Buy / Sell

Preparing Your Home for Sale

You’ve decided to sell your home and you want to do what is needed to get the highest price possible.  Now it’s time to put together a list of repairs and updates to maximize the price you can get for your home, given location and current real estate market. Here is a list of actions you can take to get your home listed quickly:

• Meet with several realtors. Ask each one  to prepare a prioritized list of repairs and updates to get the best price. Use these meetings to pick your realtor.
• Get a home inspection to identify and repair key items that can influence prospective buyers, who typically prefer “move in condition”.
• Start with your prioritized list of projects (home inspector, realtors and your personal list as you know your home best):
  

  Repairing Wood Trim

  • Identify the projects you have the time and skill to complete prior to the date you want your home on the market.
  • Use a handyman service like Mr Handyman to save time and money, as they can do everything you need from from tile repairs and doors that don’t close easily to exterior siding and trim.
  • Next you want to de-clutter, possibly with services from a professional organizer.
  • Last you’ll want to stage your home to hilight the best features and downplay limitations like not enough storage and it’s best to get advice from a professional home stager, and then decide if you want to make the changes yourself or have them help you.

Here are articles that can help you identify, prioritize and complete the repairs and updates you need to get your home ready for sale:

• Doors That Add Value to Your Home by Tina Gleisner
• Kitchens and Bathrooms that Sell Homes by Tina Gleisner
• How to Create Curbside Appeal by Tina Gleisner
• Paint Colors that Help You Sell Your Home by Jill Hosking

Buying or Selling a Home

For many homeowners, buying and selling a home is a huge event in their lives that can be fraught with stress given the financial decisions involved. Assembling a team of real estate professionals can help take some of the stress out of the process, as these people will provide you with advice and resources to get through the process quickly and efficiently. We’ll be adding more articles here, to help you prepare and manage the responsibilities that a homeowner has when buying or selling a home.

• After the Home Inspection, Who Does What? by Tina Gleisner
  

Financing a Home and the Important Closing!

You’re thrilled with the home your found along with the negotiated price. There is still a lot of work to do before you own that new home. You’re realtor should provide a lot of help here so we’ll just list the other home professionals you’ll be working with during “home buying and closing” processes:

• Home Inspector – is key because your purchase and sales contract should be written “contingent” on a home inspection report being completed.
• Bank or Mortgage Broker – is the other key component to completing all of the purchase and sales contract contingencies, i.e. seller to obtain financing equal to 80% of sales price.
• Lawyer and/or Title Company – will depend on what is customary where you live, i.e. in California the title company draws up all of the legal documents while in the Northeast, it is more common for a lawyer to do this work. One of these parties will conduct a title search and it is common to purchase title insurance (typically required by the lending institution).
• Insurance - is required by lenders and must be in force at time of closing. Depending on where your home is located, you may need specialty insurance like flood or earthquake insurance.
  

Moving and Settling In

Now that the paperwork is signed, it’s time to move which can be both exciting and stressful. Maybe your company is helping you move, or maybe you’ve invited friends and family to help you over the weekend. Whatever plan you have, take time to insure nothing gets lost or broken. Make sure that at the end of each day, you also take time to congratulate yourself on the progress you’ve made as too often, we just focus on how much work is left.

It’s wise to have a plan for unpacking and settling in. When children are involved in the move, it’s a good idea to put their rooms high on the list to minimize their sense of dislocation. Where one/both adults are working out of the home, getting the home office up and running quickly is also important.