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Prepping Your Vacant Home For Sale

April 24, 2023 by Littlehelp

Are you a home owner getting ready to put your property on the market?  Will your home be vacant when you list it?  Here are some ways to protect your investment while also having your home show in impeccable condition:

Prepping your vacant home for sale
Checking for Leaks

Prepping your vacant home for sale is an essential aspect of the home selling process. Many homeowners and real estate agents overlook this critical step, but it can make a significant difference in how quickly your home sells and how much money you can get for it. One aspect of preparing your vacant home for sale is to check for leaky refrigerators, washers, sinks, outdoor hoses, showers, and other appliances. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of checking for these leaks and provide step-by-step instructions on how to prep a vacant home for sale.

 

Why Checking for Leaky Appliances is Important:

Leaky appliances can cause significant damage to your home, including water damage, mold growth, and other structural issues. Water damage can be expensive to repair and can lower the value of your home. Mold growth can also be hazardous to your health, and it can be costly to remediate.

When you’re selling your home, you want to make sure that everything is in good condition, and that includes appliances. By checking for leaky refrigerators, washers, sinks, outdoor hoses, and showers, you can ensure that there are no surprises for potential buyers. You don’t want to lose a sale because of a leaky appliance that could have been fixed beforehand.

Step-by-Step Instructions on Prepping a Vacant Home for Sale:

Step 1: Deep Clean

The first step in prepping a vacant home for sale is to give it a deep clean. This means cleaning every nook and cranny, including the walls, floors, and ceilings. You want to make sure that the home is in pristine condition when potential buyers come to see it.

Step 2: Declutter

The next step is to declutter the home. Remove any personal items, such as family photos, and take out any unnecessary furniture. This will make the home appear more spacious and allow potential buyers to envision themselves living there.

Step 3: Make Repairs

Make any necessary repairs, including fixing leaky appliances, patching holes in the walls, and replacing broken tiles. You want to make sure that everything is in working order, and that the home looks well-maintained.

Step 4: Stage the Home

Staging the home is another crucial step in prepping a vacant home for sale. This means setting up furniture and decor in a way that highlights the home’s best features and makes it look inviting to potential buyers. You can hire a professional stager, or you can do it yourself.

Step 5: Enhance Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is the first impression that potential buyers will have of your home. Make sure that the yard is well-maintained, and consider adding some flowers or other landscaping features. You want the home to look inviting from the outside.

Step 6: Hire a Professional Photographer

Finally, hire a professional photographer to take high-quality photos of the home. Good photos are essential for attracting potential buyers online, and you want to make sure that your home looks its best.

Step 7: Hire a Certified Professional Home Inspector
Prepping your vacant home for sale
Chris Knappett, Your Certified Professional Inspector

Another essential step in prepping a vacant home for sale is to hire a certified professional home inspector to do a pre-listing inspection. A pre-listing inspection can help you identify any potential issues with the home before putting it on the market. This way, you can make any necessary repairs or disclose any issues to potential buyers upfront, which can help you avoid surprises during the closing process.

A home inspector can check for issues such as water damage, foundation problems, electrical issues, and other issues that may not be immediately visible. By having a pre-listing inspection done, you can address any issues before they become a problem for potential buyers, which can make the home selling process smoother and less stressful.

In addition, having a pre-listing inspection can help you price your home appropriately. If there are significant issues with the home, you may need to adjust your asking price accordingly. By knowing about any issues upfront, you can set a realistic asking price that reflects the home’s condition.

Conclusion:

Prepping a vacant home for sale is an important aspect of the home selling process. Checking for leaky appliances, deep cleaning, decluttering, making repairs, staging the home, enhancing curb appeal, and hiring a professional photographer are all essential steps in preparing your home for sale. Additionally, hiring a certified professional home inspector to do a pre-listing inspection can help you avoid surprises and make the home selling process smoother. By following these steps, you can ensure that your home is in its best possible condition and ready to attract potential buyers.

Why Hire Coastal Property Inspections to do your pre-listing inspection?

Top 5 Consequences With Deferred Maintenance

July 5, 2022 by Littlehelp

Top 5 Consequences With Deferred Maintenance

In the long run, keeping your home in good condition on a regular basis outweighs deferring the fixes and repairs to a later time!

By Suzanne Martin, RE Broker and New Agent Trainer

Deferred Maintenance
Deferred Maintenance

 

What is deferred maintenance?

