Fix it or List it?

You can spend a fortune “fixing everything” and still wonder why your sale price didn’t jump the same amount. That frustration is exactly what we tackle as we answer a question we hear constantly from homeowners getting ready to list: what home repairs do you actually have to do before selling, and what repairs simply make the sale smoother and faster?

We talk through the real world difference between mandatory obligations and smart preparation, including what sellers must disclose on a property disclosure statement and why “working condition” is the baseline buyers expect for roofs, HVAC, windows, and other core systems. With the average U.S. home now decades old, big ticket maintenance like roof replacement, septic systems, and aging mechanicals shows up in negotiation more than ever. We share how those costs impact offers, why buyers often ask for more than the repair estimate, and how a turnkey home can create more showings and even a bidding war.

We also get into the appraisal side of the deal. Appraisers rarely give you a dollar for dollar bump for routine maintenance, but they do pay attention to market behavior like multiple offers and strong demand. Finally, we cover practical ways to handle repairs when cash is tight, including partnerships where vendors may get paid at closing, plus why selling sooner can reduce carrying costs like interest, taxes, and insurance.

If you’re planning to sell, listen, share this with a friend who’s debating repairs, and subscribe for more straight talk on buying, selling, and investing in real estate. If the show helps, leave a review and send us your questions for a future segment.

You can always find U. S. Home Talk and connect with the hosts and the community at their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/U.S.HomeTalk/ or at our website, USHomeTalk.com

Transcript

A Quick Muscle Mystery Detour

Marcus Walgrave 0:31

Good afternoon and welcome back. This is US Home Talk. We are your go-to real estate podcast. Whether you're buying, selling, or investing in real estate, or simply wanting to know more, we got you guys back. We're your hosts, Marcus Walgrave with South Dakota Home Team, powered by Haig Realtors, Jason Walgrave with Remax Advantage Plus, and Mike Overston with Illuminate Bank. Anything and everything real estate, don't forget to shoot us your questions on our real estate hotline. That is 612-234-7585. Again, 612-234-7585. Or you can find all of our contact information on our website, ushometalk.com. Good afternoon, gentlemen. How are we doing today?

Jason Walgrave 1:16

We're doing good. We're doing good. I realized something. I realized something uh just yesterday. And so I feel like I feel like this one, this left muscle over here is a little bit larger than the right one. These are your traps, right, Mike?

Mike Ouverson 1:32

No, those are your upper uvulus muscles.

Marcus Walgrave 1:35

Are you serious?

Jason Walgrave 1:39

So I you know, I've been I've been like, yeah, I do the same exercises, the same weight, so how can they well? I just realized yesterday. Just realized yesterday. Why? You got a baby. I thought that might have been what it was, but nope, that's not it.

Mike Ouverson 1:53

You got a crooked spine.

Jason Walgrave 1:54

Because when I drive, I drive with one arm. I don't drive like this, I just have the one arm. So I'm driving yesterday. I'm like, oh, that's why that muscle's bigger, because I'm always holding that arm up when I'm broken.

Marcus Walgrave 2:07

Just thought I maybe show out that way. You know, something I got muscle problems.

Mike Ouverson 2:14

You're gonna have to start driving with that other arm to bounce it up.

What Do Sellers Need To Fix

Marcus Walgrave 2:16

I am, I am, but then we are not a muscle uh podcast. We are a real estate podcast today. That's right. Today we are talking about uh the topic is we get this question all the time. Jason, right? Um we meet with some sellers, some prospecting sellers, clients of ours, and they say, hey, we want to sell. Um, you know, we get but we got a question. You know, what what do we have to fix to sell? Right? It doesn't matter if it's a brand new home or if it's uh um you know an older home, it's a question that comes up almost guaranteed.

Mike Ouverson 2:54

Do you always say first you need to fix your attitude? Okay. That's number have you ever said that to a seller? That's what we tell our kids all the time, right? Oh, that's right. That's the kids, not your sellers. That's your kids. That's right. Okay.

