Preparations that you need to consider when sellingyour house

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No matter how many timesyou’ve sold a house, there arethings you need to think aboutbefore listing your home forsale. Many first time sellersmight think that it’s just a literalbuy-and-sell process when infact, even just the preparationtakes a lot more than that. Arealtor who would say thatselling houses is a fun-filled jobis actually not being honest.Selling houses is a tiresomeand demanding undertaking.These sentiment can, however,be minimized with properpreparations and a well-constructed process.

So before you sell your house, take into account these items that are crucially important in making properselling and marketing decisions.

Do not neglect the importance of hiring a great Realtor.

One of the most disregarded step when listing properties for sale is the vital role of Realtors. You must beon that same misconception that all Realtors are the same. I tell you, they are not. You have to be pickythough, and set higher standards when hiring someone to sell your home. Agents have different skill setsand service qualities. For you to be able to hire the great one, know how to interview a Realtor . While thereis no 100% assurance that you will get the best, asking the right questions and knowing the right answerswill surely get you a good one.

Prepare the information, documents and do the paperwork

Know that a good Realtor can specifically identify which information of the house are vital to the sellingprocess. Specific particulars about the home and any updates should be make known to the Realtor forhim to be able to write compelling ads, attract potential buyers and creatively market it online and offline.

Some examples of the kind of information and documents you should gather when selling your home:

All included furnace, appliances and all instruction manuals

Roof age and warranties

Any warranty paperwork

Dates and clear information of any home renovation and improvements projects

Certificate of compliance or permits that apply like fence permits, shed permits.

Mortgage concerns or pay-off balances

Inasmuch as you don’t like to discourage potential buyers, you will also need to do a complete disclosureof any flaws your home has or natural hazards like flood zone.

Knowing when it is right to sell your home can make a difference.

Be aware that real estate market trends vary depending on where market you are. It has its good timesand bad times of when to sell. If there is no urgency in your part to sell then you can do your research anddiscuss the timing to your Realtor. It is ideal that you choose to sell your home at the time that isconvenient to your individual situation. You can likely sell your home in winter, but in most cases, springsseasons yields better deals. But you might find it interesting that there are actually several reasons whyselling homes in winter and fall might be better than waiting until spring.

List down the pros and cons of important seasons of the year in your location. A good Realtor will be ableto help you with that.

Pre-listing home inspection is a bright idea

Now not all sellers or Realtors realize how pre-listing home inspection is actually a good idea. It doesn’tmatter whether your buyer is buying his first or tenth home, it’s to be expected that they will make theiroffer subject to the results of home inspection. Remember that a good inspector will find even the smallestissues in your home. If they didn’t find any, then probably you hired an inexperienced inspector.

Pre-listing inspection should provide you with a detailed report of any issues found within all parts of thehouse and also some pictures relating to important notes in the report. By doing this, you will be able toclassify what you can still set right, restore or just ignore.

A few features of the house that a buyer will typically make inspections and from which he will make hisoffer contingent upon are:

Chimney

Septic Tanks

Well Water

Radon

Roofs

Pest

Preparing the unit for the first impression

You home is not a commodity that you can easily display for sale in the market. It may need a little bit ofmanicure, make over or fix up. Your great Realtor will examine several things before putting your home upfor sale. Through a walk-through, he should be able to pinpoint which items from home should becorrected to increase its value and attract potential buyers – cleaning, painting, a little redesigning maybeor de-cluttering. These are just low cost preparations that you need to make to get that good firstimpression. It is the crucial part in selling a home. So, take time to prepare your home and you will neverregret it.

Decide right from the beginning whether to offer home warranty or not

It can be a great idea to offer home warranty for some sellers while there are others who don’t see muchworth from it.

You can consider it a nice bonus to the buyer and a good marketing tool too for the Realtor to use. Beforelisting your home for sale, decide if you are willing to give your buyer the home warranty or not. Ask youRealtor’s opinion on whether the cost of the warranty is worth it or not.

Preparing your home for regular showings

Yes, just regularly having your house ready for a lot of surprise visits can be stressful and already a jobitself but certainly you want to make your house appealing to the buyers. You wouldn’t want to turn them offby showing dirty clothes on the bedroom floor, dirty pans and plates on the sink. Buyers would either beabstracted or disgusted and it will cause them not to bother going back there. You may think that dirtyclothes and pots are not included in the package, but the overall view or image of the house will greatlyaffect buyer’s decision.

Asses the value of open houses to your marketing strategy

This has always been a controversial matter in the real estate business. There are agents who will promisethat open houses will certainly repay all the efforts made while some will say that it’s a complete waste oftime and money. Still, the decision lies with the homeowner.

Clearly, there are potential drawbacks in open houses. While there is a slight likelihood that your home willsell in an open house, you must first decide whether you are open to the idea of displaying the house forpublic showing. Ask your agent’s opinion about this and know from him the pros and cons of open houses,it usually depends on a number of factors that your agent should be aware about.

Smart preparation is always the key

The ideas above are just a few important points a seller should be preparing and thinking about beforeselling a house. Again, it isn’t always a cakewalk but to minimize hassles and delays, it’s better to be fullyaware and prepared. Avoid the hustle and know the importance of these things first to make the rightdecisions that make the difference in your home selling experience.

*Image courtesy of hyena reality from Free Digital Photos