you time to discover all the ramifications of those decisions.
What City/State is the property in? (This may have a great bearing on the tax situation.)
Don't be afraid of home ownership. Your parents are giving you a golden opportunity. If you do things correctly, you'll have no "step-up" in property taxes. Talk with your accountant before you do anything. Too many people fall into the "prop. tax trap." Don't be one of 'em.
What is your current living situation, now? Would your folks' house be an upgrade, or downgrade? What about in the future? These things you might throw some thought into.
If you had just lost your last parent, there's a good chance you're making an emotional decision. Best advice is to not make any financial decision for 6 months. This gives you time to discover all the ramifications of those decisions.
What City/State is the property in? (This may have a great bearing on the tax situation.)
I don't know anything about property tax to be honest.
I was living in the home with my father when he passed. It was my primary residence - it's still my primary residence. It's a big house for a single guy (2K sq ft). I would like to rent out the basement, or better yet, rent out the two upper levels and live in the basement (which has its own bathroom) until I meet a girlfriend or get married. Similar sized home just across the street rents out for around $1600/mo - my mortgage is $790/mo.
I live in St. Paul, MN.
The city is okay - I would rather be in the suburbs but I don't think I would like the commute back into the Cities as most of my work is inside the city. Plus everything I need is right here - I got a mechanic up the street, stores, work. There is crime here but I'm immune to it. And as a single male currently, I don't have children to worry about getting shot or whatever.
Well, if you want to sell, this is the year to sell. The market is hot everywhere and houses are flying off the market.
That being said, you DO have to live somewhere, and you might not find anything you like as much for the mortgage $$ you are now paying. A hot market is good except that you have to get into it yourself after you have made your killing since you can't just move into a tent.
Repainting and recarpeting and renting it out (or the upper two levels) might give you the cash you need to think harder about your situation.
I'm not sure if the company I am affiliated with has the program in MN where you are, but we have a thing where the company fronts the money to do repairs/stage/clean/landscape (up to a certain amount) and you pay back at closing. It results in higher sales and it's done with a coordinator and with vetted professionals with Home Advisor. Some sellers have been able to sell their home for a lot more than if they just left everything as it was.
Well, if you want to sell, this is the year to sell. The market is hot everywhere and houses are flying off the market.
That being said, you DO have to live somewhere, and you might not find anything you like as much for the mortgage $$ you are now paying. A hot market is good except that you have to get into it yourself after you have made your killing since you can't just move into a tent.
Repainting and recarpeting and renting it out (or the upper two levels) might give you the cash you need to think harder about your situation.
I agree. You might make out a lot better with doing some basic fix-ups and getting one or two decent roommates, considering the low mortgage payment you already have. Plus you're comfortable with the neighborhood and its amenities - that's not to be ignored either. These are all factors to be considered.
I'm not sure if the company I am affiliated with has the program in MN where you are, but we have a thing where the company fronts the money to do repairs/stage/clean/landscape (up to a certain amount) and you pay back at closing. It results in higher sales and it's done with a coordinator and with vetted professionals with Home Advisor. Some sellers have been able to sell their home for a lot more than if they just left everything as it was.
I've got more than enough money to get just about anything I want done. Money isn't a problem as far as getting some of this stuff done. I've got $75K in my checking (I think that's more than enough )
I was just wondering if there were crews you could just pay to come in to do all of it - kind of streamline the work.
I saw this at the house across the street after the last owners fell through on their rent - the rental company had a few guys come to the house, do all that needed to be done to get it quick back on the market ready for their next renters.
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