Your Pre-Listing Checklist

When it comes time to list your home, you’ll want to come up with a list of small repairs and other tweaks that you can do to try and get the most out of your property. If you don’t make a list, you might miss things that could bring down what potential buyers are willing to pay for your home. While there might be a lot of things to consider depending on the specifics of your home, here are some items that you should definitely double check before putting up a listing for your property.

The Paint

How do the walls in your home look? If it’s been a few years since they’ve seen a coat of paint you should probably consider giving them a fresh coat. This is especially true if previous work was done in a hurry or has obvious spots where patches were done and covered up with newer paint. A sloppy or mismatched paint job could turn off some potential buyers since they’ll likely see it as a task they’ll need to undertake as soon as they buy the house.

Roofing and Siding

While you’re considering things that might be a big red flag for possible buyers, step outside and take a look at the siding, brickwork and roof. Even if you only have a few problems out there, to someone looking at the house, that could raise questions about leaks, insects and other issues the buyers might face in the future. If you want to get the most out of your home, then it’s worth replacing broken shingles or fixing bits of damage or discoloration on your home’s exterior.

Faucets and Plumbing

Leaks, drips and other plumbing issues are pretty common, and it’s easy to get used to them over time. If someone is shopping for a new home, however, a notable drip from a faucet or evidence of a leak can be big warning signs. Nobody wants to pay full price for a home if they might be facing water damage in the near future, so taking care of any drips or leaks, as well as stains that they might have caused, is a great move to make before you list.

General Landscaping

Sometimes it’s tempting to not worry too much about the landscaping when listing your home. If the landscaping has obviously been ignored, though, it may leave potential buyers wondering what else hasn’t been taken care of. Even if you just spend a little time trimming up the shrubs and eliminating some unsightly weeds, you can make a big difference on the first impression made to someone considering a purchase.

Clutter and Trash

Just as with landscaping, having clutter or other trash around can make a really bad impression when someone is looking at your home. There may be good reasons why things look a bit cluttered, but a potential buyer isn’t going to know what they are and quite likely won’t bother to ask. Take the time to straighten up and get rid of the garbage before your home goes on the market.

Obvious Repairs

There are many other small repairs that are worth making before your home gets listed. Any little bits of damage or discoloration should be evaluated to see if they can be repaired. While you may not have the time or budget to fix everything, you should still attempt whatever repairs you can. Your home obviously doesn’t need to be perfect, but the better it looks the higher the eventual closing price will be.

Declutter Each Room

As we live in our homes, we generally accumulate a lot of stuff. Sometimes we have furniture that makes rooms look small, personal family photos on the walls or on tabletops, or we may have tchotchkes on every shelf that speak to who we are as individuals. When listing your home for sale, try to pack away as many of these personalizations as possible. Also, think about getting a storage unit to store any large furniture that may be making your space look smaller than it actually is. Taking these steps will help potential buyers to see the true size of your rooms and to imagine themselves living in your space. Sometimes it may be hard to figure out which things should be packed away and which can stay. In that case, enlist the assistance of a trusted friend or your Real Estate agent to point out things that can stay vs. things that should be stored until you move into your new home.

If you follow this simple checklist, your home will sell in no time!