Trying to sell a house can be a challenge under any circumstances. You might be dealing with a tough market. The property might have some specific issues to deal with. Buyers can run into financing trouble or want to make hardball offers to drive the price down. But when it comes to selling your old house, that brings with it a whole collection of potential challenges and pitfalls that you’ll need to consider. This is especially true if you’re trying to appeal to younger buyers looking to buy a house in Maine.
Selling your old house in Maine on the housing market means you’re going to have to get your home in good condition, or “market-ready.” Market buyers will want to know that your old house isn’t falling apart and that they won’t be stuck with costly repairs and upgrades that aren’t entirely obvious. You’re going to have to consider putting in some work and, perhaps, a bit of money, to make your house ready to sell on the market.
You can also consider selling your old house for cash to one of the companies that buy houses in Portland, such as Ocean City Development. When you sell your old house for cash, you don’t have to worry about repair, cleaning, upgrades, or financial issues.
However you decide to sell, let’s take a closer look at how to sell your old house in Maine.
How to Sell an Old House in Maine
One of the first things you need to do when selling an old house in Maine is to decide how you want to sell. This might seem obvious but you have a lot of options and ways to go about it.
If you decide that you want to sell your house on the housing market, you can decide to market it as a fixer-upper or you can decide to put in the work now to boost your potential profits. Each strategy has its pros and cons to consider.
If you decide to market the house as a fixer-upper, you’ll be able to avoid some of the repair, renovation, and upgrade needs that your old home has. You probably still want to consider making small repairs and upgrades where you can as every little bit helps. But if you want to hold off on big needs like mold damage or a leaky roof, you can do so and inform potential buyers that this will be their responsibility. Of course, you’re going to attract a smaller pool of potential market buyers as well as limit the amount of money they are willing to spend on your house.
If you decide to market the house in good condition, you’re likely going to have to do a serious inventory of all the repair needs inside the old house. Older homes usually have a lot of structural concerns, property issues, and various repair needs that have cropped up over the years. Even if you’ve been diligent about keeping up with them, it’s hard to imagine a house from the 1940s is in pristine condition unless you’ve been sinking a ton of money into it. You might be able to get more money on the sale price, but you’re going to have to spend a lot to get there. Plus you’ll likely have to use a real estate agent for the sale, and that means paying a commission fee, which usually comes out to 4-5% of the final sale price. You can also consider selling your house by yourself but that comes with its potential problems.
If you decide that you don’t want to deal with the repair needs, don’t have the money to make needed repairs, or just want to sell your old house in Maine fast, you should consider selling to a cash buyer like Ocean City Development. We buy houses in Maine just like yours all the time. We don’t require any repairs, we buy houses as-is, we don’t involve middlemen, and we pay cash for houses fast. Whether you want to sell my house fast in Auburn or anywhere else in Maine, consider reaching out for a no-obligation quote.
If you do decide to sell your old house on the market, here are some other things to consider when selling an old Maine house.
Clean Your House
You might think it goes without saying but it’s always good to point how that you’ll want to make sure your old house is cleaned and in great condition, regardless of how you sell it on the market. Even if you plan to sell it as a fixer-upper, you want to put your best foot forward. Not letting buyers see a clean house means that you’re going to muddy up their vision of the home’s potential.
If the old house is in serious disrepair, you should consider hiring professional cleaners. This could cost you a bit of money, but if you want to sell your old house faster on the housing market, you’ll want to consider the expense.
Make sure that you don’t just throw everything in a hallway closet or the garage because buyers will want to look in there too. Consider renting a storage unit where you can keep your belongings. The more you can do to give market buyers the space to see themselves and not you in the house, the better.
Redecorate Your Old House
When you’re trying to sell an old house, you don’t want to project “old” as much as possible. That could include your decor and furniture as well. If you’ve been living there a long time you might have built up a collection of artwork, furnishings, and fixtures that feel out of step with modern times. If that’s the case, consider updating the interiors to give the old house a fresh look. You might even want to consider bringing in a home stager who can replace the current furnishings with trendy items that appeal to many buyers and give them a “blank slate” to work with. That costs money but if you’re committed to selling on the market, it might be the way to go.
Repaint Your Old House
Nothing freshens up a house, inside and out, like a fresh coat of paint. Consider giving your old house a new layer of paint if you have the time and money. Look for bright or warm colors that invite buyers to come closer and check out your home. Stay away from dark colors or colors that remind people of negative things, like black, red (fire), or dark greens (mold).
Make Repairs to Your House
As mentioned, considering repairs and which ones you need to do is a critical aspect to selling your old house in Maine on the housing market. You should do an inventory of problems and damage before you list your house and figure out which problems can stay and which ones need to be repaired. Remember, market buyers are going to be very concerned about things like water damage, wall cracks, foundation problems, and broken HVAC systems. If you want to give your market sale a better shot, you need to make repairs like that. If you come across major issues like mold damage, termites, flooding, or holes in the roof, you’ll want to reach out to professionals to get a quote and figure out how much they’ll cost.
Of course, if you sell your old house to a cash buyer, you don’t need to worry about making repairs. They buy houses as-is in their current condition, so there’s no cost for you in making repairs or cleaning.
Highlight Unique Features of Your House
When you have an old house, you might need to work a little harder to talk some market buyers into taking a look. So make sure you’re playing up the positives and unique features that make your Maine house worth it. If your house is located in a good neighborhood or near a great school, make sure that’s clear. Your older house might be vintage light fixtures, unique woodwork, or custom details inside. Play up the uniqueness of these features. And if you’ve made upgrades and renovations, be sure to show them off.
Sell Your Old House for Cash
If time is of the essence and you don’t have the means or energy to make the repairs needed for a market sale, you may want to consider selling your house as-is to Ocean City Development. We buy old houses for cash and we make fair offers you are under no obligation to accept. We don’t require you to make any repairs or changes. We’ll make you a fair offer in as soon as 24 hours after you contact us and then, if you accept, we can close on your terms. If you want to try to close within a few days, we can work with you on that. And then you get to walk away with cash in your pocket.
Conclusion paragraph
Selling your old house in Maine is definitely something you can do, so long as you’re clear on what you want to accomplish and what you need. Ocean City Development is here to help you and would love to talk with you about how to sell your Maine house fast and give you cash for it.