"Seller" wrote in message
...
I would like to get some opinions about selling a home.

Brief Background:

I am a male, 50's, inexperienced with real estate issues. My
mother died last June and during her final days I had the
power of attorney. I had to take care of all matters and
plan the funeral and things worked out pretty well.

In a few weeks I'll be the Personal Representative (I have
two siblings) of the estate and the house has to be sold.
The current market value (what others like that are selling for)
is $350,000. However, her house is not 100% up to par. The
entire house will need to be painted (inside) and the original
wood floors (built in 1950) will probably need refinishing.
The last matter is the kitchen; it's pretty much a disaster
(in my opinion) because it has the ORIGINAL cabinets, counter,
sink, and the stove is 45 years old, along with the tile floor.

I have been getting opinions from many people but I keep
ending up back at square one with no definitive information
as to where I'll be standing when this is over.

I have two quotes so far about the painting ($2,000) and the
floors ($2,500) and the kitchen could range from $3,000
(quickie throw together) to easily $10,000 or more.

These are my rough calculations so far:

$350,000 Asking price

$ 4,500 - costs for floors, painting

$ 5,000 - cost to put together inexpensive kitchen

$340,500 - Approx. profit for house

$ 18,000 - Charges for Realtor fees

$322,500 - Balance for profit

$ 5,000 - Misc. costs

$317,500 - Final Selling Price for House


I am new at this so I'm flying by the seat of my pants. Today
all the neighbors got a flyer from a licensed real estate
agent "Have a Home To Sell?" "Want to sell 'as-is' without
paying a real estate commission?"

Basically it says he wants to buy houses that need some work
but it doesn't matter because he can save money because I
wouldn't have to make any repairs and pay any fees. Are
these people legit or is this a scam?

Any advice on selling the house? Do I pretty much understand
this concept or should I try to get an agent (6-7%) and
let them handle it? My concern is, if I make too many repairs
I'll have little profits left.

Any advice appreciated.

=========END OF MESSAGE =============

Forget the quickie sales types, they will just make lowball offers hoping to
find a seller who wants quick cash.

Don't redo the kitchen, buyers will take an out of date kitchen in to
account whan valuing the house. Do clean up and empty out the house and
clean up the yard. If the condition is bad enough, do the floors and
painting. Give the house maximum curb appeal so that potential buyers will
want to inspect the interior.

You don't say where in the country you are or how active the local real
estate market is. Get multiple value assessments before setting an asking
price.

Real estate sales commissions are very negotiable. If you are in an active
real estate market you can get agents down to 4% by saying no to any thing
higher.