Is it time to sell your Glendale CA home? Here are the top three things your agent will want you to do to get a home ready for sale.
1. Make Needed Repairs
Homeowners often get used to living in a home with wear and tear. However, when you get a home ready to sell, buyers pay top dollar for homes in top condition. How do you determine what needs repairing?
First, you can simply go through your home and make notes of what is not working as it should. Look at doorknobs, latches, locks, light switches, garage doors, appliances, leaky faucets, mildewed grout, and more. Be sure to look at the exterior of your home as well. Broken fences, dead grass, or a junky shed can turn off a buyer. If you find something that is not in good working order, you should repair or replace it.
Many people preparing a home to sell by getting a pre-sale inspection. A professional inspector will look over your home and tell you what they find. In this way, you can fix the issues before potential buyers see your home. Expect to pay $250 for a verbal report and $450 for a written one. A written report can help you to control what fixes you will and will not do in the sale of your home.
2. Consider Minor Renovations
One of the easiest and cheapest renovations to consider to get a home ready for sale is fresh paint. Pick neutral tones for the walls in order to appeal to the widest selection of buyers. You may not need to paint every room, but be sure to paint any room that is dingy or is a strong color.
Another inexpensive renovation is the removal of wallpaper. The choice of a wallpaper pattern is very personal. If a buyer doesn’t like the pattern, they may have a difficult time seeing themselves in the home. Removing the wallpaper helps give the buyer a good first impression.
Other renovations with a good return on investment to get a home ready for sale include:
- A new or freshly painted front door
- Minor kitchen and bathroom renovations like cabinet painting, new hardware or new fixtures.
- Landscape- green grass, flowering plants and mulch
- Creating an outdoor dining/relaxing patio with pavers, umbrella and furniture
3. Disclose, disclose, disclose!
An important way to get a home ready to sell – gather all the documents and records for your home. There are numerous required disclosure forms in California and these documents will help your agent guide you through all of them.
You will need:
- Any existing and transferable service agreements, leases and guarantees.
- Mortgage loan pay off information
- Receipts for any recent remodeling, repairs or reports
- Permits applied for or finaled
- Any existing surveys
- Lease agreement, if you rent your property
- Information on existing solar energy or pool heating systems
Following these three tips will help you get a home ready to sell when you are short on time, and if you have other questions…ask your knowledgable DIGGS agent.
