Wow.  People often ask me what’s different about the marketplace today.  One of the things that has become very clear is that the market now is very unforgiving when it comes to sellers not preparing their home for sale.  Even if you have prepared your home for sale, the market is very, very tough on you.

What do I mean?  Of course this depends upon where your home is positioned in the market, but if you have worn carpet, poorly painted walls and exterior, old appliances, scratched up hardwood floors, poor maintenance – i.e. lack of caulking or grout issues in bathrooms, old light fixtures, brass hardware, old countertops, stained deck that hasn’t been cleaned and sealed in a few years, missing boards from a fence, dented garage doors, etc. etc. etc.

Buyers can afford to be extremely selective and I’m sure what must be seen by sellers, as overly picky.  But they can afford to be this way because there is so much for sale and the velocity of the business has slowed down so much.

I don’t recommend going out and spending $30,000 to get your home ready for sale, but if you’re in the upper bracket, you might have to spend $15,000 to perhaps $20,000.   If your in the entry level market, you may have expenses between $2,500 – $5,000.  If you spend nothing or really try to do short cuts, you will pay.  Your home may not sell and if it does, it’s likely to take a very long time and by the time you get an offer, they will tend to be low ball offers.