But there will be buyers looking for old fashioned charm and structural craftsmanship. Here are six tips to prepare your older home to attract interest and serious buyers to your listing.
Inspect Your Home
If you feel qualified to make an objective and detailed assessment, do a thorough inspection of your house to look for strengths and weaknesses. However, there’s a good chance that you won’t be able to catch everything. Instead, you can pay a modest fee for a general home inspection that will spell out specific problems that should be addressed.
Get a Realtor’s Opinion
Consult a local real estate agent for a professional opinion about your property. The agent can explain from a marketing point of view what needs to be done, and what can possibly be negotiated with a prospective buyer.
The agent will also be able to pull comps to compare your property with similar listings to suggest a fair and inviting sale price. A realtor will also be able to help you market your home to reach as many interested buyers as possible.
Make Necessary Repairs
Most homebuyers aren’t looking for a fixer-upper. Unless you plan to sell the house “as is,” you may need to make some repairs that will make the home more attractive to buyers. Problems that your home inspector found should be fixed immediately.
Additionally, problems that are common in older homes like a leaky roof, outdated wiring, or corroded water lines should be dealt with before the house goes on the market.
Consider Helpful Updates
In addition to repairs, you may want to modernize the home to make it more appealing to house shoppers. For example, an aging furnace that still works could be replaced by a new one. A basement laundry area might be moved to a renovated mud room on the main floor for convenience. You might want to replace gravel in the driveway with concrete. While many stand by the saying “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” these conveniences can sway buyers when they’re choosing between two similar properties.
Enhance the Style
Play to your home’s historic strengths by showcasing period attractions. Porch pillars, wooden floors that can be refinished, and a working fireplace may be able to create the old-time cozy homestead image that many buyers would love to have. Stage the home with your own or a few rented antiques like quilts, pots or pans, and a roll-top desk to give the home a distinctive air that recalls an earlier time.
other valuable tips:
Add a “Wow” Factor
Depending on whether the home is marketed as an older dwelling or a modernized one, add special touches like a hanging quilt or hand-painted vases to catch buyers’ attention. Even with ten similar homes for sale in the area, yours can stand out with backsplash kitchen lighting, a unique stove hood, or old-fashioned door knobs.
Your older home is full of charm, and you want buyers to see that. When you’re getting ready to sell the home, make sure all safety problems are fixed, then spruce up the areas of your home that could use it. Highlight period accents, and enjoy spending time making your home picture perfect for shoppers who are looking for an older home with charm and character.
Image Credit: selling older home by Pixabay
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