Episode 9: Can I Sell My Home In As-Is Condition?
Selling a home takes a lot of work. Can I just skip the work and sell it as is? IN THIS EPISODE, Lori Alvarez shares the challenge of helping sell two homes as-is and the success story of one family.
Biggest takeaway? Yes. You can sell your home as-is, but you limit the number of people qualified to purchase it if you don’t pass California laws and regulations.
Hear some more of the tricks, trips, wisdom, and stories that we didn’t summarize. Listen to Episode 9 of Lori Alvarez’s Real Estate With Soul: Can I Sell My Home In As-Is Condition?
The Story
Our last conversation was about how to prepare your home to get on the market with a little primping and polishing. But what if you don’t want to do anything? What if you want to sell it as-is?
You can do that too.
Lori has certainly had her fair share of home selling experiences, including selling as is. She wanted to share a little bit about this family’s success story.
This family wanted to sell their homes as-is. Yes, homes-two to be exact. And they weren’t in the same city, and they weren’t brand new.
The Preference
“I don't want to give get my house ready.”
“I don't want to have a stager in my house.”
“You can sell California real estate for top dollar even in as-is condition and buy a mansion somewhere else for half of what you just sold your little home here in California.
— Lori Alvarez
“I don't want to have anyone in my house.”
“I don't want to do all of this stuff to sell my house.”
“I want them to close at the same time.”
But
“I gotta get as much as I can out of it because this is my retirement.”
“I do have to buy another home.”
And Lori said, “Okay, we can do that.”
Where to live
This lovely family had worked hard. They wanted to settle down, retire, and enjoy their days in a different place.
California is an amazing state to live in. The beach, mountains, amusement parks, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and on and on. It’s awesome to live here.
But we all know, California is expensive. And that means if you’re moving out of California like this family was and settling down in a different state, the sale of your house can buy you a lot more.
Lori has seen it happen time and time again. She said, “Guess what? You can sell California real estate for top dollar even in as-is condition and buy a mansion somewhere else for half of what you just sold your little home here in California.”
She continued on to explain that you can sell a 1300 square foot home, right here in Los Angeles, California area where we serve, for $500,000, in a disaster area, as is and move to states such as Oregon, Colorado, or Ohio just to name a few and get a house twice as big for half the money.
So if selling your house as-is is something you want to do, we respect that. And you can do that.
But, you have to know a few things first. Like all states, there are rules and regulations to sell your real estate here in California.
If a buyer wants to purchase your home with a financing loan, they may not be able to if your home does not meet the rules and regulations.
However, if you want to sell your home to an investor that will pay in cash, meeting loan requirements obviously isn’t a factor.
This does make life easier on you because it’s one and done, cash in hand, moving on. But realize you’re not going to get top dollar for it, you’ll get pennies on the dollar.
And if that’s enough for you, by all means, take the cash offer. Lori can get that house on the market asap, as-is, and to find that buyer.
That’s what this family wanted.
Lori Loves A Challenge
Two homes to sell. Two different cities.
Do cities matter in real estate?
You bet they do. The demographics of selling a property vary from city to city. Which means the approach, the timeline, and the mindset varies from city to city. In Lori’s experience, you could possibly sell a home in Rancho Cucamonga in about 60 days, and by contrast in San Dimas within 30 days.
Why? Well, there are fewer houses for sale in San Dimas. That means less competition for those San Dimas home sellers and their homes sitting on the market.
Why did this family believe Lori was up for the challenge? Why did they believe she could make this happen?
She had proven herself before, and she took on that challenge without hesitation.
What was this family like?
Well, they were a very private family. They didn’t want a large For Sale sign sitting in the front yard. They didn’t want people walking through the house unless they were fully qualified to purchase. They wanted Lori at the property any time someone was present. We don’t want to do any repairs. But they are retiring and want the most they can get for their homes.
So what did Lori do?
“I love challenges. I'm up for a challenge. Let me get right over to both houses and see what we're doing.”
The Houses
HOUSE A:
Beautiful little Craftsman-style home.
Built around 1910.
Covered in chipped paint. That means no loans on the property. Why? It was built in the early 1900s which means it’s probably lead-based paint and it’s a health hazard. And no one wants a health concern. Homes built before 1975 often have lead paint, and since then have been declared a health a safety hazard.
Beautiful wooden floors. Worn out.
Newer kitchen, but not fully updated.
Laundry/Patio had black smoke marks up to the ceiling. Possibly a leak. Another possible health and safety concern. Another reason for no loans on the property.
As soon as an appraiser states there is a health and safety hazard, a buyer cannot purchase your property with a loan.
HOUSE B:
Different city.
Beautiful single-family home.
Built around the 1950s.
Beautiful wood flooring. A little beat up.
A temporary plywood door in the living room.
