By: Jason Kay
Submitted: 2010-05-15 05:20:24 | Word Count: 640
Selling a home is one of the most important decisions that a homeowner can make. To make sure that everything is taken care of, it is critical to create a home seller checklist. It will not only remind you what to do and when to do it, but will also help you cope with what can quickly become an overwhelming process. Here is a quick look at some of the most important points that your home seller checklist should include.
Things to Do Before You List Your House
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1.Make Personnel Decisions
There are some important personnel decisions that needs to be made at the very beginning of this process. The two most important are: agents and lawyers. Some people choose to hire a real estate lawyer to help guide them through the process and possible recommend real estate agents that they have worked with. They are a great resource to help answer questions throughout the process. Often this is done for a flat fee.
The other important decision is whether or not to hire a real estate agent. Agents are often a good investment because they can help sell your house at a higher price. However, it is important to look at your local market to help decide if an agent is necessary or not. Many people find that an agent alleviates the overall stress involved, as well as helps keep them organized. An agent will ask for a lot of information and you need to make sure that it is readily available such as: tax bills, utilities, inspections, list of items to be included or excluded from the sale, etc.
2.Get an Appraisal and Preparing Your Home
You can either let your agent create an appraisal of your home or hire an independent, certified appraiser. Believe it or not, there is actually not much subjectivity when it comes to pricing a home. It is important to use the appraisal and price your home correctly from the beginning. If you price your home to high, it will sit on the market for a while and the price will often be lowered several times before you find a buyer. Additionally, because the home was on the market for so long and price deductions have taken place, the buyers will try to negotiate the price even lower. Correct pricing initially, will actually make you more money than pricing the house high and negotiating.
You also must make sure that your home is prepared properly. This includes major fixes to cracks and dents, new paint, and depersonalization. The goal is make your home as neutral as possible. This allows buyers to see the house the way they want to, instead of how you lived in it. Some people opt to hire a home stager to help with this process.
While Your Home is On the Market
It is important to keep your home “show ready” at all times. This means that it should extremely clean and you should be able to leave the house at a moments notice. Most buyers do not like it when the current owners are there for the walk through It makes them uncomfortable and will often stop them from asking any questions that they have about the property. During this process, it is also important to keep in touch with your agent, and get progress reports throughout.
After the Close
The National Association of Realtors, have created a list of 10 things that must be done after the close. This includes everything from selecting an escrow agent to preparing the deed. It is surprising how many sales fall apart after the close.
While this was only an overview of the process and your home seller checklist will be much more detailed, it is a great starting point to help you determine what to do and when to do it.
Author Resource:-
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