What is it about your property that stands out? What will buyers like most about it? What are your home’s most enticing features?
Answering those questions will help you determine which features to emphasize when selling your home. After all, you want buyers to notice and appreciate your property’s best characteristics.
But here’s the challenge...
It can be difficult to determine which features of your home are particularly desirable to buyers. You live there! So, there might be a fantastic characteristic of your property that you’ve gotten used to. You might not even realize its value.
One way to gain perspective is to ask friends, “What is it about our property that you like most? What stands out to you?” Ask them to be candid. Often, they’ll reveal characteristics about your home that may surprise you. You’ll definitely gain insights that will help you when listing.
Another technique is to compare your property to others in the neighbourhood. Buyers often target neighbourhoods, so realizing how your home stands out can be helpful when marketing it. For example, your property might have a larger backyard than most others on the street, or it might have a lot of recent upgrades.
Another way to discover your home’s most attractive features is to talk to me. I can tell you what buyers will like most about your property.
When preparing your home for sale, you need to fix things up, declutter, perhaps slap a fresh coat of paint on a few walls. That’s all part of getting your property ready for buyers.
But there’s another type of preparation that you also need to do. And, the sooner you do it, the less stressful your move will be.
You need to get all your paperwork together.
Here’s what to gather:
- Property documents such as deeds, easements, surveys, liens, etc.
- Mortgage documents, plus any other loans (i.e., line of credit) that use the property as collateral.
- Maintenance and service agreements that may continue with the new owners.
- Warranties and guarantees that are transferrable to the new owners.
- Recent utility bills, such as water, electricity, etc.
- Rentals (i.e., water heater rental.)
- Home security agreements and codes.
- Contracts for any work done on an ongoing basis. For example,
lawn maintenance.
Getting these records together early will ensure you’re not scrambling at the last minute to find them. Some of these documents, such as warranties, also make for attractive selling features.