A Walkthrough Plan For Top Dollar

Jason Walgrave 3:07

Uh it's a great question. Kind of loaded, right? I mean, if if they're asking, if they're asking um my opinion, um I what how I often respond is I say, if this was my house, this is what I would do in order to achieve the highest price. Um sellers don't have to fix anything. Sellers have to disclose all material facts. Um, they don't have to fix anything. The the reality is, um, if they if they do make the fixes and they, you know, and they present the home in its best condition, you're gonna sell the house for a higher dollar amount, right? And so it's it's likely gonna be in your in your best interest. Not all sellers have that goal. Uh there, you know, not all sellers have the goal to make the most amount of money when they sell their home. Some of them are just like, look, I want a quick sale. I want a quick sale, I want you to price it to sell in a week, and I want to close in less than 30 days. Um so but it it's yeah, we get that question all the time. We Marcus, you and I do walkthroughs uh before, you know, photos, and and they're like, what should we do to get the house ready? Well, here's what I would do. You know, I would you know, I would do this, this, this, and that. And and you know, most of the time sellers take that advice, and if they need help, you know, with carpet or paint or repairs, we have uh partnerships that we can uh refer them to and take care of those items.

Big Ticket Repairs And ROI Reality

Marcus Walgrave 4:24

Yeah, and and you know, I came across a really good article that I read on the Wall Street Journal and it was just talking about um that the typical US home is 44 years old. Wow, and that home needs maintenance is done on it. They're getting to that point where some there's some big ticket maintenance going going down. So this was a a study down by the done by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. And um so just it being spring market, uh, our largest inventory is hitting the market here in the uh right now and in the upcoming months. Um so this is definitely gonna come up. And and and one thing that that I'd like to just you know kind of touch on too for for sellers out there that are thinking about selling, um, you know, because we do get that. What what do we need to fix? What should we fix? Um, you know, Jason, we do on-site walkthroughs and we let everybody know this is this is what everything that you could do to achieve top dollar. Now you tell me what you can do or what is part of your goal, and then we kind of come up with a strategic plan on how to price it and and the timeline and when it's gonna go to the market, things of that nature. You know, we create these custom plans for our clients on what they want to achieve and what they can achieve, you know, what kind of resources they have, what time kind of timeline they have. So there's a lot of moving points, a lot of uh moving uh points, you know, w when this conversation I think is always interesting. You know, when this does come up, is because these maintenance items they're big ticket. You know, if someone's like, hey, I need to get uh my Marcus, my my shingles are shot. They're shot, do I have to replace them? Um in the world of financing, I think we talked to Mike and we you know asked Evan, uh, yeah, I mean you you're you're likely going to have to replace shingles that are shot, completely shot. You know, we're gonna have to replace those. Okay, well, got a roofer out there. Roofer says it's gonna be 20 grand, maybe 30 grand, maybe even more depending on the house and and the type of shingle that that you have to put on there, depending on the on the uh uh covenants and restrictions on a subdivision. Okay, so seller drops 30 grand on new shingles, and and they says it says, okay, so now that I put new shingles on there, you know, my house is worth 30 grand more, right? And that that that's that's a fair question. It is a good thing. You just put thirty thousand dollars into your property, sure would be nice to get that thirty thousand dollars back. Uh and and so that's kind of where that tough conversation of having with individuals is saying an appraiser isn't going to look at that and say, yeah, you improve the home by 30 grand. If the shingles are shot, then they need to be replaced. That's part of regular maintenance on a home.

