Home selling tips: How to lure young buyers to your old home

Selling any home can be challenging, depending on the market. But if you have an old home and want to appeal to buyers in their 20s and early 30s, you may need to take some extra steps.

First, you'll need to assuage the fears of those young buyers about maintaining a home that was around during the real "Mad Men" days. Second, you'll need to showcase the features that have the most appeal to young couples and families. The following eight tips won't cost a lot of money, and they could reap you an early offer.

"I always recommend paying for a home inspection, especially if the owners are elderly and have not had the money or energy to keep the house in good repair," says Lane Tharp, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dunwoody, Ga. "An inspection will help determine if there's anything that absolutely must be done before putting the house on the market."

In addition to a general home inspection, Debby Strott, manager of Weichert Realtors' Morristown West office in Morristown, N .J., recommends that homeowners get the heating and air-conditioning system cleaned and inspected. She suggests having septic systems pumped.

A home warranty costs around $300 to $400 and reassures buyers that they won't be faced with a major repair expense in their first year of homeownership, Strott says.

Sellers can pay for simple drawings that show some renovation options that would work well with the home's configuration and its lot.

"Younger buyers who are looking at homes that are 20 or 30 years old are likely to look at the kitchen and baths and want to renovate," Lacey says. "A seller can provide information about an FHA 203(k) loan with their marketing materials to show buyers that they can wrap renovation costs into their mortgage."

While repair credits are often part of the negotiating process, if you know some things will need fixing, you can provide information about the credit upfront to prospective buyers, so they know they won't have to pay for a new furnace as soon as they move in.

Trim shrubs covering windows, remove old carpet from hardwood floors and remove dark, heavy furniture.

"Your marketing materials should mention everything that appeals to young couples and families such as the location near commuter routes or public transportation, swimming pools, tennis courts, a gym, or nearby shops and restaurants," Tharp says. "You need to think about what young buyers are most interested in, and then market your house accordingly."

"Young buyers like what I call Pottery Barn colors," says Strott. "Check out their stores or a catalog, and you'll see the palette has soft earth tones, off-whites, beige and pale gray. You don't want superpersonal color choices, but you can go with a neutral and a contrasting trim color."

Mortgage rates fell the week of Feb. 28, 2013 after Italy's inconclusive election results shook financial markets around the world.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 7 basis points to 3.73 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 6 basis points to 2.96 percent. The average rate for 30-year jumbo mortgages, or generally for those of more than $417,000, fell 11 basis points to 4.1 percent.

The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 8 basis points to 2.68 percent. With a 5/1 ARM, the rate is fixed for five years and adjusted annually thereafter.