Selling A House With Aluminum Wiring

Published on April 3rd, 2023

Wires run throughout your home, controlling nearly every aspect of your daily life. Wire conducts electricity to your coffee maker for your morning fuel, the lights in your bathroom, the water pressure tank that runs your faucet, keeps your lights on, and even your furnace that keeps you warm during the winter. Wiring is an essential part of your home.

In most towns and states throughout the United States, homes have copper wiring for all wiring. While Aluminum wire or a mixture of aluminum and copper wires isn't illegal to have in an older home, it's not up to code in many places and poses a fire risk that many insurance companies can't overlook when selling a homeowner a new policy, without completely rewiring the entire house, the consumer product safety commission of the United States backs up that claim.

Aluminum wiring can cause problems within a home due to its constant expansion when heating up, cooling down, and conducting electricity. All it takes is one wire that acts up to start a fire - which is more likely to occur using aluminum wiring than copper wire.

A home inspector or real estate agent will suggest that to sell your home, you should install new copper wiring or sell the house as is to speed up the real estate transaction. What choice will be the best solution for you? Throughout this article, we will go over five different ways you can sell a house with aluminum wiring.

Selling To A Real Estate Investor That Specializes In Homes With Aluminum Wiring

Selling your home to a real estate investor is one way to avoid a lengthy home-buying process and minimize the number of repairs or home inspections you will have to go through. Investors will purchase your home, often using real estate agents to facilitate the transaction, and will be aware of the repairs they will need to make after their home purchase.

Generally speaking, real estate investors have good connections with trades workers, such as a licensed electrician who they can trust to repair aluminum wiring and replace it with copper wiring.

Investors will look to purchase your home at a lower price due to the work needed to secure a policy from an insurance company for homeowners insurance. Then, moving forward will either sell your home to potential buyers at an increased price to make a profit or hold your home as part of their real estate portfolio to rent out.

Selling Through A Real Estate Agent On The MLS

Selling your home through a real estate agent on the MLS is the most common way homeowners sell their properties. Selling a house with aluminum wiring on the MLS might pose a challenge; why?

Your listing agent will provide potential buyers will have access to a property disclosure sheet and will take note of the fact that your home has aluminum wiring, not copper wiring. This will also come up during a home inspection when the home inspector looks at the electrical service panel. The inspector might note that connection points are weak, that the wiring poses a fire hazard, or that there are warning signs of electrical failure on the horizon. All of this can be a deal breaker for home buyers.

The cost to replace all of the aluminum wirings with copper wires can be expensive, and the cheap alternatives are lacking in providing a wonderful experience for homeowners - so what do you do then? As the current owner, you can either agree to fix the wiring with the help of an experienced electrician, or you can choose to reduce the purchase price of your home to reflect the amount of work that will need to be done in the future to flickering lights, loose connections, and light switches.

Another point to consider is that with aluminum wiring versus copper wire, a potential buyer might not be able to use an FHA loan which can significantly reduce your buyer pool since homes built now will have copper wire and qualify for more loan types.

Selling your home to a private buyer is another viable option for homes where all the wiring is aluminum wires. When selling to a private buyer, you will be listing your home as a "for sale by owner" and will not have the expertise of a listing agent.

When doing this, we absolutely recommend reading up on what is required of you to disclose as the current owner in your state regarding fire hazard conditions and if you need to allow the potential buyer to have a home inspection.

Selling At An Auction

The fourth way you can sell your home is through an auction. This is a cheap alternative to hiring a real estate agent, avoiding potential home inspectors, and can be cost-effective overall when it comes to paying commission fees.

Prior to an auction, buyers will have the opportunity to view your home, including the wiring on a light fixture, within the crawl space, and in the laundry room. If they have done this before, they will know when they see aluminum wires and what to look out for.

Selling To A Local Home Buying Company

Selling to a local home-buying company is the final alternative. These home buying companies are generally described as house flippers who will come into your house and make the needed repairs to the wiring.



They are aware of the situations they are getting into with potential wire issues and know the cost of repairing them. Home buying companies won't request an inspection report making it easier for you to sell your home as is.

No matter what you decide to do when selling your house with aluminum wiring, make sure that you follow all of the local and state rules regarding disclosure. Speaking with local professionals, getting quotes on the cost of repairs, and rewiring is an excellent first step.

For more information on selling houses in less-than-perfect condition, keep following along with this blog.