How can I sell my mother's home in today's market without making any costly repairs/sprucing up?

Thank you Lea. I will check into it.

Dottie

My sister and I are also trying to sell my father's home. It is a tough market right now. Luckily the house is paid for and we can afford to hold it until the market turns around. We have also considered renting it, and have checked into a leasing/management company since we are states away. BAKERDMW, do you think that might be an option for you so you wouldn't have to handle the day to day stuff of renting it? I think the company my sister contacted charges $500.00 up front and 7% of the rental amount.
Lea

We went to a real estate broker who was my brother's friend, and he was building in the neighborhood with his partner a builder. Because the agent was a partner, there were no extra fees for the buyer and we received the full price. See who is building in the area. Copy down the number on trucks in the neighborhood. We did not try to build ourselves since it was too much of a hassle, but if you sell it outright, you don't really care what happens after that as long as you get ALL THE MONEY UP FRONT" Don't float the mortgage yourself, just be the seller. My brother wants to sell his gas station, and many buyers want him to hold the mortgage. Bad idea.
See who is having work done on their homes in the area. Call the licensing department for your town and see is working in the area. We have new development going up in mom's old town, and we knew this builder was financially stable. Good luck
Linda

Thank you both for your responses. The house is paid and owned outright. I had thought about renting but I do not think I could handle it. I just want to sell it and be done. Unfortunately there are a lot of vacant houses in our neighborhood-we live in Detroit Michigan, 2-3 blocks from Grosse Pointe.

Loving daughter-how did you find the builder?

bakerdmw,
Yes see an agent, but also look into a builder. We did that with my mom's home 4 years ago. We were lucky, right before the big drop in prices. He knocked it down and built a new home. It was sad to see it go, but the monies from the sale keep her in a good lifestyle at our home and prevents us from going broke! Can you also look into renting? If she has no mortgage, the income could make the difference and sell when the market is better. Good luck.

You should really be having conversations with real estate agents. Since they work on commission, I have no doubt that they will be willing to help you.