5 Things You Must Do
BEFORE
Selling Your House
Have you thought about these things too?
When you start thinking about how to prepare your house to sale most people start making a list of repairs or needed upgrades.
Which is great!, But today I’m going to talk about 5 important things you should do First before diving into all that.
*For your convenience, I’m even including my NEW SELLERS GUIDENew Sellers Guide that is full of advice and guidance to take you through the entire selling process.
Most people who start thinking about putting their homes on the market are making a list of the needed repairs..Maybe you need to paint or fix those little things you put off for months..
While those things are important, . there are things you need to do prepare that you may not have thought of.
But Here’s 5 things I feel are important to do BEFORE you getting into all that and why:
# 1 Get All Your Paperwork Together
Make a folder or Notebook that can be kept out for your prospective buyers to see.
A. Start with all your owners manuals of appliances and anything that is staying with the house like lawn equipment, or security systems.
B. Catagorize all your warranties.. Maybe you installed a New a/c system a couple of years ago.. The initial 1 year warranty may have expired, but in Florida, you still have the balance of the 10 year manufacturers warranty…This can be transferred to the new owner, and they’d like to see that….
Or maybe you purchased an extended warranty on a home appliance…All of these can be transferred to your new buyer, and having those displayed tells the buyer you properly cared for the home.
C. Any On Going Service contracts
Do you have a monthly pest service that comes out to spray? Or maybe you have a termite bond on your home. Have those records available.
Buyers who know you have been proactive in maintaining the home are more apt to make favorable offers based on your asking price.
D. And have at least 12 months of Utility Bills in your Notebook.
Include Electric, Water and Gas.
And if you have solar panels or any other energy saving appliance like a tankless water heater or had extra insulation blown into your attic, Have all of these for the buyer to see.
And while we’re talking about energy conservation.. If you live in Lakeland, did you know Lakeland Electric will come out and perform a FREE energy audit of your home? They even provide rebates for certain Newly installed energy efficient appliances…All of which can be transferred to your new buyer. They would love to see that.
By getting all your paperwork together in a nice neat notebook to be displayed during showings, will go a long way in a buyers mind and you are eliminating any negative questions a buyer made have as to the overall maintenance of the home…. Which in turn is going to mean more money for you!
# 2 Get Written Estimates
Say you know your hot water heater has a few years on it and probably needs to be replaced, get a written estimate on a replacement. It may be running fine now, but in a buyers mind, they will over estimate the expense and their offer will reflect their fears!
By all means, if your budget allows, replace the item. But if not, don’t worry. If your buyer makes a much lower offer based of these concerns, you can show them, in writing, just how much it really costs. You’ll be in a much better negotiating position if you have the facts before hand.
I used the hot water heater as an example. You know your home better than anyone. Be honest with yourself and get estimates for the things you KNOW may need to replaced soon.
And don’t put Lipstick on a Pig! In other words, please do not try to mask any problems or deficiencies with temporary cosmetics. If you know there is an ongoing issue, be Up front! And disclose it to the new buyer. More about that in another video.
Now for a few things that may be harder to do for some:
# 3 Purge your household “stuff”
We all love our ‘Stuff’. We collect things over the years with the best intentions, always thinking we may need it one day!
But unless you are moving into a larger home and have room to storage all the things you’ve amassed over the years, Now is the time to Purge.
The rule of thumb for average households is to remove at least one third of the total items in your home.
If you’re unsure of exactly what that entails for your personal situation, ask your Realtor to help you. Maybe you need to have an estate sale, or need contacts for large portable dumpsters.. Your Realtor should be able to help you.
Yes, that means sell it, donate it, give it away. Whatever you feel the most comfortable with. This is probably the most important step to take before putting the For Sale sign up.
I know some of you may be dreading this step, but you might find it freeing and asking yourself why you didn’t do it years ago!
# 4 De-Personalizing
This one goes hand in hand with # 3 on our list.
Depersonalizing your home is a must!
That means all family pictures need to be put gently away, all vacation photos and anything that tells a story of who may live in the home.
The reason behind this is simple.. You want your prospective buyer to look at your house and not your things. Keeping your personal photos and such out, only makes a 9buyer feel they are intruding on Your personal space.
They need to imagine themselves in the space, what their family will look like in the home..
This is a very important step when preparing to put your home on the market.. So please take whatever time necessary to properly store all your cherished mementos.
# 5 Pets…
And finally.. We can’t forget about our Fur Babies
As much as you love your pets and happily live with their various short comings, you cannot expect a prospective buyer to share your sentiments. So please make plans for your pet to be away during showings. Maybe take FiFi out for a walk or that’s not possible, at the very least, they need to be crated away from the main living area.
But before then, all traces of a pets in the home must be removed.
That means:
A. no pet hair on the floor or furniture
B. If you have soiled rugs. Replace them.
C. Have your floor Tile and grout professionally cleaned
D. If your pet has created in damage, like chewing door frames..Replace them.
E. Our fur babies love to slobber and lick… and although you cannot smell any pet odor, your buyer can and Will. So Clean, then clean again..
I know this sounds like I’m saying if you have pets, your home probably smells bad.. I’m not saying that! I personally have a 120 lb German Shepherd who rules our house and also thinks he’s a 5 pound Chihuahua. I also think I’m a better housekeeper than most people I know. But if I was thinking about putting my house on the market, I’d have to admit, yes, occasionally there’s some dog hair on the floor and slobbers on the sliding glass door.. Time to make sure those things that we sometimes over look, for the love of our pets, need to have much more attention.
If you’re still unsure , Ask your Realtor for recommendations of the level of pet cleaning that needs to done in your home.
So if you’re thinking about getting your home ready for sale, properly start the process with these 5 things..You’ll be so glad you did!
I’m Lisa Kelly, Lakeland Homes and Lifestyles with Premier Realty.
Just as a reminder, you can get my free New 14 page Sellers Guide by clicking the link below.
Until then, I’ll see you on the next one.
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Thinking about Selling in the next few months: Properly Prepare!