Benjamin Franklin said, “You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.” This was never truer than what my client (let’s call him Bill) discovered when he decided to sell his home.
Bill owned a wonderful house. The manicured backyard featured an in-ground pool, pool house, and patio area with a brick oven grill for BBQ’s in the summer. The home had even been featured in Better Homes and Gardens back in the 60’s for its unique architecture. Suffice it to say, it was a great home and I was confident it would sell quickly.
Three years prior to calling me, Bill’s job transferred him from Genesee to Oakland County, so he decided to rent out this house. Living over an hour away, Bill paid little attention to maintenance items as long as the tenant was not complaining. He was just happy to have a good paying tenant.
Recently Bill was transferred to Tennessee for yet another promotion. He planned to sell his “perfect” house (which is now considered non-owner occupied investment property) to offset the cost of the home he fell in love with in Tennessee.
I listed and sold the house quickly. The next step was for the appraiser to come in. Unfortunately, the appraiser sited the house for many areas with deferred maintenance. Because Bill had not paid attention to repair issues when they arose, it created problems for him now. Not only did he lose time (time is money) but the cost of the repairs were more than if he had checked the house monthly looking for issues.
If you own rental property, you cannot always count on a tenant to report issues. The average tenant just wants to get along with the landlord. They don’t want to bring up problems that might inconvenience them (or raise their rent!). However, small problems can become large ones on the way to closing. In Bill’s case it extended his closing by nearly 2 months, changed his moving plans and added unforeseen wrinkles to the deal with his new home in Tennessee.
From the time you START thinking about selling to the time you get to the closing table can be a 2-year process. During that time, it is vital to look at your home with a discerning eye. Try to maintain or repair what you can. The worst time – and potentially most costly – to address deferred maintenance is when you’re trying to sell. Don’t let this happen to you.