Join Club

Ask Adam: As-Is Sales

Ask Adam Header

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Adam Gallegos of Arlington-based real estate firm Arbour Realty, voted one of Arlington Magazine’s Best Realtors of 2013. Please submit follow-up questions in the comments section or via email.

Question: We live in Cherrydale and are considering selling next spring. We’ve owned our house for 30+ years, and some parts have rough edges. (80’s kitchen & master bath, 50’s 2nd bath, unfinished basement laundry room). What is your opinion on “as is” sales in this area? I see this as allowing us to keep asking price lower so the new owner can then update to their own taste.

I applaud you for being realistic about the current condition of your house and how the market may react. There are three primary options available to you and you may want to consider them all before making deciding on a strategy.

Tear Down — This can be the easiest option and may be accomplished without even putting your home on the open market. An Arlington agent with a wide network should have a number of builder contacts they can reach out to. You can simply invite them to evaluate the property and tell you what they would be willing to pay for it. If you are not hearing numbers that meet your expectation, then you can also try marketing it as land in the MLS.

Keep in mind that though this is likely the easiest route, it may net you the least money.

Fixer Upper — It sounds like this is the scenario you are leaning towards. It can be a great options if you know your homes is dated and you would prefer to let the next owners make the updates of their choice. You will want to sell the home “as-is” because you don’t want to get stuck making a number of costly repairs as a result of the home inspection, termite inspection, county ordinances, etc..

There isn’t much you need to do to the house in this case, but I recommend investing some time to get a cost estimate of the work that potential buyers may want to have done. It is helpful information for someone who has never priced out a renovation before. A bonus would be to include some renderings of how it could look. In my experience, we humans are limited in our imagination when it comes to a home’s potential. The more you can help us out, the better.

Full Glory — In this scenario you will make the updates yourself. This option has the ability to net you the most profit. There is a reason why some people are able to make a living flipping homes. They have learned that consumers will pay a premium for *tasteful* move-in ready homes. Generally, people living in Arlington are busy and many of us don’t have time to manage a renovation on our own. We would happily pay more to have the home looking and performing well from the time we lay eyes on it.

The first step is to figure out the potential sales price of your home once renovated and the cost to renovate it. You also need to evaluate whether you are able to take on the expense and risk that goes along with this investment. Please also make a serious evaluation as to whether you have the time, skills and resources to properly manage a renovation.

The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Recent Stories

Last year, an attempt to broaden the Arlington police auditor’s access to police records quietly fizzled before reaching the public for discussion.

George Mason University’s new Fuse at Mason Square in Arlington, is poised to become a 345,000-square-foot collaborative and digital innovation space in the heart of the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor. “As Mason expands in…

These tree care companies serve Arlington County and received Washington Consumers’ Checkbook’s top rating for quality (as reported by their customers in Checkbook’s surveys).

Wondering about the mechanics of a green card application? Statutes of Liberty has the do’s and dont’s before application fees go up!

Award-winning drag queen Tara Hoot is bringing her Family Fun Story Time Brunch to Arlington at Freddie’s Beach Bar! Saturday April 6 at noon! Join Tara for songs, stories, puppets, bubbles and joy! It’s not just stories, it’s a SHOW that’s perfect for kids and kids at heart–fun for everyone! Plus a tasty brunch at Freddie’s! Click the link and make your reservations now! ❤️ 🫧 🌈

Submit your own Announcement here.

The Summer 2024 STEAM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Arts/Math) Fellowship application is now open! Apply by April 15 to be considered!

The STEAM Workforce Development Teacher Fellowship provides Arlington Public Schools (APS) high school, middle school, and elementary school teachers with opportunities to learn about workplace needs in STEAM-related fields and for them to use the experience to enhance student learning to match workplace expectations in a selected industry. STEAM Fellows participate in a three-week summer fellowship, receiving a $4,000 stipend upon completion.

Applicants planning to pursue a fellowship in the arts must demonstrate how they will build connections between the arts and science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

Click the button to learn more, share, apply, and see the variety of fellowships completed in previous years.

Read More

Submit your own Announcement here.

Free Right-Sizing Workshop – How to Get Rid of Your…

Cody Chance and Dick Nathan of Long & Foster are hosting a free workshop at our office on Cherry Hill Rd. (formerly Lee Highway) on the topic of “down-sizing” Thursday, March 28 from 5:30-7:30. We have created a workbook with

Portofino Italian Wine Dinner, April 6, 6:30pm

Four course Italian dinner, paired with 2 wines each. The wines will be served “blind” and notes on each wine will be discussed. The event is coordinated with Elite Wine Importers and The Portofino Restaurant. The dinner is on Saturday,

×

Subscribe to our mailing list