‘Tis the season for sellers to list for the first time or consider re-listing a property which didn’t sell previously. One of the things I excel at is knowing what a property needs in order to add value and decrease time on market. The strategy will include things I can do but there could be other jobs which are best left to experts. In my stable I have decorators, home stagers, and a long list of tradespeople. From pier contractors to touch-up painters I know who to bring to your property. When it’s all ready I enlist my high-end photographers, a well-respected graphic design firm and my two web developers to prepare high-quality marketing for your listing.
The Top 5 things you and your realtor can do to prepare your home for sale are:
5. Research and locate beneficial County, Agency and/or Assessor docs. We want to work to eliminate buyer hesitation and minimize room for further negotiation after the deal has been struck. For example an unpermitted living space might be brought into compliance easily. Sometimes getting rid of a refrigerator or installing a smaller sink will satisfy the Public Utility District. I can find these things out for you.
4. Maintenance / Completion / Small Repairs. Keep up with maintenance and complete any unfinished items around the house. I can help identify these and we can figure out if you’d like to do any of them or hire out. If you’re not here I can monitor tradespeople’s progress to ensure prompt service. We can also get Home or Pest Inspections before the listing to disclose or fix unseen items.
3. Complete disclosures now. In a sellers’ market it is important to give potential buyers the full disclosure packet before they write their offer. This eliminates CA’s statutory 3-day right of rescission and gives them less elbow room as we head down the escrow trail. If that living space can’t become conforming it’s nice to have buyers head into the deal fully aware.
2. Use time as your friend. While I can get staging and marketing done very quickly there could be some prep work which would serve you well. Minor planning research and even medium-sized repairs can take more time than we’d think. If we get started on your listing now we will have plenty of time to come to market looking our best.
1. Consider your goals for timing and potential value of the sale. To assist with this, I give sellers an in-depth, preliminary valuation of their homes and educate them on things like average days on market, MLS sales-to-list price ratio, specific neighborhood action, etc. Expectations meet market dynamics and we are paving a smooth road to getting the most for your property.
End note: Right now the timing is perfect. If I were selling one of my properties I’d get it on the market as soon as possible. Listing inventory is very slim and buyer demand is at a healthy level. I don’t foresee a dip like there will be in appreciating areas which have mostly investor-driven sales. I think Tahoe home values will jump up in the near term then continue increasing at a slower, steadier rate.