“I'll get to it later.” You know, all those little things that go on the “honey do” list? The pesky little fixes for which you just need to call a handy person or spend an afternoon at the home store talking to the clerk for some DIY advice. Then there are the things a new homeowner needs to simply budget for...like painting and systems maintenance.
Face it, while you may feel a great sense of accomplishment when chores 
are taken care of, there is always something much more compelling to do after a day at work or on a Saturday afternoon; something more fun on which to spend your cash reserves. You are easily lulled into “ah, I'll get to it next week...how bad can it get?” Well, let me tell you how bad it can get.
Picture a sweet little starter home in a sweet little neighborhood lived in by a really great family with really great kids. They bought the home just a couple of years ago, at the top of the market, and surely had a home inspection done before purchasing. Inspection recommendations at the time surely must have noted that the home had hard board siding that had not been caulked or painted in a very long time. Trim boards in the early stages of rotting and loosening, had to have been 'freshened up' with a coat of new paint. The HVAC system still had useful life in it but multiple, previous owners probably weren't good about regularly changing the filters. Is the heat exchanger in need of replacment? Maybe. There is a cute little screened porch which was clearly built by a DIY inclined previous owner, probably not permitted, since some of the construction “techniques” include interior rated items used outside and the vertical supports being “supported” on paving tiles.
When this seller purchased the home they would have liked the floor plan and had some money to make improvements so they probably asked for a few repairs pursuant to the inspection or maybe asked for and gotten, a major repair, thereby making the seller unwilling to do much more. Not to worry, the new owners would take care of the smaller, deferred items.
But when the time came to put some money into the home (for which the family had paid top dollar in a hot market) they chose a full kitchen redo in a home just 12 years old at the time; new cabinets, stainless appliances, solid surface counters, hardwood floors. There is fresh new paint inside in popular colors and they have created a truly attractive living space. But now they have to sell. I don't know why. It isn't advertised as a distressed sale and they haven't made any appreciation since they purchased but that isn't inherently the problem.
The inherent problem isn't entirely one of this sellers' own making either, but rather an unplanned collusion by all the previous owners; a gathering storm of laissez-faire and an “I won't be here long enough to worry about it” attitude from previous occupants. What this seller now has is a boat load of deferred maintenance issues that might just sink the ship.
The hardboard siding, uncared for over many years, has now absorbed enough moisture to crumble at the uncaulked seams and poorly painted edges. Unsealed nail heads are bleeding rust onto the siding as water seeps in. A lot of trim is peeling, missing and water damaged. The best solution is truly to re-side the house. Quite a few window sills have rotted and loosened and been painted over but an inspector’s sharp instrument easily punches a hole in it...even inside. There are windows with broken thermal seals. The DIY projects of previous owners, like a screened porch, were most likely unpermitted and are now testifying to the reason why we have building standards. The yard is a quagmire, 8 inches of standing water on this rainy day and draining toward the foundation. The systems, all original, are heading into the last stages of their expected life and the condition of the home's exterior does nothing to instill confidence in the maintenance of the other systems at this point. The HVAC ductwork in the crawl space is flattened from neglect of the system. The crawl space is damp. Any new buyer would be, quite simply, buying a large maintenance problem; and an expensive one.
It is truly sad. This seller is the one who was caught without a chair when the music stopped. The price they are asking is reasonable for the neighborhood but not for the condition. Add that to the fact that a typical buyer, paying anything near what the seller is asking, would end up upside down in it after fixing everything that needs to be fixed. The insane appreciation of past years (and ours wasn't even that insane) is gone and a buyer would have to live in this home for many, many years to just break even. This is a starter neighborhood of young families and working couples with regular turnover in ownership.
My buyer is exactly what this neighborhood attracts and she has a down payment, a good job, a qualification letter, flexibility on move in date and is ready to go. But she won't be the buyer for this home. Nor will any other informed and well represented buyer who is looking for a great house at a great price. She will move on. My guess is so will most others and I am truly sorry for this seller, left standing when the music stopped. The options left to them are not pleasant.
Responsible home ownership means deferred gratification is far preferable to deferred maintenance. Beautiful kitchens are one thing but you never know when the music will stop...and all those little deferments will keep you from surviving to the next round.
It's Simple...When You Have A Great Agent!
SarahGray Lamm is a licensed, full time, residential real estate professional in the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina with over 60,000 hours of experience. She specializes in serving the real estate needs of home sellers, home buyers and investors in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and Northern Chatham County and is proudly associated with Allen Tate Realtors, the Carolinas #1 independent realty company.
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I help buyers and sellers in Wake County, NC. 
