Author: Corey Boldt
There’s a lot that goes into preparing a house to sell — cleaning, organizing, updating, and staging. Many of the projects focus on making your house look appealing, spacious and organized. No question, these are necessary to get your house ready for potential buyers.
What about getting your house ready for inspection? So often, sales fall apart at the home inspection. The surest way to lose a sale is to leave repairs for the buyer — an avoidable pitfall when you’re trying to sell.
Take the time over the course of a few days to walk through your entire home and make a thorough list of things that might need fixing or improving. Note which repairs are easy DIY fixes versus those that you think will be more expensive and might take a professional. This includes both interior and exterior areas of your house.
Before tackling home repairs that require large investments, consult your agent! Not all repairs are necessary and without the advice of an expert you run the risk of sinking money into improvements that won’t provide a return or improve the value of your home. Your agent can help you prioritize your repair list — determining which repairs are mission critical to passing inspection.
Use the list below as guide for what to add to your possible list of repairs as you do a thorough and complete walk through of your home.
Repair Pro Tips – Things to Look For & Discuss with Your Agent:
Interior
- Scuffs, marks and other blemishes on your floors, doors, walls, ceilings, baseboards, and inside closets and cupboards
- Broken or worn down appliances like dishwashers, ovens and ranges
- Broken window seals, door knobs, hinges and locks
- Safety hazards: broken stairs or handrails, loose electrical wiring
- Worn out hardwood floors
- Missing or broken baseboards
- Broken light switches and burnt out light bulbs
- Leaky or broken toilets and sinks
- Missing or broken tiles in the kitchen and bathroom
Exterior
- Worn down or ill-fitted siding on the exterior of your house
- Poorly functioning garage doors
- Safety hazards: uneven sidewalks, large cracks in cement, broken stairs or handrails
- Moss growth on the roof and missing shingles
- Broken or missing fence boards
Are you confident you’re investing in the right repairs? Contact us at corey.boldt@kw.com or 414.807.6812 to speak to one of our experienced agents and design consultants for advice.
About the author
Corey Boldt is the owner and heart of the Double Boldt Real Estate team. As a lifelong resident of Wauwatosa, Corey couldn’t imagine raising her family in any other community, and nothing feels more at home to her than working with the people directly in and surrounding this area. With 15 years of experience in sales management and 5 years of experience in residential real estate, Corey has the business background needed for negotiating contracts and the realty expertise wanted to find your dream home. Corey works with you through every step of the process—buying, selling, staging—to deliver consistent results and help you find exactly what you’re looking for in a home.
