Property Maintenance: Preparing Your Property for Sale

In the real estate world, the assumption is that realtors exist to provide an immediate solution for most real estate challenges: price, mortgage, appraisal, inventory, delayed closing, decluttering, and recommending the best offer. Realtors do not practice in a vacuum; we work with other vendors to ensure we get to the closing table. Most importantly, we work with you. As we work hard to get our clients through the home selling process, we simultaneously address the issues that could lead to poor outcomes as soon we identify them, even if you had no plans to do those things. One such is getting your home ready to sell.  

Preparing a home for sale is relatively easy for homeowners who continuously clean, declutter and fix problems in the house as they surface. Failure to observe regular maintenance of their property means that contractors would do several repairs to prepare the home for sale. 

Property maintenance, in its simplest form, is doing the necessary work to ensure that your home and lot are in good condition. From structural checks to pest control, landscaping, and painting, regular property maintenance helps you avoid spending more money for repair or replacement when you want to sell. 

Regular maintenance of plumbing, electrical, and HVA systems is one of the most critical areas you can focus on to ensure that your home is in top condition. Some companies offer professional maintenance services for these systems for as low as $8 a month. You can also have professionals come to your home to clean your ducts, chimney or flush your water heater. Having your roof checked once a year or after a severe storm or other weather event is also important. 

However, there are low hanging fruits; maintenance that you do not have to sign a vendor to provide for you. These include regular lawn mowing, washing your driveway, caulking as needed in bathrooms, painting, washing your windows, replacing light bulbs, or cleaning the house. Putting in the work of maintaining your home can sometimes be a pain, but it is often the difference between selling your home for a premium or selling below market. 

Nobody wants to pay top-dollar for a property that looks uncared for. Even if your goal from the first day you bought the house was to sell it as soon as possible, give it some tender loving care. Buyers can tell.