Home Sellers Tips

It's common knowledge that selling a home or any piece of real estate is the biggest single financial transaction that you will make in the course of your lifetime. It's not a decision to be taken lightly or to be rushed into; you will need to make a series of carefully thought-out decisions that will result in a careful and accurate assessment of the condition of the property and what you need to do to sell it.  Of course there are many books written on the subject of what you should be looking for, but there's a general consensus about the kind of questions that you should ask yourself.

One of the first concerns is with the kind of zoning the property has. Specifically, you'll need to know if the property you are selling as any unauthorized accommodations.  If the house is yours you will know if there are any illegal basement apartments, and quite often laws concerning these vary from state to state.  However, if you're selling the property on behalf of someone or as a way to earn a living for yourself, you’ll need to carefully look at this kind of potential issue. And there are more legal matters you’ll need to look at as well. You need to be aware of any encroachments, unregistered easements, or unregistered rights of way as well.

Some of the concerns that you will need to take a look at are a lot more basic.  For instance is the property that you're trying to sell connected to a public water system?  As well, potential buyers will want to know if the property is connected to a public sewer system. These may sound like trite examples, but these little things or snags can often trip up what would otherwise be a sure sale. Remember that you will need to fully disclose any problems that you are aware of with well water and its quality and quantity, as well as how many gallons per minute are available. 

In many states, there are laws that will force you to disclose any of the serious problems that you are aware of with the fundamental structure of the property that could compromise the foundation’s safety. However, not all the things that you’ll need to disclose to potential buyers are about the house and what comes with the purchase.

If you’re selling a condominium, make sure that you’re clear about all the common elements that make up the development so that you can properly present this information to any prospective buyer. These are the kinds of considerations that someone looking at the property will want to look at in relation to their needs as well as the operational and maintenance costs. When selling, it is essential that you know as much as possible about the property that you are trying to sell to avoid any future legal problems down the road.   

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