Preparing an Older House for Sale

[pb4uski]

.... When the home inspector told me that the water was flowing backwards into the septic tank...

Water from where? Can you elaborate? It just doesn't sound right. If it was "backwards into the septic tank" was it ground water from the leach field flowing into the septic tank? But if that was the case then the septic tank would fill with water and eventually it would back up into your house and your toilets would not flush and overflow.

Have you had any problems with drains draining or toilets flushing? How often do you have your septic tank pumped? Is there a sewer smell when you are walking on your leach field?

 

[braumeister]

I wouldn't do anything cosmetic. An older house that looks dated/old is perfect for someone who plans to remodel anyway. The worst thing for me is seeing an older house that's been redone but not to my taste - I wouldn't want to rip up newer flooring or a kitchen or anything that's new.

In your case, I'd address the septic, but not the rest. Leave that for the buyer and price per comps that are in similar condition to yours.

Agreed, whatever mods you do may very well not be to the buyer's liking, so by all means let them do what they want. Your realtor will guide you here.

 

[Jerry1]

You already recognize that aging in the current house is probably not ideal. Get a realtor involved and evaluate your options which need to include options for you to move into now. You’re talking about putting a lot of money into a house that you may not live in long enough to even enjoy, let along get some money back on. Find out what it’s worth as is and go from there.

 

[equakesfan]

You could try to sell the house "as is" without investing the time and money in fixing it up. If it doesn't sell for the price you want, you can do the work you think is necessary and try again.
I bid on a house under the asking price that had been on the market a number of weeks. When I didn't accept their counter offer, they took it off the market and remodeled the kitchen and master bedroom. A few months later they put it back on the market (at more then I could afford) and it sold quickly (I don't remember if it was over or under the asking price)

 

[silvor]

It was only 5 years ago. The potential buyer could inspect all they wanted. If they didn't like the report, they didn't have to buy. There just wasn't going to be any negotiation based on what the inspection showed.

Obviously, you want to know what you're buying and if there's any major issues. Then it's a matter of how much you want the house. It's been a seller's market for over a decade now around here.

The Covid market and the market now are completely different.

 

[rk911]

Our home was built in 1960. We bought it in 1988. Since then we have remodelled the entire home, replaced the windows, replaced the roof, added a deck, replaced a ramshackle backyard tool shed with a proper out-buildiing on a foundation with electric. We installed new insulation, whole house ethernet, cable TV outlets and additional AC outlets in each room. The furnace and central air are new. We are now in the process of replacing the 25-yr old carpeting with solid hardwood. All of the above has been primarily for our benefit but we’re getting older and can't stay here forever so all of'our work was also with an eye to a future sale.

 

[MC Rider]

Find the best most successful RE agents in your area, and talk to 3 or 5 or more. If they know your area and market, they will have good ideas on what to do, and what to leave be. This is one time you want an expert. Find a good honest one. GLW Sale.

 

[joesxm3]

I watched some more of her videos including one with 20 pre-inspection items to focus on. I now realize how doing cosmetic things or expensive upgrades to my taste will backfire when the new buyer just sees stuff they do not like and have to redo even though is just did it.

I definitely will need to do the septic system. I want to do the boiler for my own piece of mind and since the current one is 35 years old.

A after that I probably need to somehow fix the leaky tub. But maybe as little as possible or just build in a big credit for bathroom remediation. But that can wait.

Another area that will have to be addressed, sooner rather than later insufficient attic ventilation. The root of the problem is that there are no soffits, so there are no soffit vents. I have a gable fan on one end and a gable vent on the other end. When I had the roof redone there was some mold. I had them replace plywood decking and install slit vents about two feet up the roof edge to provide more air intake for the fan. I was up there last fall and it looked like I saw mold again. I will have to go up there this year to determine if it is new mold or just residual on plywood panels on the edge that they did not replace. Maybe hire a professional to clean so I can tell if it is fixed or if it is still a problem.

As people here and the videos have been saying, I should limit my spending to fixing the deal stoppers, do a good job cleaning the house and let the rest just be "well, its a 1960 house, what do you expect?"