Deferred maintenance is when you postpone repairing issues in your home because of cost, time or just procrastination.  Although the items may appear non-emergency items, fixing it today may be a lot less expensive than having it turn out to be an emergency repair.  Items like leaky pipes under sinks, painting the outside of the house, cleaning your roof and gutters just to name a few.

Here are the Top 5 Consequences with Deferred Maintenance

  1.  Painting the exterior of your home
    1. If you don’t keep a nice coat of paint on the exterior of your home, paint will be chipping and peeling off.  This means that water can start being absorbed by your siding.  In some cases, it could cause the house to have to be resided!  By touching up your home between complete paint jobs, will help create the barrier you need to keep water from being absorbed.  It also look so much better to have a nice, fresh coat of paint on the house.
  2. Roof
    1. Depending on the type of material used for your roof, you will want to maintain a clean roof free of moss and tree debris.  Make sure you trim your trees back so the trees cannot rest on the roof and hurt the materials.  Also replace any cracked or broken shingles\tiles so water cannot get onto the sheathing.   Keeping your roof clean can extend the life of the roof.  Deferring maintenance on the roof could cost you thousands of dollars should you need to replace it.
  3. AC/ Furnace
    1. Furnaces and AC units should be cleaned and inspected on a regular basis.  Home inspectors will suggest an annual clean and tune up.  Dirt, cobwebs and other materials can aid in the erosion of the interiors of the furnace and AC.  By cleaning and inspecting on a regular basis, you will increase the life of your units and save you thousands of dollars from not having to replace.  Also, change those filters every few months!  It’s easy and healthier, too.
  4. Leaky plumbing
    1. You can totally tell when you have a leaky pipe under your sink.  Please.  Just fix it.  It’s a simple fix but if you let it go, you can have a huge consequence later.
      Leaky Plumbing
      Leaky Plumbing

      That leaky little pipe can cause mold behind the sink in your wall, get into the flooring and cause a lot of wood rot.  A $50 fix can actually end up costing you several thousands of dollars!

  5. Deferred maintenance issues when selling
    1. This is the Top 5 Consequence with deferred maintenance! When you have your home on the market and the buyer’s see all of your deferred maintenance, it looks like you haven’t taken care of the house and they would automatically think the home is in not good condition.  You will end up selling your house for a lot less than if you kept up with your deferred maintenance!

After reading the top 5 consequences with deferred maintenance, I hope you consider keeping up with your home’s repairs.  It’s a lot easier to do a repair, one here and one there as opposed to several big and costly items because you’ve deferred the maintenance.

If you are considering putting your home on the market, perhaps you can consider getting a home maintenance inspection.  The home inspector will do a complete home inspection which will outline all of the issues you need to repair or replace.  This could save you a ton of money when negotiating with your buyer.

For more information on home maintenance inspections, give Chris Knappett, Certified InterNACHI Professional Inspector, a call at 949-396-9595 or visit Coastal Property Inspections website.

Thank you for reading our blog on the Top 5 Consequences With Deferred Maintenance

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Coastal Property Inspections
Chris Knappett, Certified Professional Inspector
We Service all of Orange County
949-396-9595

Chris@CoastalPropertyInspect.com

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Why Hire Coastal Property Inspections?

Chris Knappett, Certified InterNACHI Professional Home Inspector
Chris Knappett

We at Coastal Property Inspections challenge the status quo!  Our goal is to provide the real estate community, home buyers and sellers the best and most comprehensive home inspection services in the industry.  We go above and beyond the typical inspection by including infrared imaging, drone inspections, a fast 24 report turn around with a high level of passion, communication, knowledge and engagement with our clients.  You’ll feel content when you’ve  had your home inspection with Coastal Property Inspections.  

When buying a new home, home buyers want to make make sure they are not buying a money pit, so hiring an inspector who is thorough, detail oriented and a good communicator is vital. Chris Knappett, home inspector in Laguna Niguel with Coastal Property Inspections, is just that inspector. He has been certified by InterNACHI (International Association of Certified Home Inspectors), so he is properly equipped to do your inspection. Many inspectors are not certified here in CA, so beware!

​Chris’s vast knowledge and understanding about homes along with his ability to calmly discuss the results of his findings with you, make him a great person for the job. Plus, you will walk away with a summary list of items you may need to repair on the spot. He’s also available to discuss any questions you may have about your inspection and is only a call away.  949-396-9595

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