Replace Fence- Selling House

[archiehr]

I am preparing my home to put on the market for sale. This is the first time I have ever sold a house and moved. When I met with my realtor for advice on what to improve, he had some suggestions. My thinking is that if I don't get at least $1 back for every $1 spent in repairs, then the repair is probably not worth it, unless the repair is really necessary. Some of the items on my list are to paint certain rooms because of wall marks and to fix the holes from pictures/baby gates.
One area of debate for repair is the fence in the backyard of my townhome. Some of the townhomes in my community have backyard fences and others do not. Some parts of my fence are in poor shape and unstable. If I replace just part of the fence, it will not look consistent. My realtor suggesting taking down the fence completely. If I leave the fence up, a prospective buyer might worry that the fence is a sign that perhaps other parts of the house need repair. I am just reluctant to take down the fence because it frames the backyard so well. If I replaced the fence, I would not get back what I put in when I try to sell and it is a large cost for a new fence. Thoughts?

[daheld]

Is the fence wooden or vinyl? If wooden, is it painted or stained?

If it's vinyl, I'd think you could replace some sections and it would look fine. If it's wood, you might consider repairing the most busted spots and painting to make it look uniform.

I don't particularly think it's a huge sticking point and I think you might be overthinking the assumption that buyers might make, but I guess it depends on the state of disrepair.

[atikovi]

It's like selling a nice pickup with a ratty old topper on the bed. Sure it has a practical purpose, but it also makes a bad impression the first time you see it so that some buyers walk away before looking inside. Tear it down.

[Housedoc]

Tear it down unless it provides blocking for ugly space behind it or if it is part of fence enclosure for back yard. 1x6 fencing not that expensive and you can install it yourself. Possibly need to fix a post or too also. No pictures hard to say.

[Watty]

My realtor suggesting taking down the fence completely.

You are paying the real estate agent significant money for advice like this because they should know your local market.

It would be silly not to take it.

If they were saying to spend thousands of dollars to put in a new fence then that might be more questionable.

[zimmer0]

are the cross boards that are secured to the fence posts OK? Rough dimensions of the fenced area. Beings its a townhome i don't see it being overly large. If you are in the slightest bit handy, fence boards are extremely easy to change. Alternatively, hire it out to a handyman OR get quotes from fencing contractors and supply them to prospective buyer if they'd like to have it repaired/replaced. Ball would then be in their court on whether or not its in THAT bad of shape.

worse case, you have it repaired or deduct quote from sale price

[Sandtrap]

Old fence
Prospective buyer thinks they will have the hassle of fixing it.
New fence
Buyer thinks how nice it is and they won’t have to put up a fence.
No fence
Buyer thinks how large the back area is and if they wanted to do a nice fence that would be nice too.

Realtors are trying to sell the property so they can earn a commission. Thus, advice to help it sell.

j

[celia]

My realtor suggesting taking down the fence completely. If I leave the fence up, a prospective buyer might worry that the fence is a sign that perhaps other parts of the house need repair. I am just reluctant to take down the fence because it frames the backyard so well.

Take down the fence as advised.

Let the buyer realize that a (new) fence would frame the backyard quite well. Let them do what they want. Maybe they won't even want a fence or a want one different than what you would choose.

[prairieman]

When I sold my house it was a buyer’s market in the area and the whole neighborhood was showing signs of going down hill. I fixed everything the realtor suggested (and some she did not) in the hopes that someone would look past the neighborhood. It sold in fifteen days, but we received discouraging negative comments about neighbors’ houses prior to it selling. I’m convinced, based on our buyer’s comments, later, that the quality condition made the difference.
We later used the same realtor to help sell an in-law’s house in a nicer neighborhood. The in-law was non-cooperative and stingy and that house sat on the market for many months.
Others might feel different, but I’d not fool around, and would just follow the realtor’s advice at a minimum.

[atikovi]

Others might feel different, but I’d not fool around, and would just follow the realtor’s advice at a minimum.

Realtor want to sell the house fast to get their commission as soon as possible so of course they will tell you to do all this work in the hopes it does. Still, you should tear down an ugly fence.

[jfn111]

Others might feel different, but I’d not fool around, and would just follow the realtor’s advice at a minimum.

Realtor want to sell the house fast to get their commission as soon as possible so of course they will tell you to do all this work in the hopes it does. Still, you should tear down an ugly fence.

Nooo, we like to have crappy houses that take months to sell.

[atikovi]

Others might feel different, but I’d not fool around, and would just follow the realtor’s advice at a minimum.

Realtor want to sell the house fast to get their commission as soon as possible so of course they will tell you to do all this work in the hopes it does. Still, you should tear down an ugly fence.

Nooo, we like to have crappy houses that take months to sell.

Some advice is good for you, and some is good mostly for the realtor.

Paint on the walls peeling? Paint the house is a no brainer.
Asphalt driveway crumbling? Spend $5,000 to repave is a no brainer. Spend $25,000 laying concrete pavers instead like the agent suggests, not so smart.

[jfn111]

Others might feel different, but I’d not fool around, and would just follow the realtor’s advice at a minimum.

Realtor want to sell the house fast to get their commission as soon as possible so of course they will tell you to do all this work in the hopes it does. Still, you should tear down an ugly fence.

Nooo, we like to have crappy houses that take months to sell.

Some advice is good for you, and some is good mostly for the realtor.

Paint on the walls peeling? Paint the house is a no brainer.
Asphalt driveway crumbling? Spend $5,000 to repave is a no brainer. Spend $25,000 laying concrete pavers instead like the agent suggests, not so smart.

If you have an agent telling you to spend an exorbitant amount of money, that you won't recoup, then time to find a new agent.
Not all of us are like that.

[archiehr]

Thanks for the comments!