Special offer

Thinking Of Selling Your Home? Then Prepare Your Home To Sell!

By
Home Inspector with Selman Home Inspections, Inc. 10299

Thinking Of Selling Your Home? Then Prepare Your Home To Sell!

Preparing A Home To SellIn order to be successful at selling your home, there is much more to it than picking a Realtor and getting a "For Sale" sign in your yard. Sure, having a great Realtor is important. And, all of the marketing that a Realtor can offer you to generate interest in your home is important. 

So, my recommendation is, don't make a mistake in this economy! You want to make as much money as possible when you sell, and, you don't want any nasty surprises or counter offers when you are so close to the finish line. When your Realtor lands a contract for you on your home, there are still several hurtles to overcome. Namely, the buyer home inspection!

Home sellers and their real estate agents are forever blind sided by the results of a home inspection. Your potential buyer is advised by their agent to get a home inspection. Often, the buyer's home inspection kills the deal or creates unwanted negotiations or repair demands. After all, the person or family buying your home wants to avoid trauma, buyers remorse and, they want to know that the home home they are considering is safe for them and their family. The buyer does not want to worry and wants to make every effort to protect themselves.

So, the answer is simple. PREPARE YOUR HOME TO SELL! Hire a Professional Home Inspector to perform a Seller Home Inspection and provide you with a report. A buyer home inspection and a seller home inspection are identical in most states. There may be variances in what inspectors find or report, but by hiring a Professional Home Inspector as the home seller, you gain tremendous advantages.

By hiring a professional home inspector as a home seller, you will know ahead of time what many of the items are that the buyers home inspector may report. Sellers can use their home inspection report to communicate to contractors the nature of the defect(s) to obtain estimates for repair or to arrange for repairs or replacements before a potential buyer finds these items. The advantage is that buy knowing, you can make needed repairs or upgrades as well as improve any safety issues before your sale is complicated and your potential buyer backs out of the contract. A Seller Home Inspection will virtually eliminate all the hassles and blown deals caused by traditional buyer inspections. A Seller Home Inspection gives the leverage back to the seller (and their Realtor) and gives the home seller tremendous marketing advantages.

Prepare A Home To SellA home buyer does not want to have to do to many repairs when they move in. When moving, the home buyer has many other things to deal with. Preparing Your Home To Sell is a smart decision and will make the sellers home more appealing and when listed as "Move In Certified", will gain even more in marketing advantages.

There are thousands of possible deal breakers when selling your home. Some are minor and others may be major. Either way, you should know if before your buyer does. You decide which home inspection report items you want to fix, which ones you want to disclose in a real estate disclosure statement and which ones you feel are unimportant. The more you know about and fix ahead of time, the fewer complications you can expect with the sale of your home. To get you started in Preparing Your Home To Sell, here are a few minor repairs and home improvement items that can make a huge difference:

  • Make sure electrical panels, water heaters, crawl spaces and attics are accessible
  • There should be a solid surface walk way to attic stored appliances such as HVAC
  • There should be smoke detectors installed in all bedrooms and adjacent hallways.
  • Electrical receptacles and light switches should all have covers in good condition
  • Ceiling fans and ceiling lights should be working
  • Install anti-siphon devices on all exterior water spigots ($8 at Lowes or Home Depot)
  • Trim trees and shrubbery so as not to be in contact with the house exterior or roof covering
  • Remove excess soil around the foundation walls. The inspector should be able to see 4-6" of the top of the foundation wall
  • Repair interior drywall cracks in walls and ceilings
  • Replace cracked or broken floor tiles
  • Replace broken window glass
  • Repair or replace broken window locks
  • Have the HVAC serviced to insure it heats and cools propery
  • Test garage door safety devices to make sure they operate
  • Be sure there is an anti-tip device installed on all free standing ovens and ranges
  • By today's standards, all kitchen countertop and bathroom electrical receptacles should be GFCI protected
  • Make sure that sinks drain quickly and do not appear to drain slowly. Be sure sinks are not leaking inside cabinets
  • Check and be sure that the dishwasher is physically attached to the cabinets or countertop
  • All bathtub and bathroom drain stoppers should be working
  • Dead bolt locks should have a thumb latch on the interior side of the lock (fire safety)
  • Repair any drywall damage in the garage/living area walls
  • Replace damaged insulation on HVAC cooling lines

 

Many home owners can do these simple tasks or hire a handy man to take care of them. These are just a few of the possible 1000s of items a Professional Home Inspector will report. Believe me, all the little things add up and can cause a potential buyer to see a home as poorly maintained. And, these are simple, inexpensive things you can do to Prepare Your Home To Sell.

A Sellers Home Inspection is a small cost for so much information and so many advantages. Whether you are a home buyer or a home seller, the home inspector you choose is working for you, with your best interests in mind. That is certainly true for Selman Home Inspection.

 

Posted by


David Selman
Certified Master Home Inspector
Lic.# 10299
WDI #660910
FHA/HUD # F537 
Septic Cert #113423
Phone: 469-371-3228 
Email: david@SelmanHomeInspections.com

"Accurate Investment Protection You Can Trust"

Websites: 

Dallas Home Inspection

 

Comments (0)