That’s plaster for you! Either get it reclad or get the facts by Probing and show buyers there’s nothing wrong with it – or maybe just a little wrong. The decision you will be faced is a money value proposition only. You have already decided to sell so don’t get emotional about it – get the facts – its your duty to yourself and your family what is the best way out with the best impact on the bank.
$300,000 to reclad or spend $2,000 to Probe and test. What if there was nothing wrong and a buyer was happy to buy on the fundamentals of a dry home. Think bank account?
Do you know buyers think all plaster homes should be land value. Its a free market so if they can get away with that – good on them.
One of our Probe clients was told exactly that – its got plaster so you’ll need to drop $200,000. Our Probes agreed its a plaster home but disagreed with the discount. Our Probes gave nothing but the green light (green is good – low moisture). No rot. It was a treasure of a home. Got $80,000 above CV – a whopping $200,000 more than the Real Estate market appraisal. Can’t guarantee you’ll be as lucky as this couple but you never know until you try.
At the worst the Probes will confirm it needs a reclad – and importantly the Probe results will define the likely frame replacement. This defines costs which means contractors won’t be endeared to include terms like “plus timber removal” which is the start of the road to variations and costs exceeding quotes.
What buyers want to see is our maintenance plans and moisture reports so they can see what is going on and what is likely to happen in the future to base offers on. We see most sellers doing the basic maintenance before selling and identifying larger items with prices so buyers know what they are getting. That is disclosure working as intended. Its not our job to justify a price or offer. Its our job to present the facts of the house.
And by the way – its not just plaster homes. Brick and weatherboard homes are out in the rain as well – and built with the same roofs, windows and ground lines – so leak as well. Did you know that some guttering systems like Taylor Fascia and Klass cause leaks even when the house has wide soffits. Wet ground doesn’t really care which cladding it is up against – it wets them all. Windows don’t discriminate either way – if they are faulty they all leak when it rains.