Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to sell a house that needs work, and take a look at the potential buyers who might be interested in a fixer-upper or a home that feels like it’s frozen in time.<\/p>\n
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\n <\/div>\n \n Sell Your House As-Is and Compare Options<\/h3>\n
House needs work? No problem. Skip repairs, staging, and showings. Get an all-cash offer in 24 hours with HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform and close in as little as 10 days. You can also request an expert estimate of what your home might sell for using a top-rated agent.<\/span><\/p>\n \n It\u2019s natural to wonder how a home that needs TLC can compete with turnkey properties<\/a>, especially when the median sales price of an existing home has soared in the past few years.<\/p>\n Maybe you haven\u2019t maintained your home regularly, or you\u2019ve inherited a house and want to sell it<\/a>. Regardless, your house doesn\u2019t have to be perfect. It just has to show the potential for buyers to make money, build equity, or obtain the lifestyle they want within their budget.<\/p>\n Real estate investors can be individual house flippers<\/a>, small or large-scale rental landlords, or even house-buying companies<\/a> such as We Buy Houses.<\/p>\n You may have also heard of tech-enabled cash buyers (often called iBuyers<\/a>), such as Opendoor, Offerpad, and HomeLight<\/a>, that use technology to value homes and make near-instant offers. HomeLight\u2019s Simple Sale<\/a> platform, for example, can help you get a no-obligation, all-cash offer for your home in 24 hours, and close in as few as 10 days.<\/p>\n These buyers usually pay with all cash and prefer to buy homes off-market. Many will purchase from those selling their home as is<\/a>, meaning the seller isn\u2019t expected to do any work to improve the home\u2019s current condition.<\/p>\n For this type of buyer, a purchase is generally all about how the numbers shake out since they don\u2019t plan to live in the property. Would the costs of buying and rehabbing the property allow the buyer to resell it at a decent profit? Alternatively, would the cash flow cover their expenses should they aim to rent the property<\/a>?<\/p>\n Daniel Close<\/a> is a real estate investor in Louisville, Kentucky, with more than 15 years of experience. He says his main calculation is a home\u2019s value after the cost of repairs. In Louisville\u2019s starter-home range of about $150,000 to $200,000, he aims for 80% after-repair value, or ARV. In general, investors offer about 70% of a property\u2019s ARV<\/a> for a house they plan to flip.<\/p>\n Close also considers how the home might appeal to future buyers. \u201cI look at the neighborhood a lot. Is it trending in the right direction or the wrong direction? What\u2019s this neighborhood going to look like in five years or 10 years?\u201d he says. \u201cRoom layout is a big one for me. Is the flow appropriate? Do I have to knock down walls or redo a bathroom? Do I need to move the kitchen or the bathroom? That\u2019s a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n This type of buyer would love to live in a specific location but hasn\u2019t been able to land their dream home, either because they can\u2019t afford the average home prices there or because someone else \u2014 like a cash buyer \u2014 has snapped it up first. This buyer may be a first-timer<\/a> who is unable to tap into existing equity to buy a new home or a DIYer who isn\u2019t afraid of a house that needs some TLC<\/a>.<\/p>\n While most buyers would prefer a move-in ready home over one that requires renovations, deal-hunters, by contrast, go against the grain. They are likely to ask their real estate agent to share listings at a lower price point for the area that may require some work.<\/p>\n A bargain hunter is looking for the potential to create their dream home on a limited budget. A house that needs cosmetic updates and some elbow grease to be move-in ready is OK with a deal-hunter, so long as it has decent bones and a location they love.<\/p>\nLearn more about your buyer pool<\/h2>\n
Possible buyer #1: The real estate investor<\/h2>\n
What\u2019s a real estate investor?<\/h3>\n
How do they operate?<\/h3>\n
What do they look for in a home?<\/h3>\n
Possible buyer #2: The bargain hunter<\/h2>\n
Who are the bargain hunters?<\/h3>\n
How do they operate?<\/h3>\n
What do they look for in a home?<\/h3>\n