First off, I have only done five houses, part time, over the last few years. So take my experience with a grain of salt. Second, deals have been available on the MLS here, up until recently, so I have zero experience with direct marketing. But here are some mistakes I've made. There's lots of good advice out there, so this little list isn't exhaustive.
1. we did too much diy. It looks like you are saving money to do things yourself. But when you count the added time, the redos, the cost for tools, and the energy, it was not worth it. Outcomes can be mediocre. IF you do do things yourself, bill yourself for your time! Otherwise, you develop the habit of underselling your time. For example, I like to do trim. I love trim. It upgrades a house quickly. It's cheap to buy. It's pretty easy and fun to do. But after a few houses, I began to realize I was getting no return. Buyers didn't notice! If I had paid a contractor to come in and do it, I would never have bothered. But at DIY, it felt like I was giving a better product at a reasonable price. I was becoming a volunteer trim guy and giving away free, unappreciated labor.
2. If it aint broke don't fix it. We got in the mode of having to fix everything to sell a house. These days, move in ready houses sell. So don't think you are in a HGTV episode, or in some cold market, where you have to make the house brand new. We changed all the vent covers, all the knobs, doors, etc. Appraisers don't give you any credit. Buyers don't really notice in the entry level price range. Clean and neat. On my last house, I skipped the fence, which saved me 1500 bucks. But I heard people at the open house notice, then say, but we can put one in pretty easily. So if they can, why should I? One house, I was worried about not replacing the working water heater and furnace. Buyers only wanted them to work, not be new. My last house had an old roof. I was told I needed to update it. Buyers bought it covered in snow. Their inspector didn't even get up there. And I disclosed the age, which they were fine with. I could have wasted 5 grand right there. Appraisers don't give you any credit for having new versus functional features.
3. Don't listen to the "experts" Of course, I should follow that with listen to the experts. What I mean, is, once you start doing this, everyone has an opinion. My family talked me out of a great deal once, because they didn't like the house personally. People try to give me advice, which I always listen to, but rarely follow. For example, someone told me I should landscape the back yard. Someone told me to build a garage. Someone told me to replace all the windows. None of it would have mattered on those deals. A second to this is that don't assume that everyone has your best interests at heart. Realtors just want a listing or to close the deal. So if they say it's only worth XYZ. Don't assume that is true. Contractors want business. So if they say, you have to replace that awful roof. Don't assume that's true. Buyers want the best value for the buck. So if they say, we need you to fix XYZ. Don't think that is gospel. One buyer wanted me to put in a fence. Turns out, they didn't even need a fence, but just thought they'd try to get a little extra at the bargaining table.
4. Don't get haveToHaveAHouseitis. I self finance. And so I can only buy one or two at a time. And it always seems like once I get locked into a mediocre deal, the hot deal comes up and I can't get it. Be patient. But once you see a deal. Pull the trigger. It takes me five mins to decide if I want a house.
5. You will start to appreciate quality. And you will be tempted to do little upgrades. The better tile is only 1 buck more per foot. The better carpet is only 25 cents more per foot you might say. This all adds up. And what you see as a quality difference, your buyers see as style choice. Unless they watch the TV shows.
6. Size matters. People and appraisers buy size. Bigger is better. And a house can be too small. Under 1000 sq ft is hard to sell here, as are two bedrooms. But Once you get too big, your costs go through the roof. I try to stick to 3 2 ranches because they are fast and easy. But my point is there are things you cannot change...the size of the yard, the garage, the living room, the master, the closets. And no matter what you paint or carpet them, buyers will want it to be bigger. It's easy to get into the trap of thinking everybody is going to fall for a dazzling kitchen. But buyers buy a package. A close second to that comment is you cannot rise above the neighborhood. So neighbors are as important as the house you are looking at.
7 Real estate is local. Look at what happens and sells in your area. In my area, laminate counters, vinyl floors, and cheap carpet sell just fine. I have been making houses how I want them as opposed to how the market will take them. I've wasted thousands giving away free upgrades.
8. Working with family is tricky. It often ends up costing more in frustration and time. When their standards are not yours. Or their work ethic is not yours, or they are having a bad day, things can get toxic. Don't hire friends. My best hires are people who don't know me.
9. You can save ten bucks by using a coupon (which I do), but then give away a thousand bucks at the closing table in a few seconds on poor negotiation. A good realtor is a good negotiator. I think of realtors like lawyers. You need to represent me, argue for me, and get me the best result possible. I'd say 90 percent of the realtors I've dealt with (dozens of them since I've sold by owner), do not have that attitude at all. They want to protect their reputation and get future business. Look for the good negotiator. Any move in ready listing on the MLS that is priced right will get an offer. You need the person who can get the best result. That's all I can think of right now. It has taken several years of false starts, frustrations, and temptations to quit to finally get to the point where I think this could be viable for me. So hang in there.
Forgive me as I complain about the changes to the page. When the page loads, it did not display any way to sign in. The drop downs are hard to read and would not let me select them. Took me ten mins to put this up! Come on guys.