Vendors Who Get Paid At Closing

Jason Walgrave 7:23

Yeah, great couple examples for you, Marcus. Um and Mike. Uh had a a seller last fall and uh needed a new septic system. Um septic systems cost between thirty and fifty grand. I mean, that's you know, they're big ticket items, right? And and she's like, I don't want to do it, uh uh buyer can do it. You know, they're the ones that are gonna enjoy it because you know I'm I'm leaving. And I said, you know, they're they're gonna ask you to do it. And she said, Well, let's just see what happens. So we ended up getting like four offers. Uh not all at once, but over you know, the course of like a two-month period. Every single offer had in there that the seller would replace the septic system. You know, and it was um, and then finally she's just like, okay, I get it. Uh let's I I'll get it done. You know, and so she went and got it done and and then and then you know sold it right away. You know, and and so we have um we have vendor and partnership relationships, uh, many of which are a part of US Home Talk, where uh they'll wait to get paid till closing. So we got a cut we got a hard service countertop company, they'll put in the countertops now, get paid at closing. We got a uh flooring and paint company, they'll wait to get paid at closing. Um this particular example with the septic, they waited and got paid at closing. So there's you know, usually that's the the objection, right? It's like, man, I just I don't want to put 30 grand into this. You know, I mean, I I I got it, I don't want to use that cash. Um, I got plenty of equity, you know, and and so as an agent, um, you can get creative and you should have partnerships out there that that are able to get creative with you um to take to take care of those items. We all you know, Mike, you and I and have talked about this for years, you know, I mean, almost 20 years, you know, there's this, you know, kind of this uh unwritten rule of three. And it's like if you're a if you're a seller and you got five thousand dollars worth of repairs, uh buyers don't want 15 grand off, you know, because they gotta do they gotta do it, you know, and they gotta pay for it after the fact and they gotta spend the time and you know, and and but on the same token, this this other example of this house in Prior Lake I was I was mentioning um last week was you know, new furnace, new AC, uh new water softener, new water heater, um appliances were newer. I mean, you're talking 20 grand worth of stuff. Um, is that house worth 20 grand more? No, it's not. It's worth what it's worth. It's worth what what the comps say it's worth, but guess what? It has all those items. It's gonna it's gonna allow us to sell it quicker. And a buyer's gonna come in and go, okay, the other homes that I looked at, the same price, same style. They don't have a new furnace, they don't have a new AC. I want this house because those are big dollar items I don't have to worry about anymore.

Marcus Walgrave 10:11

It's yeah, go ahead, Mike.

Mike Ouverson 10:13

I was gonna say it's it is sometimes tough to of sellers to wrap their head around that, right? I'm putting this money into it. Why is it not worth more? Um, you gotta you gotta realize it's like it's not worth more, but if you don't do these things, any offers that you get, you'll you'll make less. Yes, you know what I mean? So it's it's it's just this. I mean, should you net more at the end of the day? I would think you would net more at the end of the day because you're gonna get offers now that would be consistent with what the market would allow for your house with working, you know, mechanicals and stuff in good shape. If all that stuff is shattered right at the end of its life, the offers you're gonna get are certainly gonna be less.

Jason Walgrave 10:51

Yeah, a house is ex a buyer expects a house to have working roof, windows, siding, you know, furnace, AC, water heater, all I mean that that's expected. You know, it's not, you know, and if and if those things are needed, then they're gonna expect a price reduction.

Mike Ouverson 11:09

Right. Yep.

Marcus Walgrave 11:11

We are gonna go ahead and jump into our legal minute for the day.

Jeff O'Brien 11:18

This is Jeff O'Brien, attorney with Hush Blackwell with a U.S. Home Talk legal minute. Have you ever wondered why you have to fill out a property disclosure statement when you sell your home? Of course, it is because the law requires you to do so. Subject to certain exceptions, municipal law requires a seller of residential real property to complete a written disclosure form to prospective buyers before signing a purchase agreement to sell the home. The seller must disclose all material facts of which the seller is aware of that could adversely and significantly affect an ordinary buyer's use and enjoyment of the property, or any intended use of the property of which the seller is aware. The disclosure must be made in good faith and be based upon the best of the seller's knowledge at the time of the disclosure. In addition, some cities have truth and housing requirements, which require a seller to have an inspection of the property by an authorized inspector prior to listing the property for sale. The inspection results must be made available to prospective buyers in the same manner as the disclosure statement. In order to find out what cities have these truth and housing obligations, contact your city offices or ask your realtor. This is Jeff O'Brien, attorney with Hush Glackwell with a U.S. Home Talk legal minute.

