Prepare Your Home for Sale
Prepare Your Home for Sale
Well before you're ready to plant the "For Sale" sign in your front yard, there is work to be be done to prepare your home for sale.
Remember how keen your eye was to every small detail and defect in the houses you saw as a buyer? Now that door to your bedroom that never quite closed properly or that leaky faucet you never got around to fixing will be seen by a potential buyer with that seem keen eye. Start making necessary repairs today - even if you don't plan to sell for a while. Repairs can take time and doing them now will allow you to enjoy them before it's time to move out.
If you plan on doing some improvements before putting your house on the market, one of the best places to start is where buyers start - at your curb. Potential buyres base a large part of their decision on a property's 'curb appeal', so make yours say something positive. That means a tidy front yard, well-painted trim, a clean and neat driveway and a clear, welcoming front walkway. Inside, the biggest return on your investment continues to be improvements to the kitchen, followed by improvements to the master bedroom.
When it comes time to show your house, less will mean more. Potential buyers don't want to see crowded closets, rooms cramped with furniture or a cluttered yard. So downsize your 'stuff' now; it not only will make the preparation for showing your home easier, it will also make packing for your move less challenging.
Donation Realty will provide you with a complimentary assessment of your homes 'showability' and offer honest suggestions on how to best prepare it for the market.
Find a Real Estate Professional
Find a Real Estate Professional
Finding the right company and agent to work with to sell your home can be challenging. With Donation Realty, you can rest assured that you will be provided with a 'no-pressure' presentation of the facts.
We will assist you with determining the value of your home and offer expert advice on how to price it. We will also help prepare you for putting your home on the market and make sure you know what to expect after doing so. Our goal will be to make the process as painless as possible with no surprises. We will accomplish this by working closely with you each step of the way and communicating with you frequently and effectively.
Also, with Donation Realty you will have the confidence that comes with dealing with an experienced agent who has your best interests at heart.
Get Your Paperwork Together
Get Your Paperwork Together
After you sign the Listing Agreement, we will need several documents from you to prepare your home for sale. Among the things your we will want to see are:
- Pay-off Notice: a letter to your mortgage lender stating intention to payoff your home loan (when you sell your home).
- Assessments or Easements: if there's a tax assessment or easement on your property, documents stating so will have to be included in the purchase contract.
- Property Taxes: proof of the property taxes you've paid.
- Utilities: you'll need to provide a record of the past 12 months of utility bills.
Also, you’ll want to make it clear now which items in the home you want to take with you - the heirloom chandelier in the dining room or the washer and dryer set you just bought last month – and which items can stay behind as part of the home sale. We'll advise you on which items you should put away or replace before your house goes on the market.
Price Your Home for Sale
Price Your Home for Sale
There are a number of factors that will affect the success of your home sale. These include: location of the home, interest rates, economic conditions, time of year, condition of the home, marketing the home, terms of the sale and accessibility to the home. Some of these are not within your control, such as the location of your home, interest rates and economic conditions. Other factors are those you'll discuss with your real estate agent to determine what would most benefit the sale of your home.
And pricing the home properly can make a huge difference in whether a house is purchased relatively quickly or languishes on the market for months on end. To price your home properly, we will study the local market, research comparable properties and consider current market conditions together with you.
Market Your Home
Market Your Home
Products that sell well usually have a good marketing strategy. The same can be said for your home. We will strategize with you about the best ways to market your home.
All of our listings are displayed in the Multiple Listings Service (MLS), are professionally photographed and suppoerted by a stong web presence and professional print marketing materials. We follow up to receive feedback from every real estate agent who shows your home so that we can provide you with valuable information as to how your homes is being perceived by buyers and other real estate agents.
Prepare Your Home for Showing
Prepare Your Home for Showing
Once we've decided on the market price and how we will market your home the next step is to get your house ready for visitors. Give your home a thorough cleaning. Clean the drapes, the carpets, the furniture. If you haven't already done so, toss the clutter. Remove the small items and bric-a-brac. Try as much as possible to have your home look as if "no one lives there." We will be happy to help with staging your home to make it looks its best to potential buyers.
On the outside of your home, keep your lawn trimmed, the rose bushes pruned and the weeds tamed. Put away the garden hose and the tools. Make sure the bulbs in your home’s exterior lighting fixtures are all in working order. Be vigilant about removing flyers, handouts and newspapers left on your front doorstep or driveway.
On the inside of your home, brighten the rooms by opening the drapes, turning on the lights, and cleaning the windows. Clear the clutter on the kitchen counter, bathroom sink, coffee table and couches. Make all the beds. Clean all your bathroom and kitchen fixtures. Do a quick vacuuming of the entire house, being sure to catch any cobwebs in the corners along the ceiling. Finally, take out the garbage. If you have pets, find a safe place to keep them during a house showing: in the garage, in the basement or at a friend’s house. Aim to be away from home during a showing or open house, but if you happen to be home when the potential buyers arrive, greet them at the door then politely excuse yourself. Make yourself scarce or go take a walk. It’s easier for a buyer to picture himself or herself living in the house when you’re not there. This is your home’s time to shine.
Respond to an Offer
Respond to an Offer
Depending on market conditions, you may receive one or more offers for your property from interested buyers. Each offer will include the proposed offer price, proposed closing date, proposed move-in date, financing, and contingencies that may include an appraisal or sale of the buyers’ current home. Your Donation Realty agent will take the time necessary to explain all offers and answer any questions you may have, as well as assist you in making a well-thought-out response.
Remember, we will guide you through each step of the process and this is one of the most crucial ones. Negotiating the best prices and terms for your sale is one of our very top priorities!
Complete the Settlement
Complete the Settlement
Once you have accepted an offer to buy your house, expect to make your house available to a housing inspector, a termite inspector, an appraiser and other inspectors. After seeing the results of the inspections, the buyer may request that additional work be completed before purchase, such as repairing a damaged roof or fixing a leaky faucet. We will discuss with you whether to comply with the buyer’s requests or make a counter-offer. During this flurry of activity, try to keep your home in show condition. The deal has not closed and still may fall through, which may mean showing your home to more potential buyers. In the meantime, the buyer is working with a lender to secure a loan for the purchase. When the buyer has written loan approval, a closing date can be set.
There will be a final walk-through before all signatures are collected and the deal considered done. The buyer will go room by room to check that everything is in working condition and, if you had agreed to do so, any additional work requested after inspection is completed. Now you can prepare for your own move, notify your utility companies of the date to transfer your account to a new address and start packing. Congratulations, you’ve sold your home!