Must Fixes
Before you consider putting your home on the market, I sincerely recommend making sure basic fixes are in place first. Homes for sale in Las Vegas that have issues will receive considerably less than those without. Not only that, but they will stay on the market much longer. Yes, there are buyers such as myself who are fine with buying a home that needs work (at a discount.) My wife and I have bought and sold real estate for years and have often rebuilt homes from the studs out. But the majority of buyers can only do so many fixes themselves before having to hire help. Homes for sale in the Las Vegas area that require work will have to be heavily discounted to make up for this. Unless you are OK with selling at less than market value, address any issues prior to putting the property for sale.
Patch holes in walls or ceilings
This is a fairly easy do-it-yourself (DIY) job. Cutting sheetrock alone is extremely easy. I’d rate this as a “1” on a scale of 1-10 for difficulty. Home Depot makes repairs even easier as they sell smaller sheets specifically for these jobs. Finishing work is a bit more tedious and requires a little more skill. If you’re not that good, then you sand more. If you’re really bad like me, you have your awesome wife do it, or hire it out.
Fix your HVAC system and offer a warranty if possible
This goes without saying. New HVAC systems can be very costly and a buyer doesn’t want to get stuck with an 8 thousand dollar bill for a new AC system when the summer heats up.
I had a condo that went under contract once and the inspection showed a very loud noise coming from the AC system when it was turned on. As a result the buyers decided they wanted to walk, gave us notice and requested their escrow money back. They didn’t even want to negotiate, they just backed out. I explained to the owner that it would behoove him to address the issue (come to think of it, he also had bad sheetrock inside a closet as well) before we began to show it again. He decided he didn’t want to do that. Well as you may imagine I got the home under contract once again and guess what? The inspection revealed a very loud AC and the second set of buyers walked. I ended our listing agreement immediately after that.
Replace worn carpeting
I turned down a listing once because the owner insisted on using his filthy old carpet as a bargaining chip once he got an offer. He felt that providing a buyer’s credit would suffice. I explained that it was unlikely he was going to get a full price offer with a house in need of repairs (he also had a nice big dent in his garage door among other things.) The cost to replace a carpet will be far cheaper than the market value you will lose by selling it "as is," I can assure you of that. Another option is to lay flooring yourself. They make very affordable laminate now that locks into place easily and looks pretty darn good. It gives a nice clean look as well. DIY rating on that? A "4" at the most.
Repaint dark walls, or walls painted with highly personalized colors
People are picky. People have their own personal preferences and color palates. Dark colors make rooms look smaller. We all know these things right? (Nod your head with me-yes.) Regardless of how cheap and easy it is to paint a room, many buyers can’t get past the colors. Don’t ask me why, but they can’t.
“Oh wow, that’s ummm…interesting. Not feeling it", and on to the next house we go. Was the property right for them? We will never know because they could not get past the colors.
The good news is this one is easy and cheap to fix. Pick up some paint and brushes at the Depot and get to work. I’ve always picked a neutral color like beige. Nice and boring works great! They even make paint now that has primer in it, so you can roll right over those bright colors immediately. Not only that, but new paint helps make a home here in Las Vegas look exceptionally clean, which brings me to my final point.
Replace old linens and update your window coverings
This comes back to embracing a clean new look for the home. Paint does this cheaply and so does fresh new linens. Again, let me place a heavy emphasis on neutral colors. Same line of thought for window treatments, it doesn't have to be anything fancy, white or other neutral colors will work fine. Best of all, you won’t have to get your hands dirty! You can also take those new linens with you to your next residence. Easy.
Remember
If your home here in Vegas needs some work, take care of it before putting it on the market. Trust me, nobody is going to give you top dollar for a home that needs work. In fact, unless the property is priced aggressively, it will sit on the market for a while. This stacks the odds against you even more as time goes on. Ultimately it would be in your best interest to address all known issues before putting that “for sale” sign in the front yard.