When you begin the process of listing and selling your home, most of your attention will probably be focused on hiring the best real estate agent and figuring out how much you plan to ask for your home. While these are certainly important areas, it is also crucial you not neglect various home maintenance chores during this process. If you do, you could lose out on a potential sale. If you’re wondering why home maintenance is so important, keep these suggestions in mind.
Instills Confidence in Potential Buyers
First and foremost, a home that looks well-maintained will instill immediate confidence in potential buyers. Whether it’s at an open house or a private showing, excellent home maintenance will have prospects giving your home a much closer look.
Helps Your House Stand Out from Others
With many homes like yours on the market, doing all you can to make yours stand out from the competition can be the difference between selling your home immediately or having it languish on the market for months. In the real estate game, curb appeal is vital, so give your home as much of it as possible through regular home maintenance.
No Surprises During an Inspection
If there is one thing you don’t want just as your home is about to be sold, it is an unexpected and unpleasant surprise during the home inspection. Therefore, you should always take care of such tasks as septic tank pumping on a regular basis while your home is being listed. Otherwise, you could find out you have a tank that is leaking while trying to close your deal. Should this happen, it will likely be too late to salvage the deal, especially if your groundwater becomes contaminated.
Getting Your Price
If you take care of details such as pumping your septic tank, keeping your yard well-maintained, and fixing any visible problems with your roof, guttering, or other parts of your home, all of this will help give you the leverage you want to get the asking price you have on your home. After all, when a potential buyer can spot problem after problem with your home, they will expect you to either do these repairs yourself, or instead knock thousands of dollars off your asking price. By taking care of any problems before your home is listed, getting the price you expect should not be difficult.
By being proactive and keeping your home well-maintained in every possible way, buyers will be lining up to meet your asking price and purchase your home.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan
