Selling a run-down house might seem like a pretty strange situation to find yourself in – and you might consider it a bit of an insurmountable challenge. Perhaps you inherited the property. Maybe it is geographically remote from where you live and work and has fallen into such disrepair on account of a neglect that it just isn’t practical to resolve.
You might also have bought the run-down house with the intention of “flipping” it – renovating it and selling it on for a profit – but unexpected financial vicissitudes made this unfeasible. These all might seem like extreme situations, but they are actually far more common than you might think.
CityHome Collective, realtors out Utah, say that selling a run-down house is all about emphasizing its potential. The aforementioned practice of flipping a run-down home is attractive for many buyers. However, the process is naturally a bit different from selling any other type of property, and you need to know what you’re doing.
The Main Differences
The main difference between selling a run-down home and a usual property is that the entire process of preparing the house for sale, organizing viewings, listings, and everything else involved in selling the home is a different ball game.
If you’ve ever sold any type of (non-run-down) property, then you’ll be well aware of this difference and how significant it is. For one thing, the whole process of organizing the interior in an attractive way and making the house look livable doesn’t apply. This is because, quite simply, the house is not livable!
Accordingly, a completely different type of buyer is targeted, and selling the home needs to place serious emphasis on the potential of the property – either the potential to be renovated or the potential to be a money-maker for those with the resources to flip the property.
Tips for Selling a Run-Down House
Beyond setting out this most fundamental difference, the best advice for selling a dilapidated property takes the form of a series of tips. Much depends on the property itself (as run-down properties can vary on a broad spectrum of disrepair) and this the where the value of a good realtor really comes into its own.
Here follows some top tips:
Learn About the Buyer Pool
There is no getting around the fact that run-down houses or potential fixer-uppers aren’t for everyone, and you need to resign yourself from the off to the fact that you will be working with a much smaller buyer pool. Nevertheless, this does have some advantages, the main one being that there is unlikely to be much competition from other houses in the area, and when a buyer is interested, there’s a much higher chance that the interest will develop into a sale.
Clear Out the Yard
We are not talking about renovating a house for sale here. We’re talking about selling one in a run-down state. Thus, making the home “presentable” is usually beyond your budget. However, you can fix up the curb appeal somewhat. Cut the grass, clear away all the discarded washing machines in the yard, and make the house look good, if only from the outside.
Make Some Small Repairs
There are a few small things you can always do, such as fixing leaky pipes, patching holes, and treating carpet stains. The house will still be run down, but the buyer knows what they are getting themselves in for, and these small repairs will go a long way.
Dilapidated properties are, in fact, sold every day and can be profitable. Don’t worry too much about the condition – you and the potential buyers are on the same page.
