The Observer & Eccentric Newspapers

Thursday, February 19, 2004
Real Estate	Back
Invest in repairs that give your house curb appeal
By NORMAN PRADY CORRESPONDENT This is not as easy as stuffing all the dirty dishes into the oven when you suddenly see company walking up the front walk. No, getting your house ready for prospective buyers takes some planning, time and money. It might take a weekend or two of do-it-yourself repairs or a crew of specialists. And there are multiple things to consider. "It depends on the sellers' time-frame, motivation and financial ability," said Bill Clark, owner broker, Coldwell Banker Schweitzer, Clarkston. "If the need is to sell in next 30 days, they might not have time to get the work done. So then you just adjust the price." Some sellers have all the time in the world, but don't have the money to hire someone to do repairs. There are companies that will do the work and accept payment at the closing of the sale of the house. "There are different levels of what to do and how much is worth doing," said Clark. "You don't put on a deck to sell the house because you don't get the money back." Investing $15,000 in a house that could sell for $200,000 but will go for $150,000 in its present condition is a good investment, because you'll get an additional $35,000, said Clark. Jeanette Schneider, vice president and co-regional director of RE_MAX of Southeastern Michigan agrees there is a direct correlation between repairs made or not made and purchase price. "Most homebuyers will look at an old furnace and view that as a minimum $2,000 item they will need to deal with. If sellers don't address a furnace problem prior to listing their home, they run the risk of it becoming an item for negotiation," she said. "The prospective buyer may ask for a specific size, brand or the cost of a new furnace, or they may present a flat reduction in their offer price. Buyers don't want the aggravation or cost associated with repairs after the sale so they will adjust their asking price to reflect the needed cost and inconvenience to them. Sellers will pay for problems one way or another." Solving problems Sellers paying to solve problems help keep Keith Paul in business. Paul is president of HandyPro Handyman Service, Plymouth. "We have a Home sellers' Program to handle emergencies," Paul said. "The biggest things probably would be painting, drywall repair, any marks on the wall, holes from doorknobs, leaky faucets, toilet not working right, light fixtures, ceiling fans, doors that are stuck, wobbly shelving, gutters falling down, reattach or replace storm doors." Storm doors, Paul said, like leaky faucets are low-cost items that have high visual impact on a buyer's impression of how well the house has been kept up. Sellers and real estate agents call his company, he said, "with lists that have to be done by Friday," and he dispatches 17 handypersons from his three offices throughout the metro area. Each worker has a minimum of eight years of previous-job experience, tools, written estimates, and guarantees about time and quality. The phone rings steadily as well at Curb Appeal, Inc., Bloomfield Hills, where co-owner Jim Landolfe said he's used to callers who say, "I'm putting the house on the market tomorrow. What do I do?" Landolfe said he tries to reassure callers that "anything's possible." "The point is that as a seller you're trying to take away the negatives and not spend a lot of money doing it. You want the house to have curb appeal," he said. Ronni Keating agrees you shouldn't do work that won't return your investment. Keating is a sales agent with Snyder Kinney Bennett & Keating, Birmingham. "Most important," Keating said, are matters of maintenance. Don't have things that are going to be eye-distracting, things that are going to lead the buyers to believe there are problems in the house. Fix those cosmetic things, especially in the basement. Walls that look like there could be seepage and are actually just dirty could make someone think there's a water problem. Homeowners who regularly come in through the garage don't always see the front of the house. The front door and porch area should be looking its best for presentation to buyers. During the winter she recommends putting some pictures out so prospective buyers can see what the house looks like in the spring. And don't forget to hide the dirty dishes.