| When you're ready to list your home with a real estate agent, it is helpful to be prepared. Sure, I've already covered the best ways to prepare your home to sell, but this is a little different. This pre-listing stuff involves information that can answer questions when they arise later, allowing your agent to speak intelligently on your behalf if anyone should ask. Also, some of this information can help your agent draw up Seller's Net sheets, a worksheet that establishes what you will net from the sale of your home at various selling prices, to give you a snapshot of the financial viability of an offer. For your Listing Appointment, have the following ready: Copy of your Deed: This will assist your agent in preparing the legal description on your property. It is critical that the legal description on your contract is correct to prevent potential problems later. Also, this deed will reflect the names of the homeowners and ensure that all parties involved are included in the act of selling the property. - If there has been a death of a co-owner, you may be required to have ready any legal documents that states that you are allowed to the sell this property, especially a certified copy of the death certificate.
- Divorce settlements may also place additional requirements on the sale of a property.
- If you are acting under a Power of Attorney, have a copy of the POA available for verification. Eventually, you will have to provide a Certified Copy of the POA at closing to be recorded with the deed upon sale.
Payoff amount from your Mortgage Company: This helps to give you an idea of your loan obligations and the bottom line amount you need to net in order to meet these obligations. While this amount will change every month as you make payments and interest accrues, this will still help your agent work out your pricing structure. The Seller's Net information provided by your agent can help you see quickly what they will net from the sale. Average Utility Bills for previous year: Many potential buyers will ask for this information when preparing to make an offer. It's just smart to have this information up front and ready rather than scrambling for it later when an interested party is waiting on this information before making an offer. Last Year's Tax Amount: Potential buyers will also want to know this and while their agent can easily retrieve this information from the county tax records, it's just another thing you can offer as a conscientious homeowner. Current Insurance Information: While not required, it might be a good idea to provide any potential Buyer information regarding what they're insurance rates might be. In our market, flood insurance can shock a lot of out-of-town Buyers unaccustomed to this additional cost. Having this information available to them up front can often help. This is also a good opportunity to have a CLUE report on your home to provide to any potential buyers. Receipts for Major Home Improvements: It's a good idea to have this information available as well, to show up front in good faith, to potential buyers all the work you have put into this home.
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