Selling | Jill Rice

We are all watching HGTV. They make it look easy to take an old, run down house and turn it in to a shiny, new, renovated home most any buyer would love to purchase at a premium price.

This year, we’ve helped buy and sell several “fixer-uppers”. Here’s what we’ve found:

it’s not as easy as it looks. There are more buyers (including investors) than sellers in todays market. You have to be creative in finding homes that are distressed and in need of repair. You must be diligent in searching the MLS listings, create relationships with REO agents, and possibly spend time on the court-house steps in order to find the right property. You will see many houses that are overpriced and will not make a profit for you in in the long run.

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Here are a few tips to get you ready for a hot market and make sure your home is considered the “shiny penny”!

Have you ever wondered why one house on a street sells in a few days, while another home with a similar floor plan takes weeks or months? We call it the “shiny penny” rule. Think of it this way, if you have 2 pennies, they are worth exactly the same: 1 cent….. However, wouldn’t you rather have that pretty shiny penny over the dull, dirty penny? That’s what potential buyers subconsciously are doing with your home. You may have a great house with even an edge in features, size or location, but if the house down the street is a shiny penny, it may just sell first.