CARPET CREDITS When I sit down with clients to put their home on the market, we normally go over what items are worth repairing or upgrading. My normal rule of thumb is to spend as little as possible fixing the house up, but still get the job done. My thought process here is that you don’t want to spend money on items where you won’t get your money back. For example, it isn’t worth putting in a pool, since it will cost way more to put it in than what you will get in increased sales price. However, I will suggest my clients paint or put in new carpet when warranted. About half the time, they will say, “Let’s just offer them a credit for the carpet (or paint, or whatever). I’m sure the buyer can look past it. Besides, what if they don’t like what I put in? Isn’t it better to let them pick their own color, type, style?” While logically, this makes sense, it assumes that buyers buy based on logic. They don’t! They buy based on emotion, but justify with logic. I’ve observed that buyers make split-second decisions based on how the home “feels” to them the moment they walk in the front door. The assumption that buyers will want to put in their own carpet (or whatever) is wrong, because they are never going to buy the house in the first place! I’ve found that very few buyers can “look past” things that need fixing, even when they say they can. It is better to either fix the condition, or reduce the price to compensate for it. However, if you reduce the price, a buyer might still expect a price reduction later to compensate for the issue. This is why it is usually better to just fix it, whatever “it” is. If you are considering selling your home and you aren’t sure if you should fix something, be sure to check with your real estate professional first and get their opinion.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 17:42:12 +0000
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