The Five Important Tasks for Potential Sellers
January 14, 2008
In this real estate market (and in any real estate market) the first task for a potential seller is to ask for advice from professionals. Real estate agents who have been selling for more than five years are probably a worthwhile place to start. Realtors see more houses in a week than most folks see in years. The agents know which houses sell easily and which will probably not sell. Yes, it is about price but condition is a major factor. A realtor's mantra used to be and still is "crisp and clean". Clear away the clutter, rent a storage unit and give your house a deep cleansing. The agent will suggest what other fixes might be needed and can save sellers from costly mistakes.
The second task is to use professionals to "dig deeper". Find out before you list your property what defects might be hidden or what systems might need attention. Taking care of plumbing, heating and electrical issues prior to marketing a property will help to make a future transaction proceed smoothly.
The third task that has become more important in the past several years is to check the exterior of the home. Is the stucco in good condition? If you have wood or composition siding, is it free of deteriorated areas? Is the roof still in good condition or are there areas that show age? And windows have become the remodel that seems to give the seller back the most for the cost of replacing old windows with the new vinyl clad. (I just redid 7 windows and a sliding door for $6900.) And finally, clean up the yard, trim the trees and plant some bright flowers.
The fourth place to freshen up is the bathroom. Bathrooms need to be clean. Rusty or stained counters and old faucets or light fixtures should be replaced.
Replacing a toilet with a new low-flow model will also help the environment.
And last, but not least, check out your kitchen. It is not necessary to replace counter tops with granite. In fact, the agent will be able to tell you whether granite is appropriate. Ripping out an entire kitchen is very costly and will not necessarily improve the chances of a house selling. The tasks that help are cleaning out the cupboards, getting rid of all the clutter and small appliances that cover the counters and making certain that all the appliances are clean and in good working order. They do not need to be new, but they need to be well maintained.
Most of these tasks will not require huge outlays of money, but they are the tasks that insure that a seller's property will compete favorably in the condition category.
In this real estate market (and in any real estate market) the first task for a potential seller is to ask for advice from professionals. Real estate agents who have been selling for more than five years are probably a worthwhile place to start. Realtors see more houses in a week than most folks see in years. The agents know which houses sell easily and which will probably not sell. Yes, it is about price but condition is a major factor. A realtor's mantra used to be and still is "crisp and clean". Clear away the clutter, rent a storage unit and give your house a deep cleansing. The agent will suggest what other fixes might be needed and can save sellers from costly mistakes.
The second task is to use professionals to "dig deeper". Find out before you list your property what defects might be hidden or what systems might need attention. Taking care of plumbing, heating and electrical issues prior to marketing a property will help to make a future transaction proceed smoothly.
The third task that has become more important in the past several years is to check the exterior of the home. Is the stucco in good condition? If you have wood or composition siding, is it free of deteriorated areas? Is the roof still in good condition or are there areas that show age? And windows have become the remodel that seems to give the seller back the most for the cost of replacing old windows with the new vinyl clad. (I just redid 7 windows and a sliding door for $6900.) And finally, clean up the yard, trim the trees and plant some bright flowers.
The fourth place to freshen up is the bathroom. Bathrooms need to be clean. Rusty or stained counters and old faucets or light fixtures should be replaced.
Replacing a toilet with a new low-flow model will also help the environment.
And last, but not least, check out your kitchen. It is not necessary to replace counter tops with granite. In fact, the agent will be able to tell you whether granite is appropriate. Ripping out an entire kitchen is very costly and will not necessarily improve the chances of a house selling. The tasks that help are cleaning out the cupboards, getting rid of all the clutter and small appliances that cover the counters and making certain that all the appliances are clean and in good working order. They do not need to be new, but they need to be well maintained.
Most of these tasks will not require huge outlays of money, but they are the tasks that insure that a seller's property will compete favorably in the condition category.
posted by shirley harry at 8:18 AM
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