Pre-sale inspections Ready to view? Working together
Pre-sale home inspections help us plan our pricing strategy for your home.
It’s often a good idea to have one or more inspections done prior to placing your home on the market. The results will give you a better understanding of conditions which may be discovered by the buyer's inspector, and an opportunity to make repairs that will put the house in better selling condition.
Some of the inspections that we will consider include:
Pest Report
Home Inspection
Roof Inspection
We will also discuss these Seller disclosures:
- Earthquake Fault Zones
- Local Seismic Hazard Zones
- Drainage, Flooding and Moisture
- State Fire Responsibility Areas
- Termites, Dry Rot, Pests and Wood-Destroying Organisms
- National Flood Insurance Program Areas
- Toxic Substances
- Landslide Inventory Report
- Covenants, Fee and Assessments
- Drainage, Flooding and Moisture
- State Fire Responsibility Areas
- Termites, Dry Rot, Pests and Wood-Destroying Organisms
- National Flood Insurance Program Areas
- Toxic Substances
- Landslide Inventory Report
- Covenants, Fee and Assessments
- State Fire Responsibility Areas
- National Flood Insurance Program Areas
- Landslide Inventory Report
- Liquefaction Susceptibility Determination
- Flood and Inundation Hazards
- Transfer Disclosure Statement and Addendum
I will help you determine which inspections and disclosures you should or must undertake. In general, knowledge is preferable to ignorance in any matter relating to the condition of the home you are selling. Avoiding discovery of a problem with your property will not make it go away!
Once you are prepared with the inspection reports you need, we will take some steps to make sure your home looks its best. By the time it’s ready to view, your home should look simply irresistible to buyers.
To sell your home at its maximum price, you must make it as appealing as possible to the buyers you want to impress.
The following are just a few of the many ideas I will review with you as your agent. We will look at your home through a buyer's eyes; you will learn to assess your own home as if you had never seen it before, and together we will increase the perceived value of your home.
Big-picture projects
These large projects may cost you a bit of money, but some may be well worth the expense. I will help you decide which of these improvements will add value to your home, and which are not necessary.
- Painting—exterior and/or interior.
- Improving lawn and landscaping.
- Cleaning and repairing windows and screens.
- Cleaning and/or replacing carpets.
- Touching up or refinishing cabinets.
- Storing or disposing of furniture in order to make rooms appear larger.
- Cleaning drapes.
- Cleaning and repairing all appliances.
Details
These smaller tasks won’t require much if any expense other than your time, but attention to these details will certainly help improve the value of your home.
Throughout your home:
- Remove all unnecessary objects from furniture.
- Keep decorative objects to a minimum.
- Replace burned-out light bulbs.
- Put away children's toys.
- Keep pets under control at all times.
- Leave on key lights during the day. During showings, turn on all lights and lamps.
- Have your stereo on during the day playing some soft music for all showings.
- Set your dining table for guests.
- Place fresh logs/pinecones in fireplace.
- Place fresh flowers in living room and master bedroom.
- Fill paper towel, toilet paper and tissue holders.
In your kitchen:
- Clear all unnecessary objects from countertops.
- Empty cabinets of clutter to make them look more spacious.
- Clear the refrigerator doors of messages, pictures, etc.
- Clean the oven, wax the floor, make sure the sink is clean, replace counter tile or grout if necessary.
In your bathrooms:
- Remove any unnecessary items from countertops, tubs, and shower stalls (keep necessary items in one small group on the counter).
- Check the caulking, tile, and grout around tubs and showers.
- Replace or clean shower curtain.
- Fix leaking faucets.
- Coordinating towels are a nice touch.
In your bedrooms:
- Check your closets: be sure lights work and clothes are neatly hung.
- Store shoes or other loose items in boxes, neatly arranged on shelves.
Outside your home
- Replace door mats.
- Tour the perimeter of the house and move all garbage cans, discarded wood scraps, extra building materials, etc. into the garbage.
- Check gutter and/or roof for dry rot. Make sure gutters are free of debris.
- Inspect all plants, prune bushes and trees. Keep plants from blocking windows. Remove any dead plants or shrubs.
- Weed all planting areas. Keep your lawn freshly cut and fertilized.
We will make sure your home looks its best! Attending to all the details that make potential buyers feel welcomed and pleased to be in your home will significantly enhance your ability to generate full-price offers in a short amount of time.
Buyers want details. All the important details about your home will be available to buyers via my 24-hour-a-day marketing system. I will help you gather and compile the information buyers need:
- A legal description of your property.
- The number and size of the rooms.
- A list of items not attached to the house that you're offering for sale, such as window treatments, carpet, fixtures, swing sets, etc.
- Past utility bills, property taxes and insurance.
- Information about your mortgage, including type, terms, and if assumable.
- Financing assistance available, possibly through your own lender.
- Any liens against the property.
- If you live in a condominium or a townhouse, a copy of the association's declaration, bylaws, and financial statement, monthly fees and special assessments.
- Special items or improvements on the house (we’ll identify anything that may not be apparent on a walk-through.)
- A list of what you like about living in the home.
- A list of all the desirable aspects of your neighborhood, such as demographic information, proximity to services, shopping, schools, etc.
- Any defects that aren't apparent.
Once this information is collected, I will make certain it reaches the people who need it, and need it right away: qualified, interested buyers!