A friend of mine recently sold their beautiful home which resides in a wonderful neighborhood and on an amazing lot in Plano Texas. You’d think by my initial description it was easy to sell. Unfortunately it was built 20 years ago and looked like it. Meaning the appliances, wallpaper, popcorn ceilings and brass hardware dated the home. The carpets needed to be replaced and the paint needed touching up. Don’t get me wrong, they took amazing care of the home but this was making it difficult to sell their home. If you are in the same situation, you have two options here!

1. Reduce the price and sell the home “as is”.
This scenario gives the new buyers an opportunity to update the home how they see fit. Sounds pretty tempting for both parties, right?

The problem with this scenario is simple. Though the idea of getting a great price and updating the home with your choice of carpet, paint colors and appliances may sound appealing, many customers will back out half-way through the offer process. Once the reality of updating a home sets in, it can be pretty overwhelming and inconvenient if you have to live there while carpets are being ripped out and walls are being painted. Chances are your home will be on the market for a long time before the right buyer with enough cash flow comes along. Maybe that’s okay if you’re not in a hurry to move but if you do have to move then you may be paying two mortgages for a while.

I would only recommend this scenario if you do not have the money or the means to update the home before selling.

2. Get that home equity loan you’ve been talking about for so long and make the appropriate updates to sell your home quickly.
If you have the money or the means to tackle this scenario, then I’d highly advise it. It’s not as hard as it sounds and can cost a lot less than you think. You may be able to pay for all of the updates for only half of the discount you would have given. Plus your home will sell much faster saving your money and sleepless nights.

To save a little extra money, find out who does the actual labor and have them do the work avoiding the middleman and paying an added premium. That advice is not for everyone though and should only be considered if you have a good understand of what is actually required to accomplish your goals.

In case you are interested in knowing the outcome of my friend’s home, after 3 months on the market as a fixer-upper and 2 on-the-fence buyers, they made the updates and their home sold in 2 weeks for their asking price. REALTORS love to show move-in ready homes and homebuyers love to see them. Good luck in your home selling adventure!