Almost every homeowner has a long, aspirational list of the things they want to repair or update around the house. With busy lives always taking priority, many people don’t actually get to this list until they’ve decided they want to sell their house and try to increase its value. However, this attempt at raising the value of your home doesn’t always go well.
Oftentimes, the DIY repairs and improvements you try to make end up costing you more in the long-run. This cost makes selling your home to a cash house buyer that takes it as is an appealing option. Let’s take a look at reasons why making DIY repairs to your home before you sell isn’t worth it and why it makes more financial sense to simply sell your home as is to a home investor that will buy ugly houses.
1. Home Renovations Can Take a Long Time
If you’ve ever watched a home improvement show on TV, you know that home renovations are not only an investment of money but an investment of time. Even the seemingly simplest of projects can turn into a months-long ordeal. This is because old homes aren’t cookie-cutter and tend to have unpleasant surprises hidden within them. You may think that ripping out the carpet in your home will be an easy improvement, but you may rip it up just to find rotting floorboards or severe structural damage. Your DIY repair has suddenly become more complicated and much more expensive.
As your timeline for doing DIY repairs extends, so does your budget. Every new material you buy or charge of electricity you use to power tools costs you money. If your family is living in a hotel while you complete these repairs, you’ll be spending even more to keep them out of the house longer. Many people may also take time off work or cut down their hours to get these repairs done, further impacting their finances.
While home renovations can end up having an undetermined timeline, selling your home to a cash house buyer gives you a convenient, quick way to get good money for your home without doing anything. It typically only takes one to three weeks to close on a cash sale. A conventional sale usually takes four to seven weeks to close. If you want to save time, and by extension money, when selling your home, skip the DIYs and go right to a house buyer who takes houses as they are.
2. You May Have to Call a Professional
Many homeowners gain confidence in their DIY abilities because of a couple of small projects that they complete successfully. If you’ve painted a room or figured out how to patch a hole in some drywall, you may think that you can take on some more serious renovations. With each new project you take on, however, you run the risk of hitting a roadblock and needing to call a professional to finish the job. You’ll then have to pay them for their services and it might cost more to repair the mistakes you made than it would have for them to do the job in the first place. This cost, of course, is in addition to whatever you already spent on materials and tools to attempt this repair job.
This scenario tends to happen with the more complicated systems of the home, as they are the more expensive. A house’s roof, foundation, HVAC system, plumbing, and electrical system can all give you trouble if you’re not professionally trained to handle them. This is especially true for old homes, which tend to have outdated systems that take a lot of money to repair and replace. It’s much more financially savvy to sell your home to house buyers who take homes as they are and avoid having to pay professionals to do complicated work.
3. There Could Be Dangerous Toxins in Your Home
Old homes have many problems, but one of the most dangerous is the toxins that can be lingering in them. Materials such as lead and asbestos were commonly used in constructing homes and buildings for decades before it was discovered that they are extremely harmful to human health. Toxins like these are now outlawed or severely limited when building homes but they still exist across the country in old buildings that haven’t been updated with modern construction materials.
If you’re doing DIY repairs to your old home, you may come across lead, asbestos, or other hazardous material. For the safety of yourself and your family, you’ll need to have it properly removed and disposed of. This requires hiring a professional who is trained in properly dealing with the material. This will also delay your renovation project and could necessitate putting your family in a hotel while the professionals deal with the hazardous materials. All of this will cost a significant amount of money. Avoid coming into contact with hazardous materials that could cost you money, as well as your house, and sell your home to house buyers instead.
Undertaking DIY repairs before you sell your home will cost you. If you want to actually make money when you sell your home, skip the pricey and risky renovations and turn to a company that offers cash for homes as they are. You won’t lose money trying to increase the value of your home and will still be able to sell it quickly. Contact Philly Home Investor today to find out how you can get quick cash for your home.