What sort of repairs to real estate agents want you to make on a home before they agree to list it?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:17:10 +0000

Okay.. here goes. My husband and I bought our home about 3 years ago. I was pretty young (19 and he was 21) at the time and we sort of jumped into buying it without thinking about how much upkeep owning a home would be. We’re not behind on our payments or anything like that and the mortgage isn’t too much ($615/mo and apartment rent around here runs around $475). The home is an older one, so a lot of stuff is out dated, but I had a family friend who told me real estate agents generally require you to do a lot of fixing up before they’ll agree to list your home.
We would like to own a home again in about 5 years but our home is pretty big and we’d like a smaller one. We’re trying to have a baby and 5 years of not having to maintain a home would allow us to save quite a bit (not having to change air filters, putting rid-x in the septic tank every month, no paying for pest control, etc).
Since the market is still pretty rocky I don’t have unrealistic expectations going into this, and I’m only looking to make what I owe on the home plus closing costs. I just don’t want to spend thousands of dollars tweaking the house up to get it ready to sell.
For those of you who’ve sold your home, or are in the process of selling, what sort of demands were made by the realestate agents, and did you consider just putting the home up for sale by owner to bypass the 6% fee for the agent’s comission?
Also, the house doesnt have much “curb appeal” but not a lot can be done about that. I have a circular gravel driveway (I can not afford to pour concrete or cement). And in my part of AL it rains a lot so not a lot of grass grows in the front yard because my town is sort of a flood area. So the majority of the work to do is inside. Paint, crown molding, the hardwood floors need to be refinished, new fixtures, some areas need some caulking. The only thing we’ve done to the house was buy a brand new air unit (3 years ago) and blown in insulation throughout the entire 2200 square feet of the home). But these things add up and I don’t really have money to do it, and I don’t want to put it on my credit card!
I bought the home from my mother who had it listed at $99k three years ago and I bought it for $85k, still owe $80k on it today). Three years ago the propery appraised for $120k but today with the market, i’m not sure
I bought the home from my mother who had it listed at $99k three years ago and I bought it for $85k, still owe $80k on it today). Three years ago the propery appraised for $120k but today with the market, i’m not sure

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What sort of repairs to real estate agents want you to make on a home before they agree to list it?