Want to sell my house... question for the more experienced w/ real estate:

[goingoneight]

In 2010, I bought a house for 75K that after upgrades, repairs and remodeling, appraised for 103K.

Now, I know that the right fish has to bite in order for me to profit. What I'm wondering is about inspections.

One: There are hairline cracks above almost all the doors and a few at the windows. No majorly separating walls or anything like that. How likely is it that buyers/realtors/whatever would require a ****-ton of structural repairs for me to sell? Do they often overlook minor cracks or is this something that could really hurt me?

Two: electrical inspections... anyone ever been zapped with one of these? What exactly do they look for?

TIA as always. :)

[MamaMia]

If I was a buyer, cracks above all the doors would concern me. Do you know the cause of them?

Here is a link about electrical inspections...
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-electrical-inspection.htm

[cleller]

Since most buyers get their own inspector (if they are careful), its hard to guess what he'd say. A few of those cracks are fairly normal in an older house, but this sounds like more than a few. Do you know if the foundation is in good shape?

If you have it checked, and find out its not, you'd be obligated to disclose that. Its likely to all come out in the selling process anyway.

[pphilfran]

Hairline cracks are not a big deal as long as the doors are still square and not sticking..

They should be an easy fix...

[badger]

I've seen a lot of houses go for sale and sold/not sold in my little neighborhood since I walk the dogs (and now the baby stroller also) regularly. Here's a few things I've noticed:

1- People that try to sell the homes on their own fail. Every "For Sale by Owner" house turns into a realtor sign within months. The only successful "by owner" sign I saw was one for a rental.

2- The two houses that were painted light blue have been on the market for months. Seriously, light blue. Couldn't do a more neutral color, could you. Light blue. And they painted it light blue AFTER they moved out, it's not like it was painted light blue for years. Gah.

3- Cheap houses sold the fastest. Ignore your fair market value appraisal and see what your neighbors are selling their house for. Some people had insane ideas of what their house was worth (I only know because I'd sneak a brochure when I'd walk by) and some people were more realistic. Price it to move if you want it to move, price it higher if you have more time to sell it.

4- Beware the foreclosures. Those homes moved fast also, likely because they were even cheaper than the others. They'll bring down the price you can ask for. If you're near a foreclosure sale, might wanna sit on your property awhile.

[jkjsooner]

1- People that try to sell the homes on their own fail. Every "For Sale by Owner" house turns into a realtor sign within months. The only successful "by owner" sign I saw was one for a rental.

This has been my experience as well. Realtors have a nice cartel going. I'm not sure you can get on the MLS without a Realtor. That's your main marketing tool. In addition, other agents are hesitant to bring their clients to FSBO houses because 1) some FSBO are inexperienced and require more work on the buyer's agent side and 2) may not pay the commission to the buyer's agent. The prospective buyer is often required to pay the buyer's agent commission if the seller is not willing to do that so some buyers will ignore FSBO houses on their own.

It's a scam to be sure but sometimes you just have to play the game.

[badger]

This has been my experience as well. Realtors have a nice cartel going. I'm not sure you can get on the MLS without a Realtor. That's your main marketing tool. In addition, other agents are hesitant to bring their clients to FSBO houses because 1) some FSBO are inexperienced and require more work on the buyer's agent side and 2) may not pay the commission to the buyer's agent. The prospective buyer is often required to pay the buyer's agent commission if the seller is not willing to do that so some buyers will ignore FSBO houses on their own.

It's a scam to be sure but sometimes you just have to play the game.

The scam on the other side is what my parents said they had to go through when selling the home back in Wisconsin when I graduated from college.

They went through a realtor immediately. Prospective buyers would frequently ask if they could work without the realtor so that the sale price would be lower.

I wonder if it happens often or just to my parents.

[goingoneight]

Thanks for the advice, all. The house is 55 years old, so I assume the cracks are normal. Like I said, I don't have any separating walls or anything like that. No sticking doors or windows... just hairline cracks that patching doesn't completely correct.