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Sellers: Just Fix It and Don't Offer a Buyer Credit

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Real Estate Agent with Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker DRE #00697006

I went out to Natomas to talk with a seller yesterday who has been working on his house for 10 years. Long distance. He has little flooring, no counter tops, cabinets that scream for paint and outdated light fixtures. He wants a price that is not in line with the neighborhood, and he's doing the wrong things to get a higher price. 

As gently as I could, I tried to explain to him what our market demands from sellers. I even play-acted being a first-time home buyer and entering his home. Thrusting my hands on my hips: where are my hanging light pendants? OMG. What is this cement floor, eww. None of it registered.

He says he'll be finished in a month.

I've fixed up and flipped many homes. He can't even get a hold of his contractor. Plus, he believes the buyer will be willing to accept a credit from him for no flooring in the living room. On an already over-priced home to boot. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Why Seller Credits Are a Bad Idea When Selling a Sacramento Home.

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Elizabeth Weintraub is co-partner of Weintraub & Wallace Team of Top Producing Realtors, an author, home buying expert at The Balance, a Land Park resident, and a veteran real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown, Carmichael and East Sacramento, as well as tract homes in Elk Grove, Natomas, Roseville and Lincoln. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put our combined 80 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold. DRE License # 00697006.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX Gold. Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice; it could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.

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Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Hi Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Real Estate Agent, Top 1% of Lyon Agents every buyer wants to see the final product.... credits don't work well in this market.... our last pending sale offered a credit for a new furnace and roof.... it went pending when the furnace was installed and the roof was on!!

Mar 13, 2018 09:26 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

That's even squirrelier, Barbara. Like buyers are dying to pick out a furnace and roof.

Mar 15, 2018 08:51 AM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

I have this same conversation wtih sellers all the time.  And just like you, I also will pretend to be a buyer.  I tell them as soon as a buyer's shoulders shrug, you're done.  Either they are leaving, or punishing you with a low  offer.  If it's a pain to do, it's a triple pain for the buyer to do.  Just get it done and have the house buyer ready.

Mar 13, 2018 09:56 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

Yes, Chris Ann, they figure if the seller is willing to credit for flooring, they can get credits for a lot of other things, too.

Mar 15, 2018 08:52 AM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

Paint and floor coverings are things that are relatively inexpensive to do when it comes to getting bang for the buck.  My own house is an example.  When I first viewed it, the place was a mess.  Not only was there a great deal of clutter from a seller who was a bit of a hoarder, the walls and needed wallpaper stripped. They needed painting.  There was dirty tangerine colored shag carpet.  I couldn't divorce myself from what I was seeing, to imagine my furniture here.  And, I'm a real estate agent!  Finally, I came back when the seller wasn't home, moved the books and magazines over on a segment of their couch, and with a pencil and graph paper, began to draw rooms, and pencil in my furtniture.  I made a to-do list of things I'd need to do before I could move in.  I then realized it had a fairly new roof, and HVAC.  That really all I needed to do was paint the interior, and recarpet.  After we closed escrow, I received the unexpected gift of peeling back that ugly old carpet, and found perfect hardwood floors beneath.

Mar 13, 2018 10:15 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

Reminds me of a split-level home I bought in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, many years ago. When I toured, the seller had stinky overflowing ashtrays all over the house, an unmade bed, trash on the floor; it was a disaster. But in my case, I told my agent: that's a seller in bankruptcy, we can steal this house.


He was and I did.

Mar 15, 2018 08:54 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

And those buyers, if they agree to a credit, will typically ask for more money than what it would cost a seller to do it right up front.

Mar 13, 2018 10:49 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

Most buyers, not being homeowners before, have little idea what it costs to make repairs.

Mar 15, 2018 08:55 AM
Liz and Bill Spear
Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com - Mason, OH
Transaction Alliance Cincinnati & Dayton suburbs

I've had the no credits conversation at least twice in the last week.  Buyers want the credit AND a big deduction off the asking price.  Best to just get it done before the sign goes in the yard if there's any way to get it done.

Mar 13, 2018 02:04 PM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

Precisely, Bill. They figure if there is one credit, the seller is somewhat desperate and should discount the price as well because it's a hassle for the buyer.

Mar 15, 2018 08:56 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Elizabeth, I always tell my sellers if you do chewing gum repair you are buying into a lawsuit, might as well just give credit and then you are done with it...Endre

p.s.: I do not sugar coat it. I do not mince my words and sellers ultimately agree...

Mar 13, 2018 10:20 PM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

I assume you are talking about repairs after a home inspection vs credits. We are discussing offering a credit up front when the home goes on the market, and why that's a bad idea.

Mar 15, 2018 08:57 AM
Sheila Anderson
Referral Group Incorporated - East Brunswick, NJ
The Real Estate Whisperer Who Listens 732-715-1133

Good morning Elizabeth. You are so right with this. No one has the vision that your seller wants. Do it and be done.

Mar 14, 2018 06:31 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

Sellers look at the situation from an isolated point of view, that's for sure.

Mar 15, 2018 08:58 AM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Elizabeth, our buyers would not accept a credit either, they want the projects finished.  Good luck.

Mar 15, 2018 06:51 AM
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Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold, Midtown and Sierra Oaks Sacramento office. Co-partner Weintraub & Wallace Realtors. Selling since 1974. Homebuying expert at The Balance. Weintraub & Wallace sells homes from Galt to Lincoln.
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Author Bio: Elizabeth Weintraub is a Sacramento real estate broker, author, home buying expert for The Balance, a Land Park resident, who specializes not only in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento but sells extensively from Elk Grove to Lincoln. Weintraub is prominently known as the #1 Sacramento Short Sale agent throughout the Sacramento four-county area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 40+ years of real estate experience to work for you.

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