Introduction To Selling Your Home

When getting your home ready to sell, you need to look at your house in a new way. Think of your house as a product about to go on the market where it is probably competing with brand new housing. It needs to show well – which means clutter-free and well kept.
Today’s homebuyers lead busy lives and may not be interested in taking on major repairs or improvements upon moving in. You need to make your house a “10”. This page will help you spot what is right and what is not so good about your "product". It will give you the opportunity to take corrective action to ensure your house looks fresh, clean and well maintained when the “For Sale” sign goes up.

• Fix It First
  If you need to make improvements to your home, do the work before it goes on the market. Potential buyers are not interested in hearing about your good intentions to look after defects before a transfer of ownership takes place. Even if fix-up work is underway, buyers may not be able to visualize what your home will look like when the work is finished. They will just remember it being in a state of disrepair.
• Professional Inspection: Yes or No?
  A serious buyer may want to have a professional home inspector check your house from top to bottom before making an offer. Even though this guide will help you identify problems on your own, the option of hiring a professional home inspector is open to you as well. If you can afford it, an inspection in advance of putting your home on the market is a good idea. It is your best way of finding and taking care of serious deficiencies before an inspector hired by a potential buyer discovers them.
• Your Niagara Home's Homeowner’s Inspection Checklist
  This practical, easy-to-follow guide for homeowners will help you identify common house problems and deal with them. In it, you will find illustrated how-to tips offering effective solutions for every room of your house.

How's Your Home's Curb Appeal?

Let’s Begin Outside
Check Your House’s Curb Appeal
How does your house look from the street? That is where prospective buyers will be when they first see your home; and, that is where they will form that all-important first impression. Stand at the curb in front of your house and note what you see.
 

• Remove any clutter in your yard.
• Repair cracked or uneven driveway or walkway surfaces.
• If your lawn has bald spots, apply some top dressing and re-seed. Prune trees and shrubs of dead wood. Weed and mulch flower beds, if you have them. If it is the right time of year, consider buying some flower-filled planters to enhance the eye appeal of your property. Make sure your lawn is mowed regularly. Ensure that the composter area is tidy.
• Are your windows and walls clean?
• Does your front door need paint?
• Ensure your eaves and downspouts are clear of debris and in good repair.
• Are your backyard deck and walkways clean? If not, use a power washer and do any necessary painting, staining or sealing.
• If you have a swimming pool, are the deck and pool clean (when in season)?
• Do all outside lights work? Replace any burned out bulbs, and clean fixtures of dirt and cobwebs.
• Is there a shed? Does it look presentable?
• Do windows and exterior doors need recaulking? Even at 6-7 years of age, the caulking may be dried out and in need of replacement.
• Do you have decorative wooden poles on the porch? Is the wood at the bottom in good condition? Overall, does it need a new coat of paint?
• If you have a gate, is it well oiled?
  When you have completed the curb appeal inspection, carefully check the rest of your home’s exterior.
• Will Your Roof and Chimney Pass Inspection?
  If you are uneasy about climbing onto your roof, you can inspect most items from the ground using binoculars. Otherwise, be careful when working or moving about on your roof. Unless roof repair is a simple matter of applying new caulking, you will probably need the services of a professional.
  Check the general condition of your roof. Sagging sections, curled shingles, pooled water on flat roofs and corrosion on metal roofing mean it is time for repair or replacement.
  Both masonry and metal chimneys need to be straight and structurally sound, have proper capping on top and watertight flashing where they penetrate the roof.
  All roofs undergo stress from snow and rain loads, so a truss or rafter may become damaged, resulting in a noticeable small depression. A professional should do this inexpensive repair.
• Examine Your Walls...the condition of your exterior walls directly affects the look and curb- appeal of your home.
  Replace old caulking. You may have to cut or scrape away old caulking to get a good seal. Do not seal drainage or ventilation gaps.
  Is your exterior paint looking good? If you see faded colours and cracked or peeling surfaces, you need to repaint. Be sure to get competitive bids if you hire professional painters.
  You can clean vinyl siding but defects or damage to it and to metal siding usually means replacement.
  Stucco can be repaired but some skill is required to blend patches with existing stucco.

Interior Inspection

A prospective buyer will usually enter through your front door; so, that is where you should begin your interior inspection. You want your buyer to see a neat, clean, well-lit interior. Get clutter out of sight; ensure that carpets are clean and floors are scrubbed and polished; and that walls and trim show fresh paint (preferably neutral or light colours).
Take a sniff. Are there any unpleasant odours in your home? If so, track them down and eliminate them. Ensure all your lights work and are free of cobwebs. You want your home to look spacious, bright and fresh.
If you have considerable family memorabilia, consider thinning it out. Your objective is to help potential buyers feel as if they could live in your home. That mental leap becomes more difficult for them if your house resembles a shrine your family.
Professional realtors and decorators say the most important areas of your home to upgrade and modernize are the kitchen and bathrooms. Buyers also want to see new or recently installed floor coverings throughout.

General Interior

• Check stairs for loose boards, ripped carpeting, and missing or loose handrails and guards.
   
• Most problems with interior walls are cosmetic and can be repaired with spackling compound and paint.
   
