Sign In Questions? 1.618.233.5399

Email Address

Password

Sign In

• Home
• Buying

  • Find Listings

  • Search Entire MLS
  • Search by City
  • Search by Address
  • Search by School
  • Search by Subdivision
  • Search by Zip Code
  • Search by MLS Number
  • Search by Map

  • Buyer Info

  • Our Guarantee
  • First Time Buyers
  • Out of Country Purchasers

  • Search Tools

  • Listings via Email
  • Bookmarked Listings
  • Saved Searches
  • MLS/IDX Help
  • Mortgage Calculator
  • Home Finder
• Selling

  • Seller Tools

  • Marketing Plan
  • Free Market Analysis
  • Short Sale Info
  • Listed in Your Neighborhood
• Madison CO

  • Communities

  • Alhambra Homes
  • Alton Homes
  • Collinsville Homes
  • Dorsey Homes
  • Edwardsville Homes
  • East Alton Homes
  • Glen Carbon Homes
  • Godfrey Homes
  • Highland Homes

  • Communities

  • Marine Homes
  • Maryville Homes
  • Moro Homes
  • Pontoon Beach Homes
  • Saint Jacob Homes
  • Troy Homes
  • Wood River Homes
  • Worden Homes
• St Clair CO

  • Communities

  • Belleville Homes
  • Dupo Homes
  • Caseyville Homes
  • Fairview Heights
  • Freeburg Homes
  • Lebanon Homes
  • Marissa Homes
  • Mascoutah Homes

  • Communities

  • Millstadt Homes
  • New Athens
  • O'Fallon Homes
  • Scott AFB Homes
  • Shiloh Homes
  • Smithton Homes
  • Swansea Homes
• Scott AFB

  • Communities

  • Belleville Homes
  • Fairview Heights
  • Freeburg Homes
  • Lebanon Homes
  • Mascoutah Homes
  • New Baden Homes
  • O'Fallon Homes
  • Shiloh Homes
  • Swansea Homes
  • Trenton Homes
  • Troy Homes
• Clinton CO

  • Communities

  • Albers Homes
  • Aviston Homes
  • Bartelso Homes
  • Breese Homes
  • Carlyle Homes
  • Damiansville Homes
  • Germantown Homes
  • Keyesport Homes
  • New Baden Homes
  • Trenton Homes
• Monroe CO

  • Communities

  • Columbia Homes
  • Hecker Homes
  • Red Bud Homes
  • Valmeyer Homes
  • Waterloo Homes
• About

  • Learn More...

  • Contact
  • SW Illinois Team
  • Blog
  • Representation
  • Privacy Policy

• Home
• Sign In
• Register
• Sitemap
• Help

Preparing Your House for Sale

Posted by Melissa Lee on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 3:12pm.

Home sellers are often advised on preparing the presentation of their home.  Painting, decorating, staging, landscaping, curb-appeal, kitchen & bath remodeling top the list.  Often overlooked, the systems, structure, and home maintenance will also be important to a buyer’s decision making process. 

When preparing your house for sale, also consider the maintenance and condition of the home.  Water in the crawl space, cracked trusses in the attic, sloping floor, problematic gutters, missing shingles, active termites or previous termite damage, among many other possible issues will all be discovered in a home inspection.  Buyers are well coached by their home inspector and will expect questionable issues to be addressed by the seller.

In addition, city occupancy local codes are continually updated.  Don’t be surprised if the house was just built a few years ago and now it fails occupancy inspection.  Handrails, fire protection, carbon monoxide detectors, electrical grounding and unprotected wiring top the list of typical inspection items needing correction.

Proactive sellers will have issues corrected during the preparation for sale and will be ready to respond to buyer remediation requests.  Your real estate agent will be able to point you in the right direction for inspectors, contractors, and resources for maintaining or improving your home’s systems.  Your real estate agent will also be able to tell you about local buyer trends which will help you in preparing your house for sale.

---

---

Leave a Comment

• Your Name * Your Email * (private)
• Website
• Comment *

Submit Comment

Blog Navigation

• All Categories
• 365 Things To in SW Illinois
• Preparing a Home for Market
• Open Houses
• Agency
• Guest Bloggers?
• Distressed Homeowners
• Buying A House
• Featured Listings
• Area Information
• Wanted-to-Buy

Blogroll

• Madison WI RE Blog
• Dallas-Fort Worth RE Blog
• Panama City RE Blog
• San Diego County RE Blog
• Atlanta, Georgia RE Blog
• Bellingham WA RE Blog
• Branson, MO RE Blog
• Chicago RE Blog
• Summerville Bankruptcy Lawyer
• Statewide Investment Properties
• Georgia Short Sale Team

Archives

• February 2011
• December 2010
• November 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• July 2010
• June 2010

Find Your Property...

