With the spring real estate market quickly approaching, now is the time to start preparing should you be planning on considering a sale.
It is interesting to see how many home sellers take it upon themselves to prepare there homes for market prior to calling-in and interviewing a real estate agent.
I consider a real estate agents expertise to be worth tapping before spending any money preparing a home for market. Interestingly enough, the things that were so important in the boom real estate market are not necessarily the same 'must do's' that are required for the new market.
I see this first hand with homes selling in todays arena that sold in the 2004-2007 marketplace. For example, even if the new listing price is correctly reflecting current values and taking into account depreciation from the post housing bubble, problems attached to the house that may have been overlooked by buyers in yesterdays market can be major red flags in todays market.
One of the bigger reasons for this is the inability to assume that you are going to be getting any real 'near term' appreciation out of your home (as you may have seen in the hyper-accelerated appreciation market of yesteryear).
Moving out of the market trend based on the speculation of appreciation has made buyers much more conservative with there purchase choices. Homes with larger structural issues such as foundation problems or other high cost to repair health and safety issues can now turn a house into a red herring.
Before preparing your house for market take the time to speak with a real estate professional about your property and what you may want to consider doing to better your chances of getting top dollar for your home.