On Sat, 19 Mar 2016 17:06:08 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Sat, 19 Mar 2016 14:21:37 -0700, "Ashton Crusher"
wrote:

A few years ago, we sold a house and all we did was update the flooring
and paint. Sold almost immediately.

I our market it seems virtually everything that sells is "move in
ready". My house has to have the paint done and I feel redoing the
shower is a must, it' just not "nice enough" for the market plus the
whole bathroom is "brass" which apparently is way out of style now. In
fact, most of the light fixtures are brass and I figure they will need
to be replaced with some kind of bronze/brushed nickel or similar to
fit the market. And the flooring is all 25 years old and just plain
out of date and style. Then there are the counter tops... plain old
laminate. Way out of style now so if I do that the cabinets also need
to be replaced.

I detailed property for homes I bought, for others and for an RE
agent. Came to my present house, walked in the front door, out the
back and told the bride I'm buying the house." Told the first owner
to do nothing, except fix the pool fill valve causing a flooded pool.
Told her we would help her pack her things up so she paid us for that.
Kept the home vacant for six months until we polished it up, changed
some things around. 11 years later I still love this house and have
great neighbors, to boot. Two ole farts in a single story -- no more
stairs. What price could an agent get you in the local market if sold
"as is"?

House up the street was on the market for over a year and it was
painted with new carpet, pretty much fixed up to what I would consider
fine move in condition. Didn't sell, didn't sell. Finally sold for
about 50K less then the original asking price to a flipper. He gutted
it, took out walls to create a very large "great room" setup, took out
fireplace, filled in sunken living room, rearranged the bathroom,
including moving the toilet so there was more room for a bigger
shower, completely redid and rearranged the kitchen with all new
everything. Then sold it for $150K more then he paid. I forget the
exact prices but at the time I calculated that he made at least $75K
for his three months worth of trouble. Houses around here just don't
sell "as-is" except for rock bottom prices to flippers.