Are you renovating your house but circumstances didn’t allow you to complete all the works? Now, time is running out, and you need to sell it already, perhaps? Well, the quick answer to this is don’t worry. An unfinished or half-renovated house can still be sold if you follow the right sales strategy.
Plus, more than 40% of Americans buy fixer-uppers on average. How much more if it has been renovated, even partially?
In this article, we give you eight (8) ways on how to sell that half-finished house of yours, just in time for your target date.
Review Your Contract with the Tradesman
Contractors either charge on a per hour basis or a fixed, service-based rate. The ideal option would be to get a contractor who charges per service and not by the hour. However, since not all areas are serviced by these types of contractors, you’ll need to be careful with people who charge by the hour. They must be very reliable and excellent at what they do.
If you hired tradespeople who charge based on the work, review your contract or program of work with them. If you paid them upfront, they have to finish what they started. At least complete what’s written in the contract. However, if you compensate your contractor on an hourly basis, you can expect it would be more challenging to convince them to finish the work, especially if they know you are short on funds.
Highlight Customization Potential
What’s great about an empty house or a half-renovated house is it gives a lot of space for imagination. This is the same reason why decluttering is recommended before a home showing. Help your potential buyers imagine what they can do with your home, and suggest options for continuing the renovations according to their preferences. If you achieve this, you’ll be making a lasting impression, and your buyer will forget the thought that your house is not entirely done yet.
Highlight Best Features
The beauty and value of a home are subjective. A nice-looking home for you may not be a nice-looking home for somebody else. Likewise, an ugly-looking house to you may be a gem in the eyes of the right buyer. This means that if you can identify what makes your buyer fall head over heels with a property and point that in your unfinished home, that would already be a plus for your buyer.
Be Ready to Suggest Private Money Lenders
Mortgage lenders are sometimes picky with the homes they finance and selective with borrowers. Just in case your potential buyer backs out due to financing issues, you can help by suggesting private money lenders. You can contact PMLs in advance, ask for their requirements, qualifications, and research their history.
Real estate private money lenders can be challenging to find because they only lend to people they know. But there are PMLs out there who welcome any borrower with lower minimum requirements. You just need to spend time looking.
Suggest Renovation Loans
If your unfinished renovation works were supposed to ensure the safety and comfort of the buyer, then they would most probably want to finish what you started. Who would want to live in a house with broken windows, for example, or a home with faulty plumbing? The thing is, if your buyer sees the high after repair value (ARV) of the house, then getting a renovation loan would not be a difficult decision to make.
You can cut your buyers some slack by recommending renovation loans ahead if they don’t have the money to pay the contractors upfront. Remember also that similar to mortgage lenders, home improvement lenders may also require a downpayment. You can help your buyers explore suitable financing options so you can get their “yes” in the fastest time possible.
Look for D.I.Y Solutions
Do-It-Yourself home repair and improvement works have become part of the new normal. While many D.I.Y solutions are acknowledged as temporary, there are plenty of other solutions that can last for a really long time. You just need to buy the right power tools and materials.
Some repair and renovation work you can do yourself include:
- Fixing exposed leaking pipes
- Painting your house
- Fixing a running toilet
- Installing lighting
- Patch holes, cracks, and crevices on walls, ceilings, and floor
- Re-grout tiles
- Replace/install a door
D.I.Y home improvements can be helpful if your house hasn’t met the minimum standards under the Georgia Construction Codes. There are hundreds of D.I.Y guides that you can check online, like the ones published by The Family Handyman and Home Depot.
Look for Fixer-Upper Buyers
You can also entice investor buyers, specifically flippers, deal hunters, and remodelers, if you don’t find a retail buyer. These people buy houses that aren’t in perfect condition, renovate them, and sell them after or turn them into a rental property. Fixer-upper buyers are people who are excellent at seeing potential in properties. So don’t be discouraged if you think your unfinished home is ugly and not worth buying because it is worth buying for the right buyer — all you need is patience.
Here’s how a fixer-upper buyer would see your house as:
Set the Right Price
Setting the price involves getting a reasonable estimate of your home’s after repair value (ARV). House flippers often use ARVs to evaluate whether the house has excellent investment potential. If you know your home’s ARV based on the complete renovation plans, you get an idea of how much your maximum asking price should be.
If you’re having trouble looking for a buyer and you need to sell your Warner Robins house today, give us a call at Spire Property Solutions. You can contact us via the form below or call us at (678) 318-1801. We are here to help!