A seller resource

Fix It or Sell It As-Is? Run the Math Both Ways

Someone has probably told you the kitchen needs redoing before you can sell. Maybe the roof, the floors or the bathroom too. Before you spend a dollar, run the math both ways. Sometimes fixing wins. More often, it costs more than it brings back.

The two columns

Fix it first

The repair bids, plus what the house costs you while the work gets done (taxes, insurance, utilities and any loan payment), plus a cushion for surprises, plus the months it takes. Then you sell.

Sell it as-is

A lower price that reflects the condition, but none of those costs, no contractors to manage, and a sale months sooner.

An example

Round numbers for illustration only. Yours will be different.

Likely price fixed up$180,000
Likely price as-is$150,000
Difference$30,000

The cost of getting that $30,000:

Repairs, from written bids$22,000
Four months of holding costs$2,400
A 15% cushion for surprises$3,300
Total$27,700

That’s about $2,300 more for four months of work and the risk that a bid runs over. If it does, the gap can disappear.

When fixing wins

  • Repairs that stop a loan. A leaking roof, missing handrails, peeling paint on an older house or a heating system that doesn’t work can rule out many buyers’ loans. Fixing one of these can widen your buyer pool more than it costs.
  • Cheap, fast work. A clean-out, a trimmed yard, a few repaired windows. Small spend, big difference in photos.

When it usually doesn’t

  • Kitchen and bathroom remodels
  • New flooring throughout
  • Anything you’d choose to your taste. The next owner will want their own.

Both columns, on your house

I’ll walk the house with you, then put both columns side by side on a net sheet: what you’d walk away with as-is, and what you’d walk away with after the repairs you’re weighing. It’s free.

Call or text 256.207.8127Request it online

Melissa Harmel, Realtor®, CRS, ABR · eXp Realty, LLC · AL # 000164573-0 · GA # 451015 · Equal Housing Opportunity