Here’s how it usually works: After a homes sells, the buyer usually has five days to perform a home inspection. Usually, the inspector finds imperfections with the home. Then the buyer determines which of these imperfections should be corrected, either physically or monetarily.
The buyer becomes anxious, as he believes that he overpaid for a house with physical problems. Some buyers, their realtors and their attorneys may look upon this as an opportunity for re-negotiation. Frequently, there is a request for an extension to the remedy period under which home inspection issues are to be settled.
The seller becomes anxious as he thought the negotiation was over. Now, a situation exists whereby there is a new drain on time and money. This is backwards!
Here’s how Smooth Move works: Have your home professionally inspected before it goes on the market. Let the inspector find imperfections. Let’s decide which are significant enough to be raised as issues in the mind of a typical buyer. Fix them now, rather than later when you will be under time pressure and attorney scrutiny. You can usually get better pricing and contractors of your choice if you do it now.
Here are the benefits:
1. Achieve a higher sales prices for a home that is in top condition
2. Eliminate the re-negotiation due to surprises found at inspection time
3. Save money on repairs that you’ll have to pay for anyway
4. Eliminate the time drag of the inspection process
5. Buyers who choose to have a re-inspection can do so in a shorter time frame as this would be an “update” as opposed to a full inspection
When you’ve lived in a home for years, selling it can be a highly emotional experience. Maybe you built the house or remodeled it to suit your family – and your own needs, priorities and tastes. Your 10-year-old flower garden may be just what you’d pictured when you check out the direction of the sun on your first visit to the house. You get a sense of warmth and fulfillment every time you pass the framed family photos hung on the walls.
Despite all that, step one in preparing to sell your home is emotionally detaching yourself from it and the process. Try to think of your home as a commodity that can be “repackaged” – by repairing, painting, cleaning, recarpeting, rearranging – for the widest possible appeal.
Here are some tips to help keep your emotions from hindering your home sale:
• Visit new home developments. Find out how builders have decorated and prepared their homes to show buyers, then copy some of their methods in your home. Seeing some of the innovative options available in new homes may also help you leave your older home behind.
• Review your home’s sales brochure. What was it that made you want to buy your home? Identify the features you like and do what you can to highlight those features (or feelings) for potential buyers.
• Make yourself scarce at show time. Being on the premises during a show limits the buyer’s ability to feel comfortable to ask questions and to develop a sense of ownership. In fact, removing family memorabilia from walls and tabletops helps conceal your relationship with the property, allowing buyers to visualize themselves at home in your home.
If you need assistance in finding out how to prepare your home for sale, we would be happy to help. Simply give us a call for more information at 630.325.5555
The Smooth Move Transaction Program