As a historic town, old houses are fairly common in Conyers, and so is your old electrical system. If you’re worried your home won’t sell with old wiring, or you’ve had interested buyers already who backed out because of that wiring, think again. Even the most dilapidated properties can be sold with the right strategy and this includes your Conyers home.
Selling an old house can be much like selling anything — possibly only more difficult because real estate is expensive. But it still follows what we know about Sales 101 — you have to understand your customers and know what’s valuable to them. If you’re able to catch that, then the probability of selling your Conyers home with old wiring will be much clearer than when you first decided to sell the house.
To know what would make your buyer say “yes” to your property, it’s very important to put yourself in their shoes. Know what are their hesitations, understand their current situation, and get a grasp of their future plans — these are the initial, but highly essential steps you can take when you find a lead for your Conyers home.
The Risks of Old Wiring
If you aren’t sure how outdated your wiring / electrical system is, here’s are some of the common signs:
- Rubber insulation
- Cracked insulation and exposed wires
- No grounding system in the home
- Frequently tripping circuit breakers
- Burning smells
- Sparking power outlets
- Knob and Tube wiring system
- Fuses that are larger than 15 or 20 amps
Outdated wirings, although usable, have a lot potential risks to properties and their occupants. In fact, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), home electrical fires rendered an estimated $1.3 billion in direct property damages per year between 2012-2016. In addition, residential electrical fires involve a considerable number of civilian deaths and injuries every year. While there are a lot of reasons for residential fires, the topmost one involves electrical failures.
When Is Old Wiring Not Safe Anymore?
As your wiring gets old, the materials also wears away overtime. This is why you see cracked wire insulations and exposed wires. Old and worn out wires or electrical systems can be easily overloaded; meaning, they can’t carry anymore the amount of electrical current needed for your lights, appliances, and other fixtures. As a result, overloaded circuits may blow and ignite an electrical fire.
Logically, the use of an outdated wiring system is not advisable especially when one is planning to use modern appliances. However, plenty of very old electrical systems are still in use today and the only thing you can do is to watch out for hazard signs and call an electrician right away the moment you see them. These signs include:
- Burnt smell of plastic/rubber
- Sparking power outlets
- Frequent blackouts
- Broken switches
- Non-working power outlets
- Flickering lights
- Electrical shocks (incl. the faint ones)
The Costs of Rewiring
The cost of rewiring a house depends on the size of your property, the scale of the problem, and the type of electrical system you want installed. There’s also cost for labor and professional services. As reported by Thumbtack, rewiring can cost homeowners about $2.75 per ft2. So, if you have a 2,500 ft2 home, the estimated costs to rewire the entire home is about $6,800.
Unlike many other home improvements, rewiring a house can’t be done D.I.Y. — unless you’re trained and licensed to handle electrical systems. This is why there’s very little work-around when you want to save much on rewiring expenses. Although home buyers can definitely take out a loan for home improvements, not everyone can qualify. This means that if your buyer isn’t prepared to spend for after-purchase repairs, then you can expect for them to back out.
In addition, rewiring projects need to be supported by a local permit. This is to ensure that the new electrical system was installed properly. Getting the necessary permits may take time depending on your location, and the project duration will also vary depending on the scale of the project and the physical state of your home.
How Old Wirings Affect Your Home Sale
Obviously, all these hazards and risks are scary and inconvenient; that’s why you should understand that old wiring maybe a deciding factor for your buyer. If you’re selling on the market, an old wiring system may affect your chances of not getting enough leads, which in turn would increase your Days On Market — something that makes your listing look bad. The good news is, there are ways to successfully sell your Conyers home fast, even with an outdated wiring system. Some of them include:
- Getting a pre-listing inspection to show your buyer the real extent of repairs needed
- Research home improvement loans for your buyers
- Offering a concession
- Pay a portion of the total rewiring cost
If you still haven’t met your perfect buyer, maybe it’s at Spire Property Solutions. Spire is a professional home buying company in Georgia that creates value for every home seller who just wishes to end their home selling process as soon as possible. We are a Conyers cash home buyer, which means that we buy houses directly in full cash without an agent, and we buy them as is to save you both time and money. If you want to know more about this opportunity, contact us at (678) 318 -1801 or leave us your contact information in the form below!