What To Do Before You List Your Home

“It’s better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret.”

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

If you’re planning to sell your home, you’d probably like to sell for the most money, in the fastest time possible, and with few setbacks.

So how do you prepare to sell your home before listing your home or contacting an agent? It is easier than you think.

Preparing Your Home To Sell

According to a Realtor.com study, the typical home seller has lived in their home for 10 years. During that time period, homeowners have typically made their house fit their style. If you’ve done this and are ready to sell, you will now be tasked with preparing your home for someone else: a buyer!! Here is how you get started…

Gather Documentation

Remember all that wonderful paperwork you completed with the purchase of your home? It’s time to gather that and more, and place it in a home selling binder. The use of a home selling binder will keep all your paperwork organized throughout the whole process. It should include:

Paperwork from when you purchased the home
All mortgage documentation, including up-to-date payoff amounts and any fees associated with paying off your current mortgage
Home warranty paperwork
Major home system maintenance records, warranties, and receipts for home upgrades
Any building permits for additions or remodels
The previous year’s HOA fees, utility bills, water bills, sewer bills and tax bills
Deed restrictions, covenants or declarations on the property
A detailed list of all items included and excluded from the sale
Any property assessments or surveys
Pest inspection documentation and/or environmental hazard inspection paperwork
A list of items to be included in disclosure of the property, which should include information that may impact the value of the property

Address Needed Repairs

Home inspections are usually the responsibility of the buyer and are normally completed after an offer has been made on your home. That being said, if you have concerns that major repairs will be required, you may want to schedule a home inspection right away. You could end up losing an offer if you wait for a potential buyer to order an inspection. Transparency goes a long way!

If you are not concerned about major repairs, you should address any minor repairs that may impact the value of your home.

Depersonalize Your Home

The great thing about home ownership is the ability to make a house into your perfect sanctuary. Unfortunately, everyone has a different idea of what that means. As a seller, you want to make your home welcoming to any buyer that may step in the front door. You can start with:

Decluttering every area of your home
Painting with neutral colors
Putting away hobby projects, collectables and family photos
Arranging or removing furniture to highlight your floor plan and make the house feel open, not overcrowded
Organizing closets so they look full but not overflowing
Staging your home

Clean and Maintain the Outside and Inside of Your Home

Think of the inside of your house as a five star hotel room. If you decided to rent it for the night, you would expect everything to be clean and smell fresh. The same should go for the outside of your home. For more details, check out these resources:

Final Thoughts on Preparing to Sell Your Home

Once you find a Realtor to help with the home selling process, make sure to review with them everything you have already prepared. At that point, your Realtor should be able to offer more advice on how to sell your home quicker and for more money.

As you can see, many of these items can be done well before you actually finish interviewing listing agents to list your home. So don’t be afraid to get started as soon as you decide to sell.

Do you have any questions about preparing to sell your home? I would love to answer them in the comments.

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