Pre Listing Checklist (New Home Seller’s Series!)

I’m starting a new series!

Having just finished my Home Buying Series (check that out here), I felt it only fair to include Seller’s in the next round.

Welcome to my Home Seller’s Series!

In this series, we’re going to go over the steps to take, and some tips and tricks to get your house listing ready. The topics we’ll be covering include:

1. Pre-Listing
2. The Importance of Price
3. How to Live Your Best Life with Showings
4. Getting an Offer and Negotiating
5. Under Contract (plus a shameless BHGRE Mover’s Concierge plug!)
6. Closing

Getting your home ready to sell can seem daunting.

Maybe you feel like your home has to be in Better Homes & Gardens shape before you can plant that for sale sign in the yard. Maybe you don’t know where to turn, or how exactly much to do before you’re ready to list.

Never fear!

Here’s a handy little checklist I made to walk you through some PreListing activities, to make sure your house is in the best position to net you the most money at the closing table:

• Depersonalize

I know this one may seem like a no brainer, but still not everyone does it. As hard as it can be sometimes, what we want is for potential buyers to see this as their future home when they walk through the front door, not your current one. 

• Clear out the Clutter

Again, this may seem obvious, but I included it anyway. Clearing the clutter from your space allows rooms to seem bigger, and creates a sense of calm. Plus, it’s more aesthetically pleasing. We want buyers to fall in love with your house.

• Pre Listing Inspection

A pre-listing home inspection is a great way to get out ahead of any unexpected problems that may come up. This allows you the time to get things taken care of, smoothing the way for us when your home is under contract.

• Do the Repairs

Coming off the home inspection…If there are some repairs you know need done, I would suggest going ahead and taking care of them sooner rather than later. That will save you time and energy by not having to have the list price negotiated down. If left unaddressed, the buyers will have the responsibility of taking care of what needs to be repaired, and that can translate to sellers concessions or a reduced offer price.

• Get a Home Warranty

Buyers love home warranties. If you don’t know where to turn, we have a wonderful relationship at Better Homes with HSA Home Warranties. They’re an amazing company, and cover everything from dishwashers to roof leaks. I’ve linked their website here (note: I get no kickbacks for recommending them).

So, you’ve depersonalized, you’ve cleaned the clutter, made the repairs. Before our first meeting, there are still some things you need to gather, and some documents you need on hand. I’ll see you at my next post, which will cover what to do before the actual Listing Presentation.