30 Jun 08 
Home Inspection Checklist
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If you are planning to buy a home, you are likely planning to sell a home too. One of the usual steps in the buying and selling process involves having your home inspected. Below is a list of commonly inspected areas of a home.
Many home inspectors will begin their routine with the home’s foundation. Cracks can occur from earth settling below, which can lead to moisture seeping through. If there are cracks in your foundation, be sure to have a professional contractor come and repair the problem.
Expect your roof to be given a thorough overview, as a damaged roof can lead to much bigger problems – often associated from water damage. Reroofing a worn roof can often add value to your home, but only reroof if it is absolutely necessary; otherwise have any damages repaired by a professional roofing contractor.
Once inside your home, an inspector will look for any obvious signs of damage to walls, ceilings, and floors – e.g. stress fractures in walls, water damaged ceilings, and cracked tiles or worn out carpet. Additional interior inspection will include checking the heating and air-conditioning systems, doors and windows, plumbing, leaking sinks, electrical fixtures, and electrical outlets – to ensure they are properly working.
If selling your home, be sure to have as many of these items fixed before your scheduled inspection to prevent having to do so afterwards. In today’s market, most problems that are discovered will likely need to be repaired before listing your property; or you may not receive your home’s full value upon selling.
Tags: buying a home, foundation, home inspection, home inspection checklist, home selling tips, interior inspection, new home inspection, outside inspection, roof repair, selling a home
26 Mar 08 Selling Real Estate – Home Selling Tips from Industry Pros
In today’s real estate market, selling your home may be more difficult than it has ever been. It is a good idea to do the necessary things to make your home stand out from the competition; many selling aspects needed in today’s market were not needed a few years ago. Below are some selling tips from some well-known real estate agents from around the country. More about these tips can be found on each real estate agents’ blog; keep in mind that each tip was taken out of context.
Jay Thompson – How to Sell your Phoenix Home (or not): Tips of the Day
“If you want to sell your home, you need to make it readily available for showing. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to calculate that if no one can see your home, it is difficult to sell it. Restricting showings to specific days and times is not conducive to getting potential buyers into your home.”
Kevin Tomlinson – Secrets for Selling Your Miami Beach Real Estate
“Having a competent, professional agent is more important than ever.”
Tags: home selling tips, housing industry, phoenix new homes, Real Estate, real estate market, sell your home, selling real estate
08 Nov 07 Quick Tips to Impress Home Shoppers and Sell Your Home
You could have dozens of home shoppers visit your house weekend after weekend; but if your home isn’t staged correctly, especially in today’s market, you might not sell your home.
The first thing a potential buyer notices when they arrive at your home is its curb appeal. Does your home have curb appeal? If not, start with mowing the lawn, raking the leaves and gravel, trimming hedges, bushes and trees. Remember, you don’t want your house hiding behind overgrowth.
Once you’ve revealed your home’s facade, ensure that the paint isn’t chipped, gutters are clean, walkways are clear and swept, and that the front door and all windows are cleaned.
The first step to staging your home involves removing any and all clutter. This applies to every single room that open house guests will view.
Start this process by removing personal effects—pictures, paintings, toys and games, books from overcrowded bookshelves, movies, CDs, and even throw-rugs; include any other objects which relate to you and your family on a personal level. Kitchen and bathroom counter tops should be cleared of all decorative items and toiletries.
The next step is to rearrange your furniture to reveal as much visible living space as possible. You may have to remove various pieces of furniture. The garage is a good storage space, but renting a storage unit is ideal.
If your home has been on the market for some time, and you have wallpaper on one or more walls, you’ve found out why.
Remove all wallpaper, patch all holes, replace electrical outlets, repair and if necessary replace floorboards and baseboards. Nobody likes to paint, but everyone loves a fresh coat of paint. Help to add character to your walls and to reduce potential odors by choosing neutral colors of semi-gloss paint.
Clean. Clean every room from top to bottom. Clean dust from air conditioning covers, radiators, ceiling fans and lights. Clean kitchen and bathroom fixtures. Clean carpets, floors, and tile grout.
If you have the means, hire a professional cleaning services. Once all main features and fixtures have been initially cleaned, maintaining their cleanness is a much easier fret.
When preparing your home for weekend visitors, be sure to air-out the house beforehand. Open curtains and blinds to let as much natural light into the house as possible and turn on all inside lights. Hide plug-in air-fresheners and add fresh flowers to the living rooms and dining areas. Turn off all televisions and select a mellow, smooth sounding, CD to be played quietly in the background.
Finally, ensure that your backyard is clutter-free. This includes many of the steps taken to present the front-yard. If you have a pool, make sure it is maintained and that lawn furniture is neatly arranged. It is also a good idea, if possible, to keep pets out of sight.
Keep in mind; if you haven’t already initiated many of the above provisions, you are likely losing out on a potential buyer every time an open house guest visits your home.
Tags: home for sale, home selling tips, home shoppers, homebuyer, potential buyer, sell your home