Completely updated kitchen. Phenomenal. But the gorgeous gourmet stove oven isn’t staying.
They love to cook. They’re not leaving it behind, even if it would be a focal point of the house.
Chipped paint in the bathroom.
Boarded up windows for more privacy. How does this look affect the mindset of a buyer?
Is that a health and safety hazard? Is the neighborhood not safe? Will I need to replace them?
Enclosed patio. Previous ceiling leak repaired, but not repainted and finished.
Chipped exterior paint.
Time To Get To Work
Lori approached the family with a heart to heart and said, “Look, you can sell your house just the way it is, but you’re going to have to sell it for about $60,000 less than a house that is comparable to yours that’s just nicely maintained. So what do you want to do?”
Why the price difference? These homes wouldn’t qualify for home financing, as we mentioned before. That narrows down the number of buyers who are able to purchase your house. That could potentially eliminate half or a quarter of some of the market. And that means less money. The more people that can walk through that door, the more money you position yourself to get.
Now, it’s illegal for a realtor to give commissions to a client and “give money back”. However, a realtor has a lot of connections and a lot of experience. Which means, when conversations like what are we going to do about that leak arise, Lori can say, I know a handyman. Let’s get him over there and fix it right away. And done. Great connection. Great price. $500 repair.
You Need To Disclose Repairs
On a side note. If you fix or repair something on your home you need to disclose it. Keeping records of information like that is really important. Listen to some thoughts on tracking tips here.
“I’ll get my handyman right on that my handyman went out there.” And we did. Then the family put in some work after all because they realized it was important to open up the opportunity for more buyers to be able to afford the property, and not just cash buyers.
Termites
Now, what about those termites?
Do you have to get a termite inspection?
Well, while it isn’t required, it is pretty standard. Most buyers in the state of California expect sellers to take care of the termite issues. So you can be the one to decide what kind of seller you want to be. Just keep in mind that some loans buyer’s qualify for require that a home passes a termite inspection, and that may limit the amount who can afford your home.
This family initially didn’t want to do a termite inspection, but the lender insisted it was required for the interested buyer’s qualifications.
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
The family realized that in order to successfully go through with this offer and get the most out of this property, they needed to be willing to push a little out of their comfort zone. And another great part? The seller didn’t have to pay for it. It was processed through the escrow. And that was the last “repair” needed to get true value for this home.
The Sale
“You got to put a little effort into it in order to make it work. You work really hard. We’re going to work even harder to get you sold for the most amount of money.
— Lori Alvarez
What can you do if you don’t want a sign in the front yard? And you don’t enjoy visitors?
You can do the One Weekend.
One, large, grand opening to push for as many families to walk through and see the home and fall in love.
Thankfully, this was during a hot time on the market and Lori said they were busy.
Now, all it took was a buyer writing the offer, getting it accepted, getting it put under contract, and enjoying it from then on.
What if they fall out of escrow?
Don’t worry. This happens. Life happens.
The first buyers of House B unfortunately fell out of escrow, but another family was right behind them ready to love this house and went to close.
Both of these houses went under contract within days of each other and closed within days of each other. And now, this family is enjoying life in another state in two new homes, within blocks of each other ready to start anew.
At the end of the day, let’s be honest. If you want the most money for your home, you need to put in a little work.
“You got to put a little effort into it in order to make it work. You work really hard. We're going to work even harder to get you sold for the most amount of money,” said Lori.
ASK YOURSELF
What makes best sense for you and your family?
Selling it for less money and getting it done?
Selling it for the most money and putting in some work?
Conclusion
Do the work while you own the home. A little investment here, a little investment there and when the time comes to sell and move to your next home sweet home it won’t be as overwhelming.
Take the time to keep your home updated, maintained, and fix the minor issues. This is one of the largest investments you will probably make in your life.
Think about what you may need to do.
Up-keeping your home isn’t as hard as you’d think.
It’s your home. Your safe place. Take care of it. And bless the next family, too.
This family was ready to retire. “I'm going to remind you, this is your retirement, not mine,” said Lori. You choose your worth.
Want to find out what you need to do to get your home ready for the market virtually and get the most money out of your home? Listen to Episode 8: 10 Things To Do To Sell Your Home Virtually
Or download our FREE PDF here.
Our podcast is geared towards our current clients. We love to give our buyers and sellers great information. Wondering about something we haven’t covered? Send us a message.
Lori Alvarez has been in the Real Estate Industry for almost 15 years. If you’d like to contact her call her at 909-227-4196. She loves helping families find their home sweet home.
Thanks for reading. What’s going to be your next step to finding your home sweet home?
Real Estate is an ongoing, beautiful story. That’s why we love to share ours and to help you begin yours! Tune in to the next episode where we will continue the conversation and talk pre-listing home inspections.
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