 

[Teacher Terry]

Our old house had beautiful hardwood floors, laid down in intricate geometric patterns. Done over a century ago by real craftsmen. Friends would take pictures of them.

The new kids that bought the house? They painted the floors! Idiots.

Marko, your floors sound really beautiful. What a shame that they painted them because it’s almost impossible to get out all the paint if they later change their mind or the house sells again to new buyers.

 

[MC Rider]

I definitely will need to do the septic system. I want to do the boiler for my own piece of mind and since the current one is 35 years old.

The boiler is probably a good one to replace too. A buyer that wants to live there wants the basics to at least mostly work, the cosmetic stuff they can do as they go along, So, they can move right in. And spend years fixing to their liking. We are on house 2 of that plan.

Leave the septic and boiler and everything else as is, and your buyer is likely to be an investor. Who wants a low price and to make a profit. Quicker sale to you hopefully, but lower price for sure.

What fits your objectives and market?

 

[pacergal]

Where is the water from the tub leaking too? You also mention a leaking sink?
Do you have any mold growing? or wet rot?
I agree that having a few realtors come and give you recommendations is a great idea.

 

[Slim11]

I havent read all the responses. But I have bought and sold a lot of things. Just list it, if you fix things an inspector will still find things wrong its there job. Depending on your market, take off what they say say, or a lot less. So agree to a 1/4 in a hotter market or nothing at all. This is a better investment then refinishing floors etc. You mkst likely will not get your investment back for these things. Plus the buyer may not like your tastes anyway and re due it. When doing a little construction work I got a lot of nice sinks and stuff that were almost new from renovations people did only to have them ripped out when it sold. But it all depends on the market in your area. If stuff isnt selling and sitting , then maybe consider making it look better. When I sold my last house the realtor wanted me to fix a ton of stuff, and ask less. But I knew the market and the house listed for more, and sold for 68k over that price. With nothing done to it. And that was after the inspection, that I said I would give them 1/4 of.

 

[joesxm3]

Where is the water from the tub leaking too? You also mention a leaking sink?
Do you have any mold growing? or wet rot?
I agree that having a few realtors come and give you recommendations is a great idea.

The leak in the tub happens when I fill the tub up to the holes that the jets circulate through, The water came down through the ceiling into my kitchen. That was back in 2005.

Since then I have been able to take a shower without filling the tub. Unfortunately one or two times it developed a small leak where the drain top screws onto the drain pipe. I had fixed it with some plumber putty but 5 or 10 years later it did it again. I had to cut an 8 inch hole in the kitchen ceiling to let the water out and see what was happening. The fortunate part is that the area is dry and there is no mold.

The bedroom sink never really leaked, the plastic drain pipe just sort of came apart and I was never able to get it back together properly. I probably have not tried to use the sink in 30 years.

It's probably becoming obvious from my comments that if I had a wife things would be a little different in the house. Last year when I was heavy into cutting wood and burning brush I had all my tools laid out on the floor as you come into the TV room from the porch. One of my friends walked in, saw all the tools, and immediately remarked that his wife would throw a fit if he tried that.

 

[Koolau]

Find a realtor that sells "your kind" of house. They can advise you.

We tried to use a woman ("friend") to sell mom's very old (antique) house. No good. We found some old guy realtor who knew exactly what it took to sell such a place and did quite well. Whether they say so or not, realtors "specialize" when it comes to houses, neighborhoods and potential clientele. Shop around.

 

[folivier]

My opinion about home inspections is they will always find 10 or so items to justify their job or fill out their form. So whatever you fix they’ll find more. You just hope that a buyer will not expect an older house to be perfect. Yes, had that happen a couple times.
Another point is spending a bunch of money to update countertops, floors, etc. a buyer will probably want to change all that anyway. Had that happen also with high end carpet. They ripped it out and threw it all way.

 

[Winemaker]

When we sold DMIL's house years ago, the realtor gave us a demograghic of house hunting prospects in the county area. It came down basically to 300 prospects, 200 qualifying prospects, and 75 motivated, qualified prospects in our timetable. We met her demands that would be strong selling points. We sold the 80 year old house the first day.

