Section: Seller Strategy
Author: Susan Isaacs, Washington DC Real Estate Strategist
Steps To Take Before Listing Your Home
Unsure of the steps to take, and in which order? To avoid unnecessary spending and effort, follow our guide.
Where Do I Start?
Your first impulse might be to dive into your long-ignored ‘to do’ list before contacting a real estate agent. That would be a mistake 99% of the time. Why? Because you may max out your budget on work that:
Won’t provide the highest return on investment
Forego addressing issues that would make your home more valuable
Make choices that appeal to you, but may not strike the right note with potential buyers.
Preparing a home for sale is literally the process of packaging a personal living space into a marketable product. A real estate professional should advise you.
What Can I Do Now?
Most homes will need at least some of these steps, many will require all of them.
Organization, Decluttering And Cleaning
Organize your garage, storage spaces, attic and other areas of the home where sorting and decluttering will take place.
Declutter the entire home
Clean the house from top to bottom. Floors, doors, trim, closets, baseboards, ceilings, light fixtures, hardware–all of it.
Assess Condition
A key factor in your home’s market value is condition, and the perception of condition. These are two different things:
The condition of a home includes its overall physical state, structural integrity and operation of its core mechanical systems. Home buyers are concerned with the soundness of the home’s foundation and roof, HVAC systems, windows, fireplaces and chimneys, and safety systems, as well as its ‘wear and tear’, and level of maintenance. Cosmetic flaws also factor into condition.
The perception of condition is essentially how it presents visually. Your home may be in reasonably good condition, but the front entry may be in disrepair. That sends a negative signal to buyers even before they’ve seen the inside of the home. If obvious issues aren’t addressed or simple maintenance has been deferred, they’ll wonder how larger issues have been handled. Is the home clean? Well organized and free of clutter? Are the windows washed? Drywall blemishes repaired? HVAC filter changed? Bathroom tile grout clean and unstained? Are all light bulbs working? Are outdoor spaces in good shape? These things give buyers the impression that the home has been well cared for and maintained.
Even if you’re selling ‘as is’ and the price has been adjusted for condition (1), you’ll want to address the perception of its condition (2).
Repairs
Get estimates for repairs in order to factor the cost into your listing price, but don’t commit to a vendor or schedule any work yet. Because these expenditures will affect your listing price and net, you and your agent should make these decisions together.
You may want to address big-ticket items which are worn, dated or non-functional (carpeting or hardwood flooring, HVAC units, roofing, windows, major appliances) prior to listing depending on your budget and listing strategy.
Assemble Paperwork
Compile a folder of receipts, warranties and documentation for title insurance, significant past repairs or additions, warranties, monthly and annual maintenance contracts, etc.
If your home was purchased within the past ten years, your buyer may qualify for a reissue rate on title insurance. Your title policy will be required to facilitate this discount, and you can expect the buyer to include this request as a term of the purchase contract.
Do you have a home warranty that is transferrable? If so, make that information easily accessible to the buyer when they go under contract.
Are any of the home’s major components still under warranty? HVAC, roof, plumbing, major repairs—all receipts and warranties will help.
Have you retained receipts from contractors or other service providers? Include those, along with user manuals for appliances and electronics that will stay with the home should also be included.
Floor plans, blueprints and other architectural or historic designation documents are a boon to buyers and should be made available.
Make sure you create an electronic copy of key items like floor plans for your real estate agent. You’ll be asked for them at several points during the transaction and need some in order to complete your DC Seller Property Disclosure when listing.
Other items to assemble are keys, codes, door/gate openers and fobs. Your agent will need two sets of keys for your listing; one for the lockbox and an emergency set for the agent. Other access devices and codes should be provided to your agent as needed, and ready to transfer to the buyer at closing.
Condos, Co-Ops and Townhomes
If you’re selling a condo, townhouse or co-op, some steos differ slightly from those recommended for single family homes.
Even though you’re not permitted to make changes to the exterior of the premises, there are things you can do inside and to personal outdoor space to help your home sell quickly and at a good price.
Submit a request 30-90 days in advance of listing to your association or management company to have scuffed hallways touched up, hallway & entrance flooring cleaned, common area wall nicks and scrapes repaired, dim or expired light bulbs replaced, ask to have your front door painted/repaired/replaced if it is peeling, chipped or warped and make sure locks work smoothly
Create an inviting space on your patio or balcony if you have one, by decluttering, cleaning stains and algae, light fixtures and rails
Townhome owners can correct or replace warped or weather-damaged deck boards, repair fences and gates if HOA documents list these as owner maintained.
Condo and townhome owners should request the following information from the association:
Copy of rules and regulations
Advice on whether or not ‘for sale’ signs are allowed on the grounds (if so, where)
Ask for the current investor ratio, FHA and VA status, rental rules and restriction details, pet restrictions and smoking restrictions.
Will I recoup my Expenses On Resale?
It’s a valid concern. The potential costs of updating a DC home are often higher than anticipated, but returns on the right investments can pleasantly surprise you.
Know what the ROI is before undertaking any work beyond decluttering and cleaning.
Compare the estimated cost of repairs and updates to projected return on investment (ROI). You’ll typically net a good deal more for an updated home than one that buyers perceive as dated and worn. Buyers often guesstimate costs far in excess of actual costs, but sellers rarely hear that conversation. Instead, buyers move on to a turnkey property, leaving sellers to wonder why their interest waned.
Preparing your property for sale is an essential step, but it can seem overwhelming. There are services that can help. Reach out to your agent for a list.