Home Inspections from the Selling Side

During your negotiation stage, buyers will inform sellers of the inspections they would like to conduct and how long they'd like to have to do so. This period of time is essentially a buyer beware option - buyers can hire professionals to take a closer look at the property and if there is anything they find unsatisfactory, they are free to end the contract. Consequently, the fewer inspections a buyer plans to conduct (and in the shortest amount of time), the better. In the sale of our home, the buyers took the right to do a general building, septic, and water inspection.

After the inspections are conducted, the buyers can decide to continue with the purchase, renegotiate and ask for some items to be fixed, or to terminate the agreement. In our instance, the buyers asked for a few things and we agreed to the items we felt necessary (mainly with the water system).

From a seller's prospective, preparing for inspections is very important. This is most likely only the second time a buyer has been back to your property. You want the house to be in the same condition as the first time they fell in love. It's also important to take a look at your property from an inspector's view. Is anything leaking? Are there missing or broken screens? Are there opportunities for quick repair to the roof, siding or outbuildings? Chipped paint? Taking care of these minor things prior to an inspection can alleviate buyers' perception of whether their inspection went poorly or not. And remember, it's not part of the contract that you must fix any items that come up during inspections. It is merely a time for a buyer to learn as much as possible about the property - if their requests are too much, you too can refuse and allow the buyer to not continue with the purchase.

After inspections, congratulations are in order, as you can now sit back and relax until the appraisal - this time period is work time for the buyers and buyers lender to start processing any loan applications.

Check back soon for the appraisal process! 

And it's gone!

Well, as promised, the house went on the market Wednesday - and with one showing scheduled for Thursday, we were under contract Friday! Q-U-I-C-K! Showings scheduled for the weekend were quickly cancelled, and Corey and Megan went about their weekend plans without having to worry about the house being "showing ready". It really pays to prep your home for a sale as mentioned in the previous post, but taking it a step further, it's also about the first impression. You can never have a second first impression!

So here are some do's (and a few don'ts) for any future showings on your home:

1. Make the house sparkle! Clean as much as you can - windows, countertops, floors, furniture, showers, toilets, etc. Remove cobwebs, put away dirty dishes and laundry, make the beds.... The goal is to not distract buyers - you want them to not get hung up on your dirty dishes, or dog slobbered windows. You want them to not even think about YOU in the home, but instead imagine themselves in the home at it's fullest potential - sparkling clean.

2. Light it up! Leave some lamps on, recessed lights, and all outdoor lights. Open the curtains and if the weather is right, a window or two. Bright and airy feeling houses sell.

3. Remove pets! If you have a dog (or two) definitely take them with you for the showing. If at all possible, cats as well. Some people may be allergic and you don't want them to have to rush out of a showing. Also, Febreeze works wonders on carpets and furniture, but the new wax warmers, like Scentsy, do amazing things for the senses.

4. Lock-up or remove valuables. You're letting strangers into your home, while most professional real estate agents fully vet their clients, there's a possibility they don't know everything about their buyer. If you're worried about something being taken, then lock it up or remove it from the property once it's listed.

5. Remove yourself :)  It's always very uncomfortable for a buyer to walk around someone's house with the homeowner lingering. Buyers have a hard enough time imagining their things in your space, but it's almost impossible to imagine themselves there with you sitting at the table! Take a walk, run an errand, or go out to eat. You should always plan for at least an hour, so you are gone before they arrive and don't bump back into them if they've decided to take some extra time looking at your home.

Pretty soon you'll have an offer (or 2) and you won't have to worry about all this prep. So like us, give it your best shot, the first time and you may not need a 2nd time!

Selling your home!

It's official, Corey is making Megan move AGAIN! It's a hazard of the business!  So, after just 2 short years in our new home, we are putting it on the market this week. We often work with first time buyers and they will one day become first time sellers, so here is a guide of what to expect. Check back as we'll continue to update the guide as we go through the process... (again) :)

1. Knowing the value! We just refinanced to get rid of PMI and so we had an appraisal done very recently and have a good idea of what our home and the improvements we've made since we purchased really mean for value. However, if we hadn't just received a professional opinion of value, we would be comparing the "comps" - houses that have sold in our area in the last 6 months. 
2. Prepping the home for showings - this is the biggest on the To Do list and actually creates a To Do list of it's own. Ours looked like this: 

• Repair entry walls from dog's visitor excitement, going for a walk excitement and yay you're home excitement! Repaint after scratches have been patched.
• Replace loose faucet in kitchen with nicer more attractive (and non loose) one.
• Carpet stairs going to basement so the space is finally finished
• Take down canvas prints and most family photos 
• De-clutter & organize closets
• Shampoo carpets
• Put railing on back deck steps and stain
• Re-stain front and side porch steps
• Finish staining fence
• Power wash siding
• Mulch flower beds
• Fertilize, overseed, and mow the lawn

    3.  Clean for listing photos! Our photographer does a great job with lighting and
         angles, but she can't edit or make houses look cleaner.

This is where we're at in our process. We'll receive the photos tomorrow or Wednesday and then we'll be on the market, sign will go up and the house will be showing ready - AT ALL TIMES! Check back for our tips for what showing ready means.

Happy house hunting, house selling, and/or house living! 

-Megan