• Ensure doors open and shut properly. Minor sticking is normal but excessive binding indicates possible structural problems.
   
• Open and close all windows to ensure they work properly. Fogging between the panes of a sealed window indicates the seal is broken and the unit needs to be replaced.
   
• Keep furniture to a minimum so rooms do not appear smaller than they are. Ensure that traffic can flow in or through rooms unimpeded. If they contain bookshelves or cabinets overflowing with books, magazines and knick-knacks, remove some of these items.
   
• Ensure closets look spacious, organized and uncluttered. Create space by getting rid of old clothes and junk.
  Remove or lock away valuables such as jewellery, coins, currency, cameras and compact discs.

Dealing with your foundation - cracks

Foundations and cracks - the touchiest part of a home inspection.

During many of the home inspections that I have witnessed, the buyer’s main concern is the basement, and more specifically the foundation.  Are there cracks in the foundation, and if so, are they a threat to the structural integrity of the house?  Having owned a home with a leaky… well, let me rephrase that… flooding basement, I understand the inherent angst that comes with the topic.  Perhaps the funniest anecdote in hindsight was the night the elders from our church were due to visit.  There was a heavy downpour of rain that evening and our eaves trough gave out.  Water was entering the entire basement from what seemed like 3 or 4 points.  My wife and I were fighting against the tide (literally it seemed) armed with 2 shop-vacs.  The kids were upstairs full of excitement over this adventure, while we struggled to keep the water level under the 2-3 inch mark.  It was horrible.  Along come the 2 elders, all dressed up nicely.  Without hesitation, they jumped into the fray, forming an alternative eaves trough to deflect the water, and calling up a friend who had an industrial sized water vacuum.  A couple hours later the rain had abated, and the bunch of us enjoyed a well-earned hot coffee, soaked head to toe.

I don’t wish an episode like that on anyone.  Though we look back with amusement to some level, and still respect the efforts of John B. and Gerry D. that night, it was very depressing to see the house that you call home flooding.  That being said, I have learned over the years a lot about foundations and cracks.  It seems that there is not a single home in Ontario, or at the very least the Niagara Region that does not have foundation cracks.  There are no perfect houses.  You can build your house upon a rock, but there will still be some shifting or shrinking, while the building finds its sweet spot.  With concrete foundations, that is just a fact of life.

When you are examining a concrete foundation wall, you want to be able to discern cracks that are “natural” and cracks that pose a threat to the house.  In general, a vertical crack, less than a quarter inch wide, is a naturally occurring shrinkage or settlement crack.  As long as the crack does not continue up into the structure of the house above the foundation walls, it is likely not an issue.  Another way to check a crack is to see whether the two sides of the crack match, like two pieces of a puzzle do.  If the sides do not match, and there is evidence of shearing, then there may be serious concerns to investigate.  Typical shrinkage or settlement cracks will be located in the middle area of a concrete foundation wall.  When the crack is near an end or corner, it is of more concern than one in the middle.  A common area for a crack in a foundation wall is by a window cut-out.  Using common sense, we can imagine that the amount of pressure the house puts on a foundation is higher around a hole in the foundation.  These cracks are the type that will often produce moisture leaks, if the window well and the slope grading outside the home are not ideal.  A sign that moisture is getting in through a crack is the presence of efflorescence.  This is a white, almost powdery residue that water will leave behind.  Though this does indicate that there was moisture present at some point, it does not mean that it is time to turn and run from what may be a sound home.  Even if the crack is allowing some moisture through, there are ways to remedy this that are relatively inexpensive.  For example, the cost to inject a crack, by a professional, runs about $400 per crack.  A small investment in the big picture of things.

Don’t think, though, that I am playing down concerns over foundation issues.  I am not.  But, when dealing with a poured concrete foundation, there are accessible and cost-friendly options available.  If your foundation is stone or block, there are likely more concerns, and less options to choose from.  A crack in a block foundation will not typically be vertical, but like a staircase, follow the mortar paths between the blocks.  Locating the actual source of incoming moisture with a block foundation can be difficult.  This is where a remedy has the possibility to get into much higher costs, and you need to bring in a number of experts to analyse the problem, and provide a quote on the repair costs.  I do know a number of basement and foundation experts, and they are always willing to take a look at a foundation and propose a solution.  If you are a homeowner, and there are foundation issues with your home, call me and I will get you in touch with them.  If you are a prospective buyer and we come across a building with some visible issues, the best time to discuss them is right there while they are in front of us.  In some cases, the best decision is to move on to the next house, and cross this one off our list.  But let’s make sure that to some degree we know what we are looking at, and what that means before we eliminate what may otherwise be a great home for you.  Communication and knowledge are the keys.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me.  I welcome your input.

5 Mistakes Sellers Make

Are you thinking of selling your home soon?  The best thing that you can do right now is to prepare both yourself and your home to be in the best condition for the selling process.  We call this being "Fit To Sell".  The link below is a short video entitled, "5 Mistakes Sellers Make".  It is informative and loaded with useful information for anyone considering a home sale.  Take a look, and then call us at Your Niagara Home to discuss ways that we can help get your home, "Fit To Sell"

 5MistakesSellersMake