Pricing a cosmetic flip with a carport against comps that have garages

Take a 1,500 square foot two story bought at 171, with 24 spent on paint, LVP, carpet upstairs, fixtures, and a bathroom vanity swap. All-in comes to 202 with closing and two months of carry. One view says list at 249 to move it in under two weeks. Another says 259, since two houses on the next street closed at 256 and 261 in the last four months, both similar size, both redone. The difference is those had garages and this one has a carport. Carry runs 1,400 a month. The open question is how to price the carport against a garage comp, and how much of that gap to give up for a faster close.

carlos_nunez AA4APRO 12

Answer

bmoreno23ActivePRO

I'm new so take the reasoning and not the confidence, but I looked up how appraisers handle this because I was curious. The garage versus carport gap is a real adjustment and in a lot of markets it runs several thousand dollars, sometimes more where winters are hard. So your 256 and 261 comps aren't your comps at 259, they're your comps minus a garage adjustment.

Which lands you very close to where your agent put you. If the adjustment is 8k, the honest read of those two sales is 248 and 253 for a house like yours, and 249 is right at the market instead of under it.

The other half is your carry. 1,400 a month means every 30 days of sitting eats 1,400 of the 10k you're reaching for. If listing at 259 costs you six extra weeks and then a 7k price cut, you end up under 249 with more months on the clock. Ask your agent what a garage-to-carport adjustment has been running in recent appraisals there, they can usually find out.

bmoreno23ActivePRO

3 replies

wendy_park48 CU1BPRO 17

@bmoreno23 has the adjustment right in principle, and the number varies a lot by market, so get it locally. The thing worth adding is to read the listing agreement before arguing about price. Look at how commission is stated, whether there is a term you are locked into, and what happens if you cancel and relist. Sellers regularly fight over 10k of asking price while sitting inside a six month agreement they cannot get out of, which changes the whole calculation about testing a high number first.

wendy_park48 CU1BPRO 17

megan_doyle15PassivePRO

Genuinely didn't know a carport counted against you. I assumed covered parking was covered parking.

megan_doyle15PassivePRO

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