Getting Your House Ready to Sell! Making the Decision to Get Your House Market Ready.

Once you have made the decision to sell your home, a second decision follows. This decision is whether or not you are prepared to do maintenance to the property prior to selling, or if you are planning to sell the property in it's current state. The difference usually results in the asking price, and sold price of your home. I know, you are asking yourself why you would spend money on a house you do not plan on living in for much longer.

Getting your house market ready does not necessarily require a lot of money.  Little changes can make the house appear more comfortable, fresh and sellable. Remember, home buyers want to purchase for the best price that they can, so when walking around your home they will be taking note of any work that may be required to make the home to their standards. Remember, there is no perfect house, however you do want your house to stand out in the price range it is in as being the best. Your house will sell quicker if it is.

If you decide to make some improvements on your home, the best time to do it is before it goes on the market. Sure, you can have your Real Estate Agent write in the remarks that certain things will be completed prior to closing, but not being able to actually see what the finished product will actually look like may not be the best decision. Do not depend on the fact that the buyer can envision the finish product.

Let's discuss for a moment the idea of repairs versus improvements. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING!!! Paint choices and the fact that your lawn needs mowing will not cause a buyer to walk away from your home, however, a buyer will walk away from a house they love, depending on the repairs needed. Some of these repairs may cost more than your improvements will. Keep in mind that the running tally of costs going through the buyers mind when walking through your home could be signifcantly higher then the actual cost of the repair itself. An offer will reflect  the buyers opinion of the cost to fix these repairs...resulting in a low offer.

Possible repairs:

• Do your doors and windows open and close properly (and is there condensation between your window panes?)
• Is there mold or rot around sinks, toilets and showers.
• Does the bathroom ceiling fan work? We don't want moisture problems do we?
• Roof: shingles and sagging
• Foundation: does your basement leak or are there cracks in the foundation that may lead to leakage.
• Electrical repairs
• Deck: should not be rotten, with holes or dangerous to be on.
•  Air exchangers/Heat recovery systems: do they work?
• Fireplaces, woodstoves and chimneys. Do they work, and are the up to code?
• Plumbing repairs
• etc...

There may be repairs that are to costly to fix. In this case your asking price should reflect that the repair is needed. Walk through the house as though you were a buyer, and make a list of what repairs and improvements you would like to see done to the home. Decide what ones you can and will do. Remember, there is no perfect house so not fixing everything does not mean your house will not sell.

Next blog issue will  discuss some minor improvements for the interior and exterior of your home, to help get you your best possible sale price, and sell your home in the most reasonable amount of time.