Before you List
Posted by Carly Anderson on Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 10:30 AM
By Carly Anderson / October 27, 2022
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Whether you're currently living in your home or selling a family home wrapped up in probate court, there are a few things you should know (and take action on) before letting your listing agent market your home to the public. We've recently run into a few "in escrow" snags here at Carly Anderson Homes due to a couple of unknown property issues, so we thought it would be a great time to discuss this not so fun topic! Unknown issues are expected and typically discovered during the buyer's home inspection, but large malfunctions in your home can cause unnecessary buyer concern, drawing out your buyer's contingency period, instigating more inspections and causing easily avoidable stress. If the issues are larger than just adjusting your water pressure, this can cause your buyers to become alarmed and remorseful, leading them to the dreaded "What else is wrong with this house?" question.
We're moving away from the market where buyers were lucky just to get into escrow. We're coming into the market where buyers are now beginning to take their time, not overbid and not make rash decisions about that seamingly perfect home they just wrote an offer on. They're more calculated and with increasing inventory, have more options. Getting into escrow with today's buyer means negotiating with more of a 50/50 mindset. If and when issues with your home arise, buyers are now asking for those repairs to be made within the escrow. If the escrow is short, buyers are most certainly asking for what's known as a Repair Request credit, so they're able to combat the home's issues after closing. If the issues are too large and seem too daunting for a buyer to manage, they're not shy about cancelling the escrow and moving on to a home that appears to need less work. A cancellation for you means additional market time, more showings, another round of negotiations and another round of buyer inspections. It could also mean less money for your home depending on how the market is moving and if rates are increasing. Who wants to go through all of this again?! One sure fire way to avoid this is to have your own, up front, home inspection. Getting your own inspection will help you to uncover your homes not-so-great points, so you can address these problems before a buyer catches them. This will give your buyers warm and fuzzy feeling about moving forward with your home, making it a win/win for everyone. If another issue arises such as high insurance premiums, a lender snag or one of the other 10,000 things that can surface during an escrow, it won't seem like such a big deal. Keeping your buyer's nerves calm by way of home preparedness is just one of the few things you can do to assist in ensuring a smooth escrow!
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