Ultimate Home Seller’s Checklist

Selling a home is just as arduous as buying a home.

It takes a lot of planning and preparation to be able to sell your home with a smooth and easy escrow. But most importantly, it is ideal to plan ahead of time in order to get the best price possible out of the sale of your home. This can essentially be done by properly staging your home and making it look the best and most presentable way possible. That being said, if you’re a homeowner who is looking to sell in the near future, it’d be best to start preparing your home for about half a year in advance. In order to help you out, we have curated a checklist for you to ensure that once you’re ready to list your home for sale, your home would be ready as well.

1. Find the right help

As mentioned above, selling a home is an arduous process. In order to ensure that this runs as smoothly as possible, it is crucial that you are able to find and hire the right people from the start. This is especially true if you are a first-time home seller. Real estate agents are professionals whom you can always ask questions and seek advice from. Of course, you can always browse the web to look for answers but asking a real estate agent will be a lot easier. On top of that, you are guaranteed to be provided accurate and up-to-date answers as no one would know your real estate market better than your agent. You can also ask your real estate agent to help you with completing the rest of this checklist within an ideal timeline. 2. Strategize a timeline More than just preparing your home, the actual date of when you list your home will gravely affect how the rest of your home selling process will play out. Typically, homes should be put up for sale during summer or spring. This is because most home buyers find it ideal to move during these seasons over fall or winter. However, it is important to note that each real estate market is different. Although this may be true for most, it may not apply to your specific market. Therefore, it is still best if you would seek the advice of your real estate agent. 3. Examine your home and conduct research Before you even begin thinking of a price range, asking for an appraisal, or even placing a price on your home, it’d be best to conduct some research first. The best way of doing this is by conducting a CMA or a Comparative Marketing Analysis. This method assesses the value of your home by comparing it to other similar properties within the same neighborhood or market. You can always ask your real estate agent to provide the report to you. The value of your home will depend on a lot of aspects. On top of your home’s condition, one major aspect of determining the value of your home is the competition or the current condition of the market as well. If there are a lot of homes listed in your neighborhood, then chances are, you might have to lower your home’s value and vise versa. At the same time, the location of your home is also taken into consideration. The type of neighborhood and the facilities that are located within your area plays a role in this as well. 4. Prepare your home for listing Getting a pre-approved loan simply means that a lender has verified your finances and has agreed to provide you with a loan under certain conditions. Most homebuyers skip this part but it is actually a step that you should always accomplish as soon as possible. Under this item on your checklist, you must prepare your proof of income, proof of assets, credit history, employment history, as well as other supporting documents that can help lenders verify your status and identification. This step is important as this will provide you with more information and a better insight into what your ideal budget should be. 5. Browse through properties This is the part where you spend and shell out money. If you’re planning on hosting an open house, you can begin by making improvements to your home. These can be either small improvements or major improvements, depending on your home. From giving your home a brand new paint job to replacing your roof, these improvements can be costly. This would also work to your advantage once your home gets inspected. Although it is optional, you can also hire someone to stage your home. Open houses are crucial because this is where most of your serious buyers will visit your home. It is important that you are able to make your home as presentable as possible. If you are not confident in your skills in staging your home, then it’d be best to ask your real estate agent for their recommended professionals to help you stage your home and impress your potential buyers. Staging might look simple but there are a lot of details that go into staging your home. From ensuring that your home is depersonalized as possible to removing any unnecessary furniture and decoration, these minute details can possibly turn off an interested buyer. Final Thoughts These four steps are crucial to ensure that you make the most out of this process. Although they are not necessary, if you have the capacity and resources to take on these steps, it would definitely work to your advantage. You have to remember that it takes patience and a lot of work to sell a home. The best way to avoid the stress of an ugly escrow is to plan ahead and seek the help of a professional real estate agent.