In the previous entry in this series: Getting Ready for Showtime! Part 1 of a series I made a list of the various things to do to get "Ready for Showtime".
First up are: Title "Inspection" and Home Warranty
Two items to be done immediately and concurrently by your listing broker should be a "Title Inspection" and placing a Seller's Home Warranty on your property.
By "Title Inspection" I mean having a Title & Escrow company run the property through their system to see what "clouds" may exist - and I don't mean Active Rain Clouds!
This is referred to as a Preliminary Title Report.
While you may think you know what you owe on the property, and can provide a recent loan statement, that won't paint the complete picture.
You may be unaware of pre-payment penalties on the loan(s).
You may be unaware of any Mechanics Liens on the property.
You need to find out ASAP if there are going to be any roadblocks to closing escrow due to title "issues".
Case in point: A client of ours (the widow of Bob M. who ran the car service I used before I retired from the Corporate America 2-3 roundtrips a week out of Phoenix airport) wanted to sell the house Bob had owned for over 30 years.
As far as she knew, the property was free and clear.
A title search revealed a lien of $60,000+ on the property to do with a bond 
issued to Bob when he owned a travel agency.
The bank involved was no longer in business.
It took 6 weeks for the title agency to get the records found, and confirmation that the lien was in fact cleared long ago!
A Seller's Home Warranty protects you during the Listing period and costs ZERO - the Home Warranty companies offer the FREE Seller's Home Warranty in the hope that at Close of Escrow the Buyer or the Seller will purchase a Home Warranty for the benefit of the Buyer.
There is no obligation on the part of anyone to purchase the warranty if they don't want to - although in my opinion it is a big plus to put one in place for the minimal $400 or thereabouts "investment".
In the following entries in this series we'll explore the items on the checklist in Part 1 in greater detail. Stay tuned!
If you are considering selling a home in the Greater Scottsdale/Phoenix metropolitan area you owe it to yourself to talk with Tony & Suzanne Marriott, Team Leaders of Haven Express @ Keller Williams Arizona Realty!
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