During the short sale process, timing of prepping the property for sale is very important. Let’s assume in this example that the BPO was conducted three days ago, and you’re confident that there’s not going to be another BPO required. If you don’t have a buyer in place already, this is when you’re really going to need to bust it out and market this property for sale. The way that you prep each property is dependent upon the property itself and the market. For instance, if this property is an absolute piece of junk and you know that somebody’s going to get in there and completely rehab it, then you know that you’re not going to add carpet and paint yourself. This is pretty obvious. What you do need to do is make sure that the investor that comes in there to look at the property can have a clear view of what needs to be done, and they don’t need to look over a bunch of clutter and garbage to see their potential rehab. Now I’m not saying to go in there and clean this place up and make it pretty, but I am suggesting that you make it presentable for that investor to come in and look at.
If you’re going to try and retail this property, then you’re going to want to make it nice, while spending the least amount of money possible. Depending on the market prices in your area I would put a cap on the amount that you’re going to spend to make properties sellable. For instance, in my area houses range from $250000-$500000 for a standard deal, and we put the cap on cleanups to $1000. We’ll do the best that we can without spending over $1000 to prep this property for sale to a retail buyer. If houses in your market go from $75-$100000 you might consider not spending more than $500 on a property in order to get it ready for sale to a retail buyer.
Things that you need to make sure happen when prepping up for sale to retail buyer: make sure the any garbage or debris is removed from the property and the premises. Make sure that the carpets are clean, the walls windows appliances and all cabinetry is wiped down and free of dirt or dust. Make sure the outside has curb appeal – lawn mowed, bark in the beds, nice flowers, what would you think if you drove up?
These are all simple things that can make the difference between your house simply sitting for sale, or somebody offering to purchase it very quickly, which in turn means the difference between you getting a check or not.
Sincerely,
