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SELLERS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How
do you prepare a house to sell?
Doing
whatever you can to put your house's best face forward is very
important if you want to get close to your asking price or sell
as quickly as possible. Short of spending a lot of money, here
are several ideas for making your home show better:
- Sweep
the sidewalk, mow the lawn, prune the bushes, weed the garden
and clean debris from the yard.
- Clean
the windows (both inside and out) and make sure the paint is
not chipped or flaking. And speaking of paint, if your home
was built before 1978, new federal law gives a buyer the right
to request a lead inspection. If you think you might have some
problems, do the inspection yourself beforehand and make any
fixes you can.
- Be
sure that the doorbell works.
- Clean
and spruce up all rooms, furnishings, floors, walls and ceilings.
- It's
especially important that the bathroom and kitchen are spotless.
- Organize
closets.
- Make
sure the basic appliances and fixtures work. Get rid of leaky
faucets and frayed cords.
- Make
sure the house smells good: from an apple pie, cookies baking
or spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove.
- Hide
the kitty litter.
- Put
vases of fresh flowers throughout the house.
- Having
pleasant background music playing in the background also will
help set your stage.
What
repairs should the seller make?
If
you want to get top dollar for your property, you probably need
to make all minor repairs and selected major repairs before going
on the market. Nearly all purchase contracts include an inspection
clause, a buyer contingency that allows a buyer to back out if
numerous defects are found or negotiate their repair.
The
trick is not to overspend on pre-sale repairs, especially if there
are few houses on the market but many buyers willing to buy at
almost any price. On the other hand, making such repairs may be
the only way to sell your house in a down market.
Do
sellers have to disclose the terms of other offers?
Sellers
are not legally obligated to disclose the terms of other offers
to prospective buyers.
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