Fix These 3 Things Before You List Your Bellingham Home

By Nick Berard

Nick Berard is a world-class Realtor with a passion for helping clients manage wealth through real estate.

If you’re thinking about selling, you’d probably guess the thing that sinks a deal is the kitchen or the paint color. In Bellingham, that’s not what I’ve been seeing. The deals that fall apart are dying over three things most homeowners rarely look at, because they’re out of sight right up until an inspector finds them.

People think none of these will kill a sale on its own. What kills a sale is discovering the problem after you’re already under contract, when a buyer’s excitement turns into worry about what the repairs might cost.

Handle them early, and they stop being objections at all.

1. Start with the roof. This is the number one reason I’m watching deals wobble right now. Aging roofs at the end of their life, moss building up, missing flashing that lets water cause dry rot, all of it makes buyers nervous. Before you list, get up there and take an honest look. If you see a lot of moss or peeling paint, have a real professional check it, not your dad’s brother’s buddy’s contractor who glanced at it and said it’s fine. You want that insurance so the buyer doesn’t freak out once you’re under contract. I’ve had probably six roofs replaced with clients over the last year.

2. Then look at the attic. This is where I see mold and mildew. You climb up and find black stuff growing in the corners. When the ventilation isn’t connected right, things start to grow, often from something small like a detached bathroom vent fan venting warm air that condenses.

I had a seller recently whose buyers found attic mold nobody knew about. It had to be addressed, and if that buyer walked, the next one would ask for the same fix. The buyer insisted on their own specialist, even though we’d had another contractor quote it for less. That’s the lesson: find the issue before you list, and you’re the one who decides who does the work and what it costs.

3. Finally, check the crawl space. Standing water, a vapor barrier that isn’t working, rodents in the insulation, small leaks, none of it is on your radar because you’re never down there. Here’s a story from a few years back. My buyers got an inspection report full of little things, and one said, “Nick, this is going to cost us $60,000 to fix all this.” I told them it might, but what if it isn’t?

We brought in a contractor and a handyman, and the real number came back closer to $10,000. We negotiated to get the work done, my clients bought the house, and they’re happy campers to this day. That gap, $60,000 in a buyer’s imagination versus $10,000 in reality, is why I’d rather a seller handle these things upfront.

None of these three will end a deal by themselves, but they come up again and again. A couple of hundred dollars spent on having things evaluated early can save you tens of thousands during the negotiation.

So if you’re thinking about making a move, reach out. My team and I would love to be your real estate resource every step of the way. Call or text me at 360-770-3245, email me at nick@nickberardhomes.com, or visit nickberardhomes.com.