Heather's Helpful Hints for Sellers in Bucks County, PA - Links to Love

My husband and I just spent the day getting our fix and flip investment property in Warminster, PA ready to be put on the market. There is the inevitable list of piddly little "to-do" items that take forever to complete: cabinet hardware on the kitchen cabinets, grills on the A/C vents, toilet paper holders and towel racks in the bathroom. We spent about 5 hours today doing a multitude of tiny things that add up to mean big money in the end. Of course, I played washer woman - nothing like cleaning toilets in a house that was inhabited solely by workmen. G-ross!

I was going to write a blog about how to prepare your home for market, but quickly realized I've talked about this ad nauseum on this blog (you might have noticed my obsession with cleaning kitchens and baths). So, rather than reiterate, I've decided to just link those babies up!

Heather's Links to Love for Sellers in Bucks County, PA

The 10 Minute Staging will tell you how to quickly get your home show ready (and you'll see my messy kitchen).

5 Things That are Sure to Run Off Buyers will tell you the five quickest ways to get a Buyer out of your house (which should NOT be the goal here :)

Find out How a Plate of Cookies can beat out hardwood floors.

The Quickest Fixes for Your Kitchen and Baths illustrates my obsessive nature regarding these rooms.

When Does it Make Sense to Rehab an Estate? Find out my criteria...

Look for more hints here in the very near future. Every time I put a flip house on the market, I remember how difficult it is to get a property ready to market. These investment properties keep me in tune with my Sellers frustrations :)

When Does it Make Sense to Fix a Home in an Estate Sale?

Selling a beloved family home after the death of a parent may be one of the most emotional real estate transactions you will go through. On top of the obvious difficulty in dealing with the death of a parent, the family home is often in some disrepair and dated.

When working with estates, I counsel the family to take an honest look at the home. If the home has generally been maintained, and has been updated throughout the years with new mechanicals (heater, roof, etc) as needed, then it may make sense to do a light rehab. What's a light rehab? Paint and carpet. Perhaps a kitchen. Now you have an updated, well maintained home that should be a very sellable product (as long as you price it right).

If however, the home has been neglected, and many of the major components need repair or replacement, then it doesn't make sense to rehab the home. You would have to do a full-scale rehab at that point. It rarely makes sense for an estate to invest that significant amount of time, energy, and money. At that point, I suggest that it's better to sell the house "as-is" and let someone else invest the money, time, and energy to bring the home up to speed. It doesn't make sense to paint and carpet a home that is only going to undergo a major rehab, and you'll be throwing good money away.

How about if the home is marginal? Paint and carpet, neaten up the kitchen if possible, maybe with new flooring and countertop, and price it to sell.

Although difficult to do, you need to take an emotional step back from the home in order to see its true condition, then move forward from there in a way that makes sense: financially and emotionally.