Selling a House “As Is” You Lose Money TWICE!

It is usually a bad decision to sell a house “As Is…”

It seems LOGICAL to sell “As Is.”

But… – is it in your best interest?

Why is Selling My House “AS IS” considered foolish?

If you review actual home sales -past sales that went down without a Pre-Sale Home Inspection Report and without making the repairs that would have been listed in that Pre-Sale Report, you will find that the actual recorded “sold” prices are often tens of thousands of dollars LESS than the original MLS asking price.

There are many naive house sellers who lower the price of the house they list by $10,000 or $20,000 since they understand that the house has some maintenance issues. The truth is, that the $10-$20,000 they subtract as they choose their Asking Price will end up costing them $40,000 – $50,000 when the house finally closes escrow. The problem with that thinking is that it backfires.

Here is how it works: Fixer-upper buyers will discount the price of the home to allow for the repairs and, for the inconvenience, and a bit more. Say, a home is worth $100,000 fixed up, but it needs a new roof. A new roof might cost $10,000. A buyer most likely will not offer $90,000 for this home. Otherwise, they could buy an identical home with a new roof for $100,000 and not have the hassle. A buyer for this type of home might offer $75,000, or even less. In this scenario, a seller would be smarter to pay for a new roof and sell the home for $100,000.

So…  Selling as-is will cost you real money right out of the gate!

FIRST $ $ $ LOSS

Because of the Fixer-Upper Mentality…

You Lose Money the minute the Sign is Planted

Real Money is subtracted from your already REDUCED Asking Price!

SECOND $ $ $ LOSS

If you receive and accept a LOW offer…

You will get Beaten-Up during the 10-day Negotiation Window with the Home Inspection Report

More Real Money is subtracted from the Offer-Price that was already LOWER than your Lowered Asking-Price! A Nightmare!

Should I Make Home Repairs Before Selling?

- The short answer? Yes – you should get a Pre-Sale Home Inspection and then make the repairs!

Look, we are plenty busy and don’t lack for work here in SoCAL – there are more real estate transactions in SoCAL than anyplace on the planet. This website gets 1,000’s of weekly hits from sellers all around the United States. We want this critical advice to get out! – The answer is Yes… Get a Pre-Sale Home Inspection and use that as a Repair-List before you list the property! This is even MORE critical in a Buyer’s Market where Buyers will beat you up (financially) or abandon you in mid-escrow.

Not convinced? - Sellers paint a big target on their forehead by failing to make needed repairs before selling. You can read through some of the dozens of buyer’s testimonies after using their Home Inspection Report as a big hammer on home sellers who fail to prepare.

Lazy sellers set themselves up for huge cash reductions during escrow – real money down the drain!

Some might call these financially bloodied sellers lucky.

Lucky ? Yes! When a foolish seller is already neck-deep in quicksand, it may now be better to take the big financial loss. But to add insult-to-injury, many Buyers simply abandon ship; pull up stakes: they cancel your escrow! There are just too many houses, they have already looked at, that are so much cleaner and more-ready for them to move into. They decide mid-escrow that they just do not want to be burdened with your Fixer Upper!

They demand that you return their earnest money – often in a letter from their lawyer… The Buyers have plenty of attractive options – while your ONE option just slammed the door on you! You have lost time (weeks); lost money, and now you have to start over.

When this happens, your marketing-momentum is on-the-rocks. Buyers shun houses that are: Sold ~ Back on Market ~ Sale Pending (?) ~ In Escrow ~ Taking Back-up Offers….

Below are two links to actual testimonials. Testimonials from buyers who either canceled escrow or got cash concessions from foolish, un-prepared sellers:

• Home Sales Canceled after Home Inspection Report
• Buyer’s Get Huge Price Reductions over Maintenance Issues

Upshot? Sellers to be? Be smart. No sense repeating these common Seller Mistakes.