How to make more money selling your house, your apartment, or your business in Central Indiana

Do you keep great records and financial statements?

If not, you may sell for pennies when you could have sold for dollars.

1. Take the 60-second test.

Check each one you can do today:

• Show 24 months of rent or income deposits in one account
• Hand a buyer a written rent roll with lease dates
• List every repair over $1,000 in the last 5 years, with receipts
• Tell me the age of your roof, HVAC, and water heater
• Show permits for the work that was done

(4 or 5 checks: you are in good shape. 2 or 3: you have work to do. 0 or 1: keep reading. This is costing you money.)

2. The bank’s question.

At an Old National Bank meeting, the bankers talked about business owners who did not keep good records. The owners wrote off so much on their taxes that, when it came time to sell, the bank could not loan on the business. No loan, no buyer. No buyer, no price.

3. What it costs.

I hear the same thing with apartment buildings. The rent roll is on a piece of paper. Rent checks go into an unknown account. Nobody has walked the property in a year.

Apartments that might be worth $250,000 a unit sell for $80,000 a unit.

On an 8-unit building, that is the difference between $2,000,000 and $640,000.

Real estate may not be your main business. But the buyer does not care. The buyer pays for proof.

4. Path A: Get it ready.

You have 1 to 2 years, and you will do the work. Start one folder this week. Put this in it:

• Bank statements for the rent or business account

• A one-page rent roll: unit, tenant, rent, lease end

• Repair receipts, sorted by year

• Permits and inspection reports

• 12 months of utility bills

• A photo of the label on every furnace, AC unit, and water heater

Every buyer is afraid this will be the worst financial purchase of their life. Make the sale easy for them, and they will pay for it.

5. Path B: Sell it as-is.

Maybe the toilet leaks. A floor is soft. There is water in the basement or mold in the walls. Maybe you are tired, and you know you will never build that folder.

That is okay. Selling as-is is not bad. For many owners it is the smart move. Every year you hold on costs you time, stress, and repairs. Price it right, sell it, and get your life back.

Tactics change. Principles last forever.

You don’t need a house picked out or a plan. If you’re wondering what may or may not be possible for you, email me at nlamkin@c21scheetz.com and let’s talk it through.

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