A seller resource

How to Sell a House That Needs Work

Your house doesn’t have to be perfect to sell. Most of the houses I list have a roof that’s getting old, a kitchen from another decade, or a list of projects that never got done. Here’s how selling one works in DeKalb and Cherokee counties, Alabama, and Chattooga County, Georgia.

You have three choices

1. Fix everything first

You spend the money and the months, and hope the price covers both.

2. Fix a few things

Only the repairs that cost little or open the house up to more buyers’ loans.

3. Sell it as it is

No repairs. The price reflects the condition, and you skip the cost, the time and the risk.

The right choice depends on your numbers, not on what the house down the road did. That’s why I start every seller with a free net sheet. See Fix It or Sell It As-Is? Run the Math Both Ways.

What “listed as AS-IS” means

In both states, a house the seller won’t repair is listed as AS-IS, in ValleyMLS in Alabama and GeorgiaMLS in Georgia. It tells buyers one thing: the seller isn’t planning to make repairs.

It doesn’t mean you can keep quiet about what you know. The two states handle seller disclosure differently, so we’ll go over what applies to your house before we list. Buyers can still inspect, and an honest listing usually sells better than one that leaves the buyer to find the problems.

The six steps

  1. See your net sheet first. Every dollar that leaves your side of the table, and what’s left for you.
  2. Decide what, if anything, to fix. Cheap fixes and anything that stops a loan come first. Remodels usually don’t pay for themselves.
  3. Price it against the right houses. Compare it with houses in similar condition, not the renovated one that sold last month.
  4. Market it honestly. Photos that show the space, the land and the potential. Remarks that state the condition plainly.
  5. Line up the right buyers. Cash buyers, renovation-loan buyers and conventional buyers can each buy different houses. I market to the ones who can actually buy yours.
  6. Plan for the inspection and the appraisal. Most sales that fall apart do it here. I prepare for both before we list.

Why financing is the part I watch most

Before I went solo, I spent nine years marketing and building mortgage teams alongside loan originators. Houses that need work rarely lose a sale over price. They lose it when an appraisal flags the roof or a loan program won’t touch the property. I look for that before we list, not after you’ve accepted an offer.

Start with your number

I’ll come see the house, then give you a net sheet that shows what you’d walk away with, as it is and with any repairs you’re weighing. It’s free, and there’s no obligation to list.

Call or text 256.207.8127Request it online

Melissa Harmel, Realtor®, CRS, ABR · eXp Realty, LLC · AL # 000164573-0 · GA # 451015 · Equal Housing Opportunity. This page is general information, not legal advice.