Give the allowance at closing or do the work ahead of time?

Allowances............ Carpeting, painting, landscaping etc. Let's face it we all "live" in our homes and things over time start to get warn down. A lot of people have a hard time finding time to maintain their home. Over time, deffered maintenance kicks in. In our house we make a list of things at the beginning of the year that need attention. Whether it be re-painting base boards or banisters, carpet cleaning, exterior work, re-caulking bath tubs and showers, the list can go on and on and often is overwhelming. When we go into a listing presentation these are all things we look at, they are all things potential buyers will look at and that will affect the value of your home. Especially in today's market a well maintained home is important to buyers, they have so many choices available to them and often a well maintained home will stand out. Our recommendations to our customers is NO allowances for carpet or painting, get the work done prior to listing your home. One reason is the home will show much better with the new carpet then with the old and a couple samples laying out. Buyers have a hard time visualizing, they also don't want the hassle of getting a bunch of work done after closing. People like their home to be move in ready. The other reason is you will often get more for your home if these items are done prior to placing it on the market than you would get if they weren't done. Sometimes allowances can not be avoided, and we understand that as well. You may have a problem animal in the house or other situations that make it a much better option to offer the money up at the closing table and let the buyers take care of it after closing. Allowances can often present a problem with lenders at closing, so make sure to talk about all of these issues with your Realtor, before making your final decision. A little work before can often help your home sell faster and who wouldn't appreciate that in this market!

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