Selling your home is an exciting and nerve-wracking experience. The idea of selling so you can buy your dream home or simply move to a more economical location sounds great, but the reality is that selling a home can be grueling work. In addition to all the paperwork, you have to start by fixing things that are broken. Sometimes, that requires making major repairs.

Some home buyers won’t care about minor issues, like missing cabinet handles or imperfections in the carpet. They will, however, be wary of a home that has plumbing issues. It’s not uncommon for an issue to seem simple on the outside and then turn into a $10,000+ repair job. 

For instance, if a property has a septic system that was never approved by the city and has no permit, a small issue can turn into the need to completely replace the system. The same is true for standard plumbing. If anything was installed wrong or without a permit, you don’t want to pass that expense on to your buyer.

If you’re going to put your house on the market, here are all the best reasons to fix every plumbing issue before selling your home.

1. Your home might not sell

Every seller’s worst nightmare is having their home sit on the market for a long period of time, and not just because they’re eager to sell. The longer a home stays on the market, the more people start to wonder what’s wrong with it, and if it’s been posted for sale for too long, some buyers won’t even bother contacting the owner or real estate agent.

The need for serious repairs is one of the main reasons homes sit on the market for a while. When buyers are interested in your property, they expect that you’ll handle repairs professionally. They don’t want to show up for a tour and see the signs of water damage in the ceiling from when your upstairs bathroom flooded. You can tell them you fixed the problem, but water stains indicate a patch job rather than fixing the actual damage to the inner structure.

This is why it’s important to call a professional when dealing with water damage, whether it’s a flooded bathroom or a leaky pipe. Hiring a professional plumber prevents extensive damage to your property. They’ll suck all of the water out and fix the source of the problem quickly. From there, you can hire contractors to fix damage to your walls, ceiling, floors, and carpets. The faster you fix the issue, the less damage you’ll have to repair.

2. Major plumbing issues will reduce your sale price

If you’re selling your home as-is without fixing plumbing issues, you’re going to need to come down on the price significantly. This doesn’t mean just deducting the cost of repairs from your price. You also have to factor in the time and energy the new owner will need to expend to get those repairs done. Since there are plenty of homes available that don’t need a bunch of work, the deal has to be pretty sweet for a buyer to bite.

Most people who sell their homes without performing repairs sell for cash to a company that specializes in buying homes in any condition. If you don’t mind losing several thousand dollars, this might be a good option. However, if you expect to get close to the full value of your home, your plumbing needs to be in great shape.

3. You might get sued

When selling a home, you’re required by law to disclose major defects to potential buyers. If your plumbing is bad, old, or broken, you need to tell buyers about its condition. If you know about an issue, don’t fix it, and sell your home without telling the buyer, they can sue you and will probably win.

Don’t expect to get away with pretending you didn’t know about an issue because there are many ways buyers can prove you knew. For example, if you don’t tell them the upstairs bathroom leaks water every time the shower is used, all they have to do is spot the repair or patch jobs to prove you knew about the problem.

It’s not worth the risk because losing a lawsuit will cost you far more than getting the repairs done in the first place.

Plumbing is important – make sure it’s good before selling your home

The person who buys your home will expect some problems to arise, but make sure you don’t catch them off guard with major plumbing issues. Get your plumbing professionally inspected and repaired before placing your home on the market.