Stone Realty - Information for Sellers

Helpful Information for Sellers

Tips for Sellers

If you are selling your house, remember that the first impression is very important. You can do many things that are cosmetic and not costly. Let's start with the exterior:

Clean up the yard
Trim overgrown shrubbery
Paint and repair fences
Paint front door
Replace damaged gutters, downspouts, shutters, screens, cracked window panes
Keep lawn trimmed -- adding flowers makes it more inviting

Next is the interior. It must be clean and neat. Painting will freshen up the rooms. The house should be shown with the lights on, drapes open and shades up. Rooms will look larger when there is not a lot of clutter. Carpets should be shampooed.

You should not invest money into improvements that will not give you a return when you sell. Your broker can give you good advice on these matters when taking the listing.

Once you have an accepted offer on your house, you can speed up the process to closing by having the following information or documents readily available.

Copy of deed
Copy of survey
Copy of latest paid tax receipts
If you had a mortgage and it has been paid off, you should have a Satisfaction of Mortgage from your lending institution.
Certificate of occupancy
If additions were made to the house, did they require a permit?
If your house was built before 1978, you will have to fill out a "lead paint disclosure."
By New York State law, all house sales will require a property condition disclosure from the seller.

A potential buyer will ask the following questions. You and your broker should be ready with the answers.

Yearly cost for utilities (heating oil, electricity, gas)
Location of septic system and when it was last pumped out
Location of well or spring. If it is a drilled well, how deep is it?
How old is the roof?

If you are considering putting your property on the market, your broker can help you price your home accurately by using comparable sales of homes in the surrounding area.

When you decide to list your home, remember:
The right broker makes all the difference!