If you’re getting ready to list your home for sale, you might be wondering what you can do to make sure you’ll get the asking price that you’re aiming for without encountering any unexpected problems along the way.
If you’ve had any experience with real estate, then you know that deals can fall through at the slightest hint of an issue.
Buyers can be scared away easily, and you might think you have the sale in your lap, only to find out that some overlooked repair or inconvenience steered them in the direction of a different property.
You have to remember that the housing market is always hyper competitive, so there are plenty of other homes for them to choose from if your property has even one flaw.
If you’re planning on selling the home as a fixer-upper and you have no problem taking a lower price, you might not be concerned with making the property perfect before listing it.
However, if your goal is to fetch a decent price that will have you making a profit over what you originally paid for the property, then you’ll want to take every possible precaution to ensure that you’re avoiding possible pitfalls throughout the walk-through, due diligence, sale closing processes.
More specifically, start by conducting the following inspections before listing your home on the open market:
1. Plumbing
Problems with your home’s plumbing could cause a potential buyer to withdraw their offer if they bring in their own plumber and find that there is an underlying problem like roots growing in pipes or an un-serviced septic tank.
If any of your sinks or toilets have a history of being clogged in the past, it’s best to have a thorough inspection done by a professional plumber before you list your home for sale.
A plumbing team like We Care can inspect your pipes with a borescope to check for obstructions, roots, damage, leaks, and other issues.
We Care Team is one of Southern California’s leading providers of plumbing services.
They have offices in several major cities throughout riverside county, San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County, San Diego County, and Orange County.
2. Electrical
Having an electrician look for any underlying weaknesses in your home’s wiring or circuits could be a deal saver if you have any issues with flickering lights or breaker switches tripping.
Those might seem like minor inconveniences for you while you’re living in the home, but even a minor issue with the electrical workings of a home can be enough to deter many prospective buyers.
Paying for a simple inspection or diagnosis won’t be too costly and it could keep you from enduring a huge let down later on.
As a closing tip on this subject, be sure to have this step handled by a certified electrician to avoid the risk of electric shock, or causing extensive damage to your home’s electrical systems.
3. Heating
Checking to ensure that the home’s heating system is up-to-date, efficient, and safe is another kind of inspection that is wise to conduct before listing a property for sale.
This is another feature that you can mention in a property listing to give prospective buyers additional assurance and the confidence needed to make a premium offer.
4. Air Conditioning
Optimizing a home’s air conditioning before listing it for sale is an ideal move to make if your home is located in an area where the summers are excessively hot.
Buyers in these regions will undoubtedly be looking for homes with strong and energy-efficient AC systems.
As such, an upgraded or premium A/C system will always be a desirable advantage that will attract prospective buyers in hotter climates.
5. Insulation
Inspecting the density and integrity of the insulation in your home’s walls and attic will give you another perk that you can add to the list of features in your listing.
For example, you could specify that the insulation was recently inspected and upgraded and let buyers know that this improvement translates to lower monthly utility bills.
Furthermore, being able to state that you’ve installed state-of-the-art insulation gives the new owner the comfort of knowing that they won’t have to make any upgrades in that regard any time soon.
6. Mold and Mildew
Having the home professionally inspected for mold and mildew will ensure that there aren’t any health hazards present in the home.
Each state has its own laws regarding the seller’s responsibility to ensure that their property is being sold in a livable condition.
Having a significant mold or mildew problem in your home could actually cause the property to be condemned upon an inspection from the health department.
If you do discover a mold or mildew infestation in your home, it’s imperative that you have it taken care of before you list the property for sale.
However, be aware that professional cleanup services can be quite an expense, so be prepared for this cost if you suspect your home might have a mold problem.
7. Roof Integrity
Before listing your property, be sure to have your entire roof inspected by a professional roofing agency.
This should only cost a few hundred dollars at the most and will give you an idea of any potential problems that you might want to address to ensure your roof is flawless on the date of the first walkthrough.
Some property owners try to skim past roofing issues by scheduling walkthroughs on days when there won’t be raining weather, but taking that approach could lead to a lawsuit or sale reversal, so it’s best to make sure the roof is solid and leak-free before listing the home for sale.
Your other option is to simply specify that there are a few leaks in the roof, but that would obviously hurt your asking price and probably negate the value of any of the improvements you’ve added to the home.
8. Appliances
Checking to make sure your appliances are in good working condition might be enough to make sure a buyer doesn’t back out, but if you want to fetch a higher asking price, then you might be better off upgrading and replacing the appliances altogether.
Opting for the most energy-efficient appliances will give you an extra selling point that you can highlight within the property listing.
You may also want to rearrange the configuration and positioning of appliances in your kitchen to create more space for extravagant countertops and additional floor space.
This tip is listed last because it’s one of those adjustments that will only matter if you’re insisting on the highest possible asking price for your home.
Doing Your Due Diligence as a Seller Will Ensure That the Buyer’s Due Diligence Goes Smoothly
Ultimately, taking all of the precautions above isn’t just about ensuring that you’re able to sell the home for a higher price, it’s about avoiding the false hope and disappointments that come with having an appealing offer on the table only to have it fall through due to a problem in one of the aforementioned areas.
Fortunately, by conducting these inspections thoroughly and with the help of the appropriate professionals, you can minimize your chances of encountering any hiccups that could spoil an otherwise optimal sale.
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