TOM & CYNDEE
BROWNER
CRS,
ABR, GRI, e-PRO, CRB, MRAQUAD CITIES REAL ESTATE WITH RE/MAX
SERVING THE ENTIRE IOWA AND ILLINOIS QUAD CITIES ............................................................
DAVENPORT - BETTENDORF - ROCK ISLAND - MOLINE AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
TOM & CYNDEE
BROWNER
CRS,
ABR, GRI, e-PRO, CRB, MRA
BROKER OWNERS OF RE/MAX BI-STATE - SERVING IOWA & ILLINOIS
1-563-388-0008 Office - 1-563-388-0083 Fax - 1-866-388-0083 Toll Free - 1-563-570-7629 Cell Cyndee - 1-563-343-1092 Cell Tom - 355-1616 Home
Have a question? The answer is just a call or e-mail away. Contact us at tom&cyndee@quadcitiesrealestate.com
We know you want to sell your home for the most money, in the shortest time and with with least inconvenience. If you want serious advertising and effort from your agent, call or contact us for a FREE MARKET ANALYSIS of your present home. We are both Certified Residential Specialist by the Residential Sales Council. No obligation, of course. Call us on our private line at 570-7629 at RE/MAX BI-STATE or Contact us at tom&cyndee@quadcitiesrealestate.com - LOOKING TO BUY? Check out the services an Accredited Buyers Representative can mean to you.
Our Goal is to provide you with the most up to date information and Exemplary Service at all times. Homes are an important decision and a long term investment. When Your Money Matters, you need and deserve the most competent professional help available. We strive to always be on top of the market and to further our education's, that we may be knowledgeable to give you the best service and advice at all times.
SHALL I FIX IT UP?
Every owner wants to sell their home for the most money possible. It is surprising how many home owners live with a home that is in need of repair for years, and only decide to fix it up when they are ready to sell. This aside, repairs can make a big difference is the money you receive for your home.
Start with the front of your home. Studies have shown that 80% of all buyers have decided whether they like your home or not, before they go through the front door. It has further been shown that if they have decided that they do not like the front, even the new plush carpet and gold trim inside will not change their minds.
So wash down the front door and trim, paint if it needs it. Clean the windows. Remove all loose paint and repaint the bare wood or window sills. Tend the landscape, remove debris on the lawn, weeds, toys and garbage.
If you smoke or have dirty walls, first try to wash them. If this does not take care of the problems, touch paint or total paint. Paint is cheap. Be sure to tape all edges, and remove all spills and over flows. Bad painting is worse than no painting. Dust everything and wipe down the cabinets with a good wood polish. Touch up the stain if the wood has worn areas or shows spills.
Dust off the furnace and water heater, pipes and clean vents. Remove cobwebs everywhere. Scrub and wax the floors and touch up scratches in woodwork, and your furniture.
For most homes you are now done. You will notice I was high on elbow grease, low on cost. That is because buyers buy with their eyes. If everything is clean and taken care of, they will assume that you have been just as careful about everything else. If you are dirty or smell, they will be off to the next home and you will have been the primary salesman for the sale of that home.
Dogs, cats, cigarettes and other odors. If you really want to sell your competition, smell. I have been in homes with horrible cat and dog odors. These homes have finally sold as much as 40% below market, just because the home owners refused to take care of the odors. Smokers, you also can be a turn off to many buyers. Yellow walls, and lingering odor can move as many as 70% of the potential buyers to non-smoke competition homes.
There can not be any spots in the carpet. If you have pets and spots or pets and odor, you have to clean the carpet. If the spots or odor persist, you must remove the carpet and pad and replace. I hate to cost sellers money, but not replacing obviously in need of replacement carpet, will cost them more than the replacement.
If it is just spots, torn, badly worn or outdated carpet, you may be able to just get by with replacing the carpet if the pad is still ok. If it is strong pet smell and cleaning the carpet does not remove it, then you must do three things. First remove the carpet and pad and throw them out. Then clean the floor decking and after it dries, you may have to take a sealer on a roller and seal the whole floor. After the sealant dries, the carpet layers can put in the new pad and carpet. Sealing the wood will keep the soaked in urine and ammonia from seeping into the new pad and continuing the problem. In basements, this may mean scrubbing down the concrete with bleach, allowing it to dry and then painting the concrete floor with a good concrete sealant paint to seal in the odors.
Repair all leaks, and if you have bathroom sinks that are all chipped, faded and cracked or checked, replace them. The $80 cultured sink will probably save you $4000 from a lower offer. The buyer looks at any problem as a major problem and then multiplies the cost and expands the problem to replacing the whole room. Remove their objections before they arrive.
To the average buyer, a window is a window, a door a door, a furnace a furnace. Do not replace structural items or mechanicals unless you know they have to be replaced. Cracked or broken windows or windows with badly broken seals should be repaired. However, most windows can be made suitable with a little sanding and touch paint or stain. If you are in doubt, have them pre-inspected and if the item passes, tape the current report on the furnace or water heater etc, so the buyer can read that it is in good condition and recently inspected by a professional contractor.
Torn vinyl floors can usually be repaired, not replaced. Get some flooring adhesive, coat the underside of the tear flap and then weigh it down with a brick or heavy object until it seals. Floors in horrible shape from tables and appliances may have to be replaced. Try to pick up a remnant from the carpet store and have a professional lay it. It may cost you a couple hundred, but you will usually get it back in a higher offer.
Money saving idea, get your carpet or vinyl needs on 6 months or 1 year same as cash, then pay the bill at closing. That way there is no out of pocket.
When in doubt, have your agent estimate the value of your home with and without the repairs. Remember, time on the market is an expense also, not to mention a huge inconvenience.