 

[sengsational]

The buyer's reported to us that their home inspector found that our HVAC was 15 years old and they wanted us to replace it at our cost before closing.

When we sold my FIL's place, they managed to get that one past us. I went over and measured the temperature drop across the return and output vents, and it was cooling fine. Then, the buyers inspector came out, unscheduled, and mysteriously the A/C quit cooling. I think the buyer or his hire let refrigerant out, but I couldn't prove it. I wanted to add refrigerant, but was overruled by committee (FIL's kids).

If I had to do it again, I'd put some kind of tamper evident material on the compressor ports, along with a notice that permission to access the ports is NOT granted.

 

[MC Rider]

75 motivated, qualified prospects in our timetable.

That's a pretty big buyer pool. Lots of competition.

 

[48Fire]

My wife told me recently "sounds like you're buying trouble". I was in a funk, worrying and stressing about various scenarios.

If you do end up trying to sell, you'll be limited to buyers who won't mind a total gut job and some problems to solve. That's maybe 1 in 20 Buyers. The rest will just look and quickly leave. Just price your house accordingly. As-is would be my suggestion.

 

[Beldar]

When we disposed of MIL's estate her house (built in 1979) needed ALOT of renovation/repairs. We sold it to an investor. He dumped approx $25k to recarpet, repaint, and replaced the dirty hard flooring with "luxury vinyl flooring". And other repairs. Turned it into a rental.

Perhaps a hassle free option?

_B

 

[sengsational]

Perhaps a hassle free option?

You're not suggesting being a landlord for an old house is hassle free, are you?

 

[Aerides]

If you do end up trying to sell, you'll be limited to buyers who won't mind a total gut job and some problems to solve. That's maybe 1 in 20 Buyers. The rest will just look and quickly leave. Just price your house accordingly. As-is would be my suggestion.

It depends on the area. My general neck of the woods buyer expects to gut, or they are flippers looking for opportunities. Probably 75% of the listings in my neighborhood require a complete gut/flip over the last 5 years. We're mostly built out, any new builds are 2-3mil for SFHs.

For example, across the street, listed for 800, sold in 3 weeks for 700 needing a to-the-studs redo. We're talking original everything from 1980 by the looks of the listing pics. 3 months of work later, the flippers listed for 1.15m and sold in a weekend. And that's a typical example of my county.

 

[engineernerd]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I strongly advise consulting a good realtor about what will help your house sell. IMHO, odds are very low that the improvements they recommend will be viewed as a problem and ripped out by the new owner.

If the realtor recommends just selling "as-is" to an investor, fine (unless it's a realtor known to make lowball offers himself, or bring in lowball offers from a buddy of his). Anyway, don't assume that's the best choice.

It is important that the realtor be good. If you've lived in the same home for many years you may know (or be able to find out by word of mouth) who is energetic, ethical, and competent. Failing that, pay attention to your gut feeling when interviewing a realtor.

When getting ready to sell an unusual property, we made contact a year ahead of time with the realtors (husband-and-wife team) we'd decided we wanted to list with. They were generous with their time and gave us a list that made sense to us. Absolutely no discussion of signing anything, they waited for us to approach them when we were ready to list with them. They did a great job selling that place, too.

 

[joesxm3]

Thanks for all the replies. Maybe the thread has gotten a little out of hand and perhaps I gave the impression i was close to selling my house. I originally just wanted to ask about the gaps in the wood flooring that I noticed for the first time this week. Not that they are new but I probably had not been paying attention. Having seen the videos I decided to make the more general title.

At this point I am going to talk to the septic guy and probably make plans to start the project next spring under the assumption that the septic will have to be done one way or another. A few years ago I was talking to a realtor I knew from church and she had advised that I fix the septic. This month I asked a friend who runs a property appraisal business and he also agreed that fixing the septic was a good idea.

Aside from the new boiler, I will just stick to some little projects to make the house look nicer for me to live in like painting some rooms that could use it.

When I get closer I will definitely try to find a realtor experienced in listing houses and representing the seller.

 

[Beldar]

You're not suggesting being a landlord for an old house is hassle free, are you?

No, I was suggesting selling the property "as is" to avoid the hassle of renovation.

_B