Selling a House in Poor Condition? What You Need to Know (2024)

Even at the best of times, selling a house is a time-consuming, stressful, and expensive process. Unfortunately, these problems only compound when you’re selling a house in poor condition.

Fortunately, if you’re looking at a weathered front porch right now, you’re not alone. Approximately 38% of the current housing supply was built prior to 1970 — that means these houses have withstood at least five decades of rot, erosion, wind, rain, and sun.

If you’re thinking of selling a house in poor condition, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading for more information about the key tips, tricks, and techniques you need to know when selling a house in poor condition.

Should You Be Selling A House in Bad Condition?

Put simply, yes. Every year, thousands of homes are sold as-is, often in poor or downright terrible condition. But what does it even mean to be selling a house that’s in poor condition or bad condition?

For some homes, poor condition can mean the house has one or more serious defects, such as structural issues, weather damage, black mold, or an active pest infestation. However, for most listings, poor condition tends to denote something less dramatic — think cosmetic flaws, stained tiles, outdated mouldings, peeling paint, or an overgrown backyard.

To help you determine if you’re selling a house in bad condition, we’ve broken the term “bad condition” into three distinct sub-categories.

Completely Uninhabitable

For your house to be completely uninhabitable, it will usually have one or more serious safety issues. These issues could include:

• Lead or asbestos on the premises
• Exposed or malfunctioning electrical wiring
• Severely malfunctioning plumbing
• Black mold
• Severe cracks in the foundations

Habitable But Requires Serious Repairs

While they’re a step above completely uninhabitable, homes in this category are in dire need of a makeover and some repairs. While it may be habitable, a home inspector will likely flag several major issues in their report. These issues could include:

• Unreliable HVAC system
• Damaged plumbing
• Damaged chimney
• Broken light fixtures
• Moderate roof damage
• Hairline cracks in the foundation
• Major rot in wood paneling

Habitable But In Need of Superficial or Routine Repairs

A common state of affairs, these homes might be a little rough around the edges, but they have good foundations and a solid structure. For your house to fit in this category, it probably suffers from overdue repairs and/or a deferred maintenance schedule. These issues could include:

• Dirty flooring
• Untended landscaping
• Minor rot in wood paneling
• Cluttered kitchen space
• Dingy, verdigrised faucets
• Dead light switches or outlets

Because a lot of these issues are cosmetic, professional presentation and artful staging can make all the difference when it comes to wooing buyers and home inspectors. Get in touch with a full-service real estate agent if you want to know more about staging a house in poor condition.

What is the most common reason a property fails to sell?

Contrary to popular belief, the most common reason for a property failing to sell is not poor condition, it’s poor research. If a property is priced too high for local buyers, there’s a very good chance it won’t sell.

If you want to avoid a stagnant listing, you need to set a realistic reserve price. This is especially true if you’re trying to convince buyers to put their hard-earned deposit into a house with condition issues. If you’re having trouble coming up with an accurate listing price, we recommend that you get in touch with a licensed appraiser or professional real estate agent.

What should you not fix when selling a house?

In most cases, there’s no need to fix deferred maintenance issues or routine repairs. However, you won’t know for sure what you should and shouldn’t fix until you talk with buyers.

Once a buyer makes an offer, the results of the pre-purchase house inspection may precipitate negotiations about the repairs. Alternatively, the buyer may leverage the condition of your home to request a discount on the agreed price.

How do you sell a house that requires major repairs?

You have a few options if you want to sell a house which needs major repairs. To make the process as clear as possible, we’ve listed the three most common ways to offload a house in seriously poor condition.

Invest in Major Repairs

If you’re trying to sell a home in a competitive market, you may have no choice but to bite the bullet and spend money on repairs. While it will rarely make sense to repair everything, investing in a few targeted major repairs can make a big difference in listing marketability and buyer interest.

Focus on Cosmetic Repairs

Oftentimes, you’ll get more bang for your buck by spending your money on minor repairs and low-cost cosmetic fixes. For instance, if you’re having trouble retaining the interest of buyers once they walk through the door, the problem might be an unappealing interior. To address this particular issue, you should invest in some low-cost cosmetic fixes — think refinishing weathered cabinets, repainting the interior wall, and replacing outdated fixtures.

Just Sell As-Is

Sellers often consider an as-is transaction when they are short on time, money, or motivation. When you sell as-is, you are clarifying that any buyer will need to take on the burden of any major repairs themselves. Please note, however, you’re still legally obligated to disclose any problems with the house.

Ready to Sell? UpNest Can Help!

Do you own a decrepit or damaged home? If you’re hesitant about listing or you’re not getting much of a response from buyers, it might be time to connect with a full-service local agent. When you sell with UpNest, which is owned by parent company Realtor.com, you’ll gain access to the UpNest Partner Network, an exclusive pool of top-rated agents who have a proven track record in sales and marketing.

Once you’ve vetted and chosen an UpNest network agent, you’ll have ample time to ask them questions you have about selling a house in poor condition. Your UpNest partner agent will be there to help and guide you through every step of the selling process, from preparing your listing description to negotiating post-inspection repair proposals.

If that’s not enough to make you want to sell via UpNest, we also offer significantly more affordable commission rates. Because our network agents are competing for your business, the average UpNest commission fee is 0.8% lower than a traditional Realtor. On a $250,000 sale, UpNest customers have already notched $2,000 in immediate cost savings.