Selling Your Denver Home This Winter or Spring? Fix These Before the Inspector Finds Them.

If you’re thinking about selling, here’s the number to know: 59.1% of Denver-metro listings have had a price reduction, according to The New Door Group’s Oct. 17 weekly market update using REcolorado data. Active listings sat at 13,032, and the median active listing had been on the market 85 days.

What that means for you: buyers have choices, and they’re using them. According to Redfin, 17.3% of Denver-area home contracts fell through in September. Nationally, inspection findings are one of the common reasons deals unravel, according to Yahoo Finance. A home that inspects clean gives buyers fewer reasons to ask for more or walk away.

The good news is that a lot of what shows up on inspection reports is small, fixable stuff. Here’s what inspectors commonly flag, and what’s worth handling before you list.

Plumbing

Dripping faucets, running toilets, slow drains, and loose fixtures. Look under every sink for active leaks or old water stains. Small leaks on a report make buyers wonder what else is hiding.

Electrical

Missing GFCI protection in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, and outdoors; loose outlets; missing cover plates; and light fixtures that don’t work. Electrical items tend to worry buyers more than their cost suggests, so these are worth getting ahead of. Have a licensed electrician handle anything beyond simple fixes.

Exterior and water

Cracked or missing caulk around windows and doors, peeling paint, damaged trim, and gutters or downspouts that dump water next to the foundation. Water is one of the first things buyers and inspectors look for.

Doors, windows, and screens

Sticky or misaligned doors, broken window seals, torn screens, and worn weatherstripping. Easy fixes that make a house feel cared for.

Safety items

Loose stair railings, trip hazards on steps and walkways, and missing or expired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Roof

From the ground, look for missing or lifted shingles and damaged flashing. If you’re unsure, it’s worth having the roof looked at before buyers do.

Why a written itemized estimate helps

Before you list, a walk-through and a written, itemized estimate tell you exactly what each item costs, so you can decide what to fix, what to leave, and what to disclose. It also gives your agent real numbers to work with if a buyer’s inspection turns up something new.

Plan it around your listing date

Repairs go smoothest when they’re done before listing photos. If you’re aiming for spring, winter is a good time to get the list together and on the calendar.

How Brimie Contractors can help

Brimie Contractors LLC is a veteran and Colorado owned residential contractor serving the Denver metro, from Castle Rock to Boulder and Erie, including Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Centennial, Parker, Lone Tree, Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, and Broomfield. We’ll walk your home, give you a written itemized estimate, and handle the presale repairs start to finish, backed by our one-year warranty. Shipshape before the sign goes up.

Request your presale estimate at brimiecontractorsllc.com.

Sources