5 Tips To Get Your Rehab Property Sold Quickly
By Paul Esajian on March 30, 2018
The goal of any rehabber is to get their property sold. You can do all the right work but if you can’t find a buyer it is all for naught. Many times, it is the little things that you and your real estate agent do that can have the greatest impact. How the property smells or using the right light bulb wattage creates an instant opinion of the property. If that initial opinion is good the buyer will continue touring the house with an open mind. However, if the opinion is negative the rest of the house better be perfect if you want to change their mind. Having showings and generating a buzz is nice but the goal is to get an offer and get your property sold. Here are five tips to help get your rehab property sold quickly.
- Presentation maters. Buyers will critique and evaluate every square inch of your property. If you are advertising, it as a complete remodel you better make sure the house is perfect. While the quality of the work is important you also need to be mindful of the presentation. It is a good idea to have someone you know walk the property and tell you the first thing they notice. This is exactly what buyers will see and if the problem is glaring enough can present a real problem. Some properties show well vacant but many need to be staged. Staging is an added expense but in the big picture may be the best money you spend during the process. You want a buyer to have a feel of how it would be to live there if they took ownership. Staging can transform the property and dramatically alter the presentation. It may not work on every property but in most markets, it can be essential.
- Let your agent work. If you enlist the services of a real estate agent you should back off and let them work. By nature, most real estate investors and rehabbers are micromanagers. They want to control every aspect of the process from start to finish. When it is time to sell you need to step away and trust your agent. They will call you right after the open house and tell you exactly how things went. Your presence at the open house is not needed, or frankly wanted. It adds pressure for the agent and if you feel the need to speak can make buyers uncomfortable. You have every right to offer suggestions before the listing hits the market or prior to an open house but once you commit you must step out of the way. Your agent is the professional and if you aren’t going to let them do their job you greatly inhibit their ability to perform.
- Price right. If you are in the real estate business, you have most likely heard about the importance of pricing your property right. As a rehabber many times your opinion is influenced based on the amount of work you have done. The reality is that buyers aren’t interested in how the property looked when you acquired it, they are only interested in how it compares to the rest of the market. Long gone are the days where you could list high, hope to get an offer and if not lower your price in a few weeks. By listing too high you immediately lose a segment of potential buyers and real estate agents. They will not even waste their time looking at a property they know is overpriced. Instead of generating a quick buzz you lose the initial demand. In a few weeks when you finally listen to your agent those buyers will have already moved on to other properties. Even if they look at your house they will view it as damaged goods and feel you are desperate. The offers will almost always be below asking price and you may have to wait a long time to get an offer you are comfortable with.
- Know supply and demand. With any home sale it is important that you understand supply and demand. It is not enough to understand the concept you need to know who has the upper hand in the transaction. If you are in a buyers’ market you need to be prepared to make some concessions along the way. If you are in a sellers’ market you can’t overplay your hand and think that buyers will just throw offers your way. Listen to the data supplied by your agent and listen to their advice. You may think you have the best house in the market, but the comps can tell a different story.
- Promote. If you are using a real estate agent, they most likely have a detailed plan for how they will market the property. What many sellers don’t grasp is that you can still market the property to your network. There is no denying the power of social media. Sharing your agents post to your network can help find a buyer. You should also blast the property out to your network through email or at your networking events. There is nothing wrong with using multiple ways to find a buyer.
Every day your rehab sits on the market without being sold directly impacts your bottom line. Use these five tips to get your property sold quickly.