As a Realtor,
I hear that line a lot; especially when discussing the potential sale of their
home with older sellers. Many older people with who I deal have lived in their
homes for decades. Those homes were built in the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s and were
probably state of the art at the time; or, at least, they represented the
styles and tastes of the times in which they were built. Unfortunately, many of
the would-be sellers never saw any need to change anything about their homes. If
it didn’t break or wear out, “why change it?” seems to be their mantra.
So, when I
come along and try to offer my advice on things that need to be updated in order
to make the house more sale able, I get the retort, “It was good enough for us
all of these years, so it should be good enough for buyers.”
No. No, it
isn’t good enough for potential buyers. You are asking them to pay good money
for something that is out of date, or on its last legs, that you have grown
accustomed to putting up with and accepting. You have become “nose dead” to the
odors from your house that arise out of outdated styles and worn out appliances
and tired infrastructure. Well, it was
good enough for us…
Those little maintenance
items that you ignored and walked past all of these years now draw the
attention of visitors and they evaluate your house against others that they
visit. The woulda, coulda, shoulda’s of things left undone in your home pile up
in their minds and the long list of expenses to fix those issues detracts of
its perceived value. Well, it was good
enough for us…
The things
that, in your mind anyway, are “easy fixes” may look daunting to the would-be
buyer who is not handy and doesn’t have the time to tackle your “honey-do list”.
Some things are not even fix-able - the architectural style that is no longer
in favor is usually the biggest. Some things loom as huge and costly update jobs
– replacing the dated kitchen and baths. And some just raise further questions
about what else may be wrong with the house, due to deferred or lack of
maintenance – missing plug or switch covers, broken or missing cabinet pulls or
perhaps a rusty and dirty old furnace or water heater. Water stains on the ceilings
that you never got around to repainting will raise questions and concerns. Well, it was good enough for us…
When owners
dig in there heals with that line as their defense against taking any of my
Most of the
time, though usually months (sometimes years) later they finally give up and
drop the p[rice to where it needs to be to sell what is a “project house.”
Unfortunately for me they may not do that while I have it listed. They will
make one (or more) agent moves, convinced that I’m just not trying hard enough
to sell their home – or the next agent or the agent after that. Surely it can’t
be their home; because, after all, Well,
it was good enough for us…
Sometimes an
intervention by children or perhaps a trusted friend will help them see that
what I’ve been telling them and what the market has been telling them is the
truth. They normally will have been through the denial phase and perhaps cycled
through the anger phase (usually anger directed at their agent) and are ready for
the acceptance phase. They are ready to say, OK, I hear you; but, Well it was good enough for us…
Hopefully,
you can avoid the delay and the pain and anguish of having to go through this
when it comes time to sell your house. The key is not to let yourself become complainant
about things in your home – not to become nose dead to the things that need
fixing or updating. You can watch TV shows on the HGTV channel that will show
you want’s trending in home style and décor in various parts of the country; however,
those tend to be set in areas of the country that may not reflect trends in the
heartland.
A better way
is to establish a relationship with a local Realtor and invite them in from
time to time to give you feedback on your house and what needs to be done to
make it more marketable. Of course, they are going to do so in hopes that you
will use them when you do list, and that’s a reasonable expectation. The key it
to listen to what they tell you; then make a list of update and repair projects
and work down that list.
I advise
clients all the time that they need to be planning and making update investments
in their homes all the time – something every year and something major (kitchens
or baths) every five years. Of course they also need to stay on top of
maintenance and not let things slide to where they become used to the broken or
worn out things being as they are; this should include looking to see if it is
time to replace that old furnace that is still the original or the hot water
heater that’s looking a little rusty and shabby.
One of the
simplest things to keep up with are changing color palettes. Tastes in interior
and exterior colors change every few years and homeowners should keep abreast
of the latest trends and see if the new colors would work in their home. Just
committing to a new paint scheme will force you to also take care of those little
items that you’ve been putting off, like that missing or broken electrical
cover. You should also look at things like new lighting, new area rugs and
other things that go along with a new and fresh look.
So, if you
live in my area and have been thinking about retiring and moving on or just
think it’s time to move up to a bigger
and better house, give me a call. I’ll visit and give you my feedback about what
the house may need in order to sell on today’s market. When I give you the list
of things that I think need to be fixed or updated; please don’t say to me, Well it was good enough for us…
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