How to Sell a Fixer Upper

So you plan to sell a home that some might call a fixer upper. In other words, this is a residence that—while attractive, high quality and structurally sound overall—is in need of a little work. And the person who buys this residence will be the one responsible for any repairs, remodels or refurbishments that might be needed in order to optimize the house’s potential; in other words, to morph this particular house into their ultimate dream home.

Just how do you market and sell a home that—or so you admit from the outset—is not exactly perfect? How do you sell a fixer upper? Read on for some ideas:

1. Don’t call it a fixer upper. Sorry to be royal wise acres here; but the fact is that some home buyers automatically reject homes that are labelled as fixer uppers. They may fear that fixer upper is a surefire synonym for Residential Disaster, This Property Condemned or Official Set Location for the Next Amityville Horror flick. Not these synonyms would be anywhere close to true, accurate or applicable, but the fact remains that phrases such as fixer upper might trigger unfairly awful images in the mind of many potential buyers.

2. Don’t call it a challenge, a repair project, or a house with potential, because…well, for pretty much all the same reasons we just mentioned. And we probably don’t need to say that phrases like “money pit” are out of the proverbial question; particularly if potential home buyers have seen the 1996 Tom Hanks and Shelley Long comedy movie that showed us exactly what a “money pit” really is! Hint, it hate pretty!

3. Always point out the home’s positive attributes before you detail those aspects that may need some work or improvement. Accentuate the positive before you delve into the negative; OK, so that doesn’t make for such a catchy song title, but it is sound advice in regards to selling a fixer upper (except, of course, we’re not calling it a fixer upper. Shhh….).

4. Assure all potential buyers that your home is safe, clean and stable; and that it has passed any and all required safety and building inspections with flying colors. Assure those who may be interested in purchasing the residence that they can safely reside in the place “as is”; however, they may need to do a bit of work to morph their safe, decent house into the home of their dreams.

Need help selling a Martin County fixer upper?  Give me a call at (772) 888-2885