{"id":7114,"date":"2018-03-05T16:40:39","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T23:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virtuance.com\/?p=7114"},"modified":"2018-03-06T13:47:15","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T20:47:15","slug":"7-small-home-flaws-can-big-deals-buyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/blog\/7-small-home-flaws-can-big-deals-buyers\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Small home flaws that can be big deals for buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"
By\u00a0Stephanie Booth<\/a><\/span>\u00a0| Source: Realtor.com<\/a><\/h5>\n
\"living<\/a>
Photo Powered by Virtuance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After living in the same home for a while, it’s amazing what you can get used to. A creaky floorboard, for instance. A chipped tile that you’ve been meaning to replace but haven’t gotten around to. A doorknob that needs a little coaxing to turn. No big deal, right?<\/p>\n

Well, these small flaws can be huge deal-breakers\u00a0when you decide\u00a0to sell your home.<\/p>\n

\u201cProspective buyers are going to add all the \u2018flaws\u2019 they find to the price of the property, and that\u2019s when they start trying to discount the price,\u201d cautions\u00a0Jane Peters<\/strong>, a real estate broker and owner of Home Jane Realty in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Curious what some of these seemingly small problems are? Check out this list of minuscule (to you) things that buyers\u00a0see as big hurdles\u00a0to closing a sale.<\/p>\n

1. An old electrical panel<\/h2>\n

Recently, home buyer made a controversial request for a repair at a property listed by\u00a0Cedric Stewart<\/strong>, a real estate consultant at Keller Williams in the Washington, DC, area.<\/p>\n

Apparently their\u00a0home\u00a0inspector<\/a>\u00a0claimed that $2,000 worth of repairs were needed on an electrical panel to get it \u201cup to code.\u201d The sellers insisted the current panel worked just fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the sellers, it was a small issue,\u201d\u00a0says Stewart, \u201cbut to the buyers, it was an electrical panel that could fail them at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n

To end this particular dispute, Stewart received bids from four electricians and got the repair quote knocked down to $1,200. The sellers offered that amount as a credit in lieu of repair at closing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe buyers grumbled,” Stewart recalls, \u201cbut they took it.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Ripped window screens<\/h2>\n

Window screens\u00a0will wear out over time, but if yours are torn, take it seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re a pain for anyone to replace,\u201d says Stewart. \u201cTherefore, sellers don’t want to do it and buyers will insist that they do. If the sellers refuse to fix it, the buyers will demand a credit. This can be a major point of contention, and we’ve seen it delay progress before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart\u00a0recalls one seller who agreed to replace a damaged window screen. But on the final walk-through, it still hadn’t been done\u2014and the buyer threatened to walk away from the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt worked out,\u201d says Stewart, \u201cbut it wasn’t pretty.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. The location of your laundry room<\/h2>\n

Even if you\u00a0own a state-of-the-art washer and dryer\u2014and plan to bestow both on your lucky buyers\u2014they may not\u00a0be so thrilled\u00a0with these nice\u00a0appliances if they aren’t situated in what they\u00a0think is the “right” place.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome buyers have a problem with the laundry being on the \u2018wrong\u2019 level, especially in a three-level house or townhouse-style condo,\u201d Peters explains.<\/p>\n

In other words, you might be fine lugging your laundry\u00a0to the basement, but don’t expect all buyers to feel the same way. Offer to move these items to a new locale to warm buyers up.<\/p>\n

\"laundry<\/a>
Photo Powered by Virtuance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. Sticky door locks<\/h2>\n

Live in a house long enough, and you’ll encounter a malfunctioning door latch or lock. That may be\u00a0no big deal to you, but it may alarm buyers big-time.<\/p>\n

If it’s an exterior door, they will likely view this as a major safety issue, explains Stewart. And although it\u00a0may seem like a simple fix, it\u2019s often a complex one, he says.<\/p>\n

Think about it: The company that installed the doors may no longer be around, the model may not be in production anymore, and\/or it could be tough to get someone to replace the exact hardware. Consider\u00a0fixing this problem\u00a0before a buyer\u00a0notices it.<\/p>\n

5. Your bathtub or shower<\/h2>\n

Some people prefer showers, others want baths (particularly parents\u00a0who must\u00a0clean up\u00a0small kids). So if you’re missing one or the other, watch out.<\/p>\n

In an ideal world, you’ll have both: a bath with a showerhead above.\u00a0But even if your bathtub works just fine,\u00a0make sure the style isn’t too off.\u00a0Not everyone is excited to soak in a\u00a0tub straight out of\u00a0\u201cStranger Things” in\u00a0avocado green. If that’s you, luckily there is an easy fix: Consider slapping on a new coat of paint\u00a0(yes, you can do that). Here’s\u00a0how to paint a bathtub<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"bathroom<\/a>
Photo Powered by Virtuance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

6. Small closets<\/h2>\n

\u201cMany buyers focus on closets,\u201d says Peters. \u201cAre there enough? Are they large enough? Walk-in closets are also preferred.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a few things you can do to ease these concerns. For one, try to make\u00a0your closets look roomier by decluttering\u00a0them as much as possible. Put\u00a0excess items elsewhere (like\u00a0a rented storage unit). You might also consider\u00a0hiring a contractor to build or extend closets where needed\u2014or at least point out to buyers that they can do this themselves.<\/p>\n

7. The walls of your kitchen<\/h2>\n

Some people like\u2014no, make that\u00a0love\u2014<\/em>\u00a0open kitchens.\u00a0So if\u00a0your kitchen currently has four walls,\u00a0you could be in trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuyers may look at the possibility of breaking down a wall,\u201d Peters says. But be warned, many might\u00a0not want to do the work, or just get such a bad first impression of your kitchen that they move on. If you think your kitchen’s four walls feel cramped and is stalling your sale, consider opening it up yourself. Here’s\u00a0how to knock down a wall<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Stephanie Booth\u00a0| Source: Realtor.com After living in the same home for a while, it’s amazing what you can get used to. A creaky floorboard, for instance. A chipped tile that you’ve been meaning to replace but haven’t gotten around to. A doorknob that needs a little coaxing to turn. No big deal, right? Well, these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14503,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,47],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7114"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7114"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7118,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7114\/revisions\/7118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}