Marcus Walgrave 12:13

Thank you, Jeff O'Brien, for the legal minute. Today we're just talking about how uh an article came out in the Wall Street Journal that noted that the average U.S. home is 44 years old and is needing maintenance. Uh as us realtors, Jason and I are. Uh, Mike Orson is a mortgage banker, and you know, these questions come up about maintenance. If you're uh trying to sell your property, what needs to be done, what should be done, what's kind of going above and beyond to get that top dollar. A lot of great uh questions out there from the clients and consumers. Um, you know, we we talk about these big ticket items, right? Shingles, uh at least 20 grand plus, you know, right? Uh HVAC, you know, full HVAC system in a typical host, maybe 12 to 15 grand. Um Jason, you talked about uh septic system, you know, those those are super expensive too, 30 to 50 grand in some cases. But we also have uh painting, windows, you know, replace all the windows in a home if it's 44 years old, there's a good chance that those windows are shot. Yeah, you know, and that that's a big and and so it's always a tough part where if a seller does all those things, I mean 100 grand later, easy. You know, 100 grand later, easy, they're like, okay, I want to recoup this stuff these dollars back. How do we bridge that gap, right? With a home that has all the big ticket items done, in a sense, it's remodeled or flipped. A contractor got their hands on it. Uh, and and and we kind of talked about that in the beginning. When you have a house that that's turnkey, it may be 44 years old, but all the big maintenance items are done, and it's turnkey, and you have a flood of showings, bidding war, that can be contributed that that can be noted for the appraiser when they do do an appraisal. It's one thing if if if a home, you know, you get these offers and um and a an appraiser says, Cow, you've been on the market for 130 days, and you know, the cops I'm finding say that you're overpriced by 10 grand, and and it comes in short. But when you when you you an appraiser can in some cases can can can create or can add a a um a market adjustment. You know, they can note like, hey, this is a product that the buyer is deeming uh uh valued at this amount, hence the reason why there was 10 offers. And in a situation like that, how important it is to have these things done coming out of the gate, create that incredible experience in the first week or two bidding wars that can maybe help you get uh what would be considered you know above top dollar and still appraise.

Jason Walgrave 14:59

Great point, Marcus. Great, great point. Um, I don't I don't recall the last time if ever an appraiser has asked me um how old the roof is or or how old the windows are. Um but what appraisers do ask me often was Did you have multiple offers? Yeah, did you have multiple offers? You know, because because if if a house had multiple offers and and it sold for more than this price, um you can justify a higher value an appraiser can. You know, he's not asking, you know, are the windows in good shape, you know, or is is you know, and so um but it just having those items done, it it's gonna create more interest, it's gonna create a higher likelihood of multiple offers, which drives the price up, um, and certainly a much quicker market time for you.

Marcus Walgrave 15:50

If you're a seller out there and you're looking to hit the market, I mean make sure you reach out to an experienced real estate professional who can have this conversation with you. In some cases, it might be a tough conversation, you know, and Jason kind of do your your example of the client that you had, she just didn't want to replace that septic system. Just think if she would have out of the gates. You know, you you you ultimately got four offers, not you know, uh uh competing offers, but throughout the listing. And and if that was already done, maybe those four would have came in the uh on the in that first weekend, and they could have competed against each other. Maybe you didn't get the the full 30 grand back, but maybe you could could have you know picked up an extra 10-15 grand on that on that purchase price and do a better job on the city. Another point, too. I mean, there's expenses, especially if there's a loan out there, you know, there's interest, real estate taxes, insurance, you know. So so there's many different uh uh uh uh points to where there's value to selling sooner than later.

Jason Walgrave 16:45

Yep.

Where To Find The Show

Marcus Walgrave 16:46

As our show comes to an end, we just want to thank you guys all for your support of U.S. Home Talk. Uh, you can find today's show and all of our past shows on our website, ushometalk.com. As always, you know, we want to thank you guys, uh, Marcus Walgrave, Jason Walgrave, Mike Overson. Have yourself a blessed week, and I think that's the same.