Why repairing before a cash sale usually loses money
A cash offer already prices the repairs in. If you spend $8,000 on a repair, the offer doesn't rise by $8,000 — it rises by roughly what the repair removed from the estimate, and you did the work, took the risk, and waited.
You're paying retail for something we buy at cost. That trade doesn't work in your favour.
Don't do these
- A new roof. You'll pay retail. It's already priced in.
- Kitchen or bathroom renovations. The most expensive way to lose money here.
- Clearing the house out. Take what matters to you. Leave the rest.
- Professional cleaning. Genuinely unnecessary.
- Landscaping. Nobody is being charmed by the kerb appeal.
Worth doing anyway
- Stop active water. A running leak makes things worse every day, and it's the one problem that compounds while you decide.
- Keep the property insured. Until closing it's yours, including the risk.
- Basic security if it's vacant. Lock it, and have someone look at it.
The things that genuinely do need sorting
Paperwork, not repairs. This is where sales actually stall:
- Who has authority to sign. Estates, divorces and multiple owners need this settled before a title company will insure anything.
- Liens and unpaid taxes. They don't stop a sale, but they come off your proceeds, so know the numbers before you're surprised at closing.
- Old filings that were never released. A paid-off loan whose lien release was never recorded is common and takes weeks to fix. Worth checking early.
- Solar agreements. Get a written payoff or buyout figure and the transfer terms. See solar panel liens.
An afternoon on the phone to a title company is worth more here than any weekend spent painting.
If you're comparing against a listing
Different question entirely, and repairs do matter there. See sell as-is or renovate.