Early Preparation for Serious Issues
7 Things to Look for in a New Neighbourhood
February 23, 2020
A Manual to Prepare your Home for Sale
February 23, 2020
E very listing agent’s goal is to obtain the best possible offer for their clients. As a rule of thumb, the sooner an offer is made after your home is listed, the better it will be. This is why it’s critical that you take time to prepare your house for listing. Consider it as though you are prepping your home for a “job interview”, you want to ensure everything is in good working order and your home is ready to put it’s best foot forward.
As soon as you decide to list your home, I would suggest working early with your Realtor® to help evaluate your property. Do a top to bottom walk-through to determine what repairs need to be done and any renovations that might be worth investing in. If you are considering any major renovations, your Realtor® will be able to advise you on which ones will provide the greatest return on investment when the house sells.
Obtaining quotes and getting repairs completed before listing is very important – a pre-listing house and/or septic inspection might be a good idea if you are unsure of the condition of your property. Tackling these issues ahead of time early allows you to list with confidence and avoid unexpected ugly surprises midway through a sale when the buyer does their inspections.
A skilled Realtor® will be able to help you identify serious roadblocks to a straightforward and stress-free sale. This can include, but is certainly not limited to, problems such as mold, rodent infestations, water ingress in the crawlspace, a failing septic field, rotten deck boards or railings, aluminum wiring, roof leaks, damaged or leaking siding, or a buried oil tank.
Anything that is a structural, mechanical, or safety issue should definitely be dealt with prior to listing. As a local Duncan realtor, I would advise not moving ahead with listing until you do. If you absolutely cannot hold off until the repairs are made, be upfront and disclose the issues to potential buyers. Depending on the situation, it may not stand in the way of a potential buyer making an offer as long as they know what they’re walking into. On the other hand, not disclosing issues will most certainly lead to problems at some point during the sale. A skilled buyer’s agent will discover these issues and misrepresenting a property or not disclosing a known problem could end a seller up in court.
Make the best move when it comes to choosing your Realtor®. Why would you settle for anything less?
