Home Selling Tips, Set the Stage, #5 Home Repairs

Tip #5 of my Home Selling Tips discusses home repairs. Homebuyers will want to conduct a home inspection prior to committing to the purchase of a property. If you know a home inspector will find something wrong with your house, it makes sense to fix it first for several reasons.

Home inspection reports that are pages & pages long will alarm homebuyers. Even when the repairs are minor, such as leaking faucets, electrical outlets that aren’t working, or an underperforming appliance that needs to be serviced, the longer the list, the bigger the red flag. Homebuyers don’t want to feel they’re purchasing a home that’s been neglected.

And many simple home repairs can be made by the homeowner prior to a formal home inspection, such as changing washers on faucets or filters on air conditioners or furnaces. Once identified by in an inspection report, homebuyers may request receipts from contractors verifying repairs. So up front repairs can save you cash.

If you’re unsure of condition, you can hire an inspection service prior to listing your house for sale, thereby allowing home repairs to be found & remedied up front. Then you won’t have to wonder if a home inspection might cause a homebuyer to walk away from the purchase of your property.