City

Select a City Addieville Albers Alhambra Alorton Alton Ashley Aviston Baldwin Bartelso Batchtown Beckemeyer Belleville Benld Bethalto Boulder Breese Brighton Brussels Bunker Hill Butler Cahokia Carlinville Carlyle Caseyville Centralia Chester Chesterfield Coffeen Collinsville Columbia Cottage Hills Coulterville Damiansville Donnellson Dorsey Dow Dubois Dupo East Alton Edwardsville Ellis Grove Elsah Evansville Fairmont City Fairview Heights Farmersville Fieldon Fillmore Freeburg Fults Germantown Gillespie Girard Glen Carbon Godfrey Golden Eagle Grafton Granite City Greenville Hamburg Hamel Hardin Hartford Harvel Hecker Hettick Highland Hillsboro Hoyleton Irving Jerseyville Kampsville Keyesport Lebanon Lenzburg Litchfield Livingston Madison Maeystown Marine Marissa Maryville Mascoutah Medora Millstadt Moro Mount Olive Mulberry Grove Nashville New Athens New Baden New Douglas New Memphis New Minden Nokomis Oakdale Ofallon Ohlman Okawville Palmyra Panama Percy Piasa Pierron Pinckneyville Pocahontas Pontoon Beach Prairie Du Rocher Raymond Red Bud Renault Roxana Sawyerville Shattuc Shiloh Shipman Smithton Sorento South Roxana Sparta St Jacob St Libory St Rose Staunton Steeleville Swansea Tilden Trenton Troy Valmeyer Venice Walsh Walshville Waterloo Wilsonville Witt Wood River Worden

Property Type

• Residential
• Land / Lots
• Commercial
• Multi Family

Price Range

Min $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $175,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $425,000 $450,000 $475,000 $500,000 $600,000 $700,000 $800,000 $900,000 $1,000,000 $1,250,000 $1,500,000 $1,750,000 $2,000,000 $2,250,000 $2,500,000 $2,750,000 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $3,500,000 $3,750,000 $4,000,000 $4,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,500,000 $6,000,000 $6,500,000 $7,000,000 $7,500,000 $8,000,000 $8,500,000 $9,000,000 $9,500,000 $10,000,000

Max $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $175,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $425,000 $450,000 $475,000 $500,000 $600,000 $700,000 $800,000 $900,000 $1,000,000 $1,250,000 $1,500,000 $1,750,000 $2,000,000 $2,250,000 $2,500,000 $2,750,000 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $3,500,000 $3,750,000 $4,000,000 $4,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,500,000 $6,000,000 $6,500,000 $7,000,000 $7,500,000 $8,000,000 $8,500,000 $9,000,000 $9,500,000 $10,000,000

Min $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 $3,500 $4,000 $4,500 $5,000 $5,500 $6,000 $6,500 $7,000 $7,500 $8,000 $8,500 $9,000 $9,500 $10,000

Max $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 $3,500 $4,000 $4,500 $5,000 $5,500 $6,000 $6,500 $7,000 $7,500 $8,000 $8,500 $9,000 $9,500 $10,000

Property Sub-Type

All 1 STORY 2 STORY 1 1/2 STORY BI-LEVEL CONDO VILLA TRI-LEVEL 2+ STORY MOBILE HOME MANUFACTURED RAISED RANCH TOWNHOUSE MODULAR QUAD-LEVEL EARTH HOME AFRAME

Bedrooms

Min. - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Max. - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Bathrooms

Min. - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Max. - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Lot Size

Min 1/4 Acre 1/2 Acre 1 Acre 1 1/2 Acre 2 Acres 2 1/2 Acres 3 Acres 5 Acres 10 Acres 15 Acres 20 Acres 25 Acres 30 Acres 40 Acres 50 Acres 100 Acres

Max 1/4 Acre 1/2 Acre 1 Acre 1 1/2 Acre 2 Acres 2 1/2 Acres 3 Acres 5 Acres 10 Acres 15 Acres 20 Acres 25 Acres 30 Acres 40 Acres 50 Acres 100 Acres

Subdivision

MLS® Number

Address

County

• No Preference Adams Bond Calhoun Christian Clinton Effingham Fayette Franklin Greene Jackson Jefferson Jersey Johnson Knox Macon Macoupin Madison Marion Monroe Montgomery Morgan Peoria Perry Piatt Randolph Saline Sangamon Scott Shelby St Clair Tazewell Union Washington Williamson Woodford

High School

Property Features

• Swimming Pool
• Waterfront
• Fireplace

... or try our Advanced Search