Whether you are preparing to sell or buy a home, maintenance and repairs are inevitable. Wear and tear on a house happens over the years, but when you work to get it ready for selling or when you are examining a house to buy, the state of the home becomes clear. You know there are plenty of things that need fixing and cleaning, but there is only so much money and time available. Let’s look at some common maintenance guidelines to follow when buying or selling a home.
Avoiding Pitfalls – Maintenance Must Do’s When Selling a Home
In order to earn top dollar for your property when selling, it is important to address all of the small issues that could scare away prospective buyers. Little problems like broken doorbells and leaky faucets can make buyers wonder if your property also has bigger issues elsewhere. Plus, a little routine maintenance can help you avoid a much bigger problem down the line that could devalue your property and derail that sale. Updating curb appeal is important, but so are many other not so obvious tasks. Inspect all of the major systems of the house, such as heating, plumbing, foundation, roofing, and electrical systems. Here are some of the must-do’s.
- Maintain your curb appeal —remove dead tree limbs, rake leaves, and clean out flower beds.
- Clean all windows in the house.
- Clean out the gutters. Overflowing gutters can damage your foundation, and also lead to drainage issues.
- Have your roof and siding professionally cleaned. It is important to remove things like algae and mold.
- Secure all door hardware and make sure it works properly.
- Clean all carpets and drapery.
- Unclog drains and repair any leaky faucets.
- Check for structural damage. Weak foundations mean doorways, roof structures, walls and support and probably the beams would be unstable.
The kitchen and the bathrooms are the most important areas in the home. These areas are where the buyers will focus their attention when searching for the right home. However, these two areas are the most expensive areas in a home to repair or upgrade. It is important to take care of any maintenance or repairs in these two rooms before you put the house on the market. Generally speaking, the cleaner, less cluttered, and more well-decorated your home is, the more appeal it can have.
Avoiding Pitfalls – Must Do’s When Buying a Home
When buying a home, it is important to deal with any maintenance problems or repairs before making the sellers an offer. Here are some things to keep in mind when navigating the purchase of a home.
- Never assume that a newly renovated home is in perfect condition.
- Always conduct a thorough inspection of the house to make sure all systems are working properly. Consider hiring your own professional inspector, rather than relying on an inspection arranged by the sellers.
- Be sure to set aside money for maintenance and repairs, even if you think all repairs have been done before purchasing the home.
- After an inspection has been done, focus on requesting for repairs to be done that are the priciest and related to safety concerns.
- If it is a competitive market, requesting too many fix-ups could potentially sabotage the sale if there are other offers that are not asking for as much maintenance to be done.
- Know what you plan to renovate anyway. No need to ask for repairs to be done in the kitchen, if you plan to remodel it once you move in.
- Don’t send the seller a huge list of minor repairs that have to be made in a short period of time to meet a closing deadline – it could prompt the seller to walk away from the deal.
Buying and selling a home is a tedious process. It is important to take the time to negotiate the cost of repairs and determine who is responsible for maintenance issues before settling on a home. This major life-changing decision doesn’t have to involve frustration, or hassle. Steer clear of these classic pitfalls and you might close your sale faster and easier than you’d have thought possible.
Finding a reliable real estate agent and lawyer may help ease the burden of buying or selling your home. Boyle and Kahoe Real Estate was founded in April 2019 by Jessica Boyle Tsottles and Robert Kahoe. The brokerage foundation is based on a strong passion for real estate and helping connect clients to the right properties. Jessica Boyle Tsottles is an experienced Realtor in Harford County, and Robert Kahoe is an experienced attorney focusing on real estate, estates and trusts. Together, the two are blending their vast knowledge bases together to start a brokerage that will be able to handle any real estate transaction. Check out their website at https://www.boyleandkahoe.com/ for more information.