Before your house goes on the market, there are a few things that can be done to help you get the most value for your home. A pre-listing walkthrough is one way your REALTOR® can work with you to make selling your home a successful experience for everyone involved.

What is a pre-listing walkthrough?

The short answer is that a pre-listing walkthrough is a meeting where a REALTOR® comes to your home to talk to you about the home, gather information for pricing the home, and provide you an opportunity to ask questions about their business.

At New Leaf Team, we find the pre-listing walkthrough to be extremely valuable to both our team and our clients. For many clients, it is the first time they will be meeting all 3 of our agents and getting to understand our team dynamic. Rives, Kelly, & John will answer your questions about the current market, how our team works, and what to expect from us.

It's also a chance for us to learn more about your house. Rives, Kelly, and John will ask about the age of major home systems (HVAC, roof, appliances), whether you have any recurrent issues that may need to be disclosed or major repairs that have been completed, and any upgrades that you have made to the property since you purchased it. This information will help us to come up with a suggested price for the home and will also be useful in marketing the home and answering questions from agents once on the market. It also provides us with a chance to make suggestions for improvements that you can make before your home becomes active on the market.

When is a pre-listing walkthrough done?

A pre-listing walkthrough can be done as soon as you decide you are going to sell your home, even if you aren't planning to list the home for several months.  On the shorter end of the spectrum, they can be done only a few days before the house is listed.

If you know you are planning to sell your house in the future, it can be beneficial to start meeting with REALTORS ® and doing the pre-listing walkthrough sooner rather than later. While doing a pre-listing walkthrough far in advance may not help us determine pricing when you are ready to go on the market, it is a good way to discover what things can be done now to set yourself up for a smooth sale later. 

What happens next?

After a pre-listing walkthrough, Rives, Kelly, and John will go back to the office with their notes and start looking at comparable listings that are currently on the market, pending sales, or recently sold. They will use this information and the information they learned about your home to come up with suggested pricing. Then your lead agent will reach out to you with the suggested pricing and their recommendations for the property. Once you've reviewed the suggestions, you'll determine if this is the right time to list your home and sign the listing paperwork with the REALTOR® you've chosen.

What kinds of recommendations do you make?

The recommendations made can range from simple fixes to larger repairs and a variety of factors including the timeframe to sell the home, whether you'll be living in the home while its on the market, and whether you'll be able to do repairs yourself or need to hire a contractor will be considered when making recommendations. But there are a few suggestions that make sense for most homeowners to consider.

• Declutter. Nearly every home can use some decluttering and preparing to move is a great time to start scaling things down. Potential buyers will want to envision themselves in the home, so take time to put away out-of-season items and consider moving some larger pieces of furniture into storage. If you plan on storing boxes in your attic or garage, make sure they are labeled and neatly stacked to give a better impression of the storage space available.
  
  
• Staging Your Home. We typically recommend that 75% of every surface be clear from clutter. This means removing some books from the shelves, putting away kitchen appliances that sit on the counter, and making sure bathroom counters are neat and tidy. If you have items that you use daily on the counters, consider getting a small basket to keep them in so you can quickly store the basket before showings.
  
  
• Freshen Up Landscaping. The first impression anyone will have of your home is the view they see when they pull up to the house on their first visit. Make sure your lawn is maintained, and your garden beds are free of weeds. Consider adding some planters with pops of color if you don't have any flowers blooming. Make sure all lawn equipment and toys are properly stowed away.
  
  
• Schedule Service Calls. If you haven't had your HVAC serviced in a while, before listing is a great time to have a local company check your system to make sure things are running smoothly. The same goes for any other home system that you may have concerns about during the home inspection period.
  
  
• Address Major Issues OR Price Accordingly. If you have a big-ticket item that you know will need to be replaced soon, consider replacing the item before listing your home for sale. If you aren't prepared to replace or repair the items, it can still be helpful to get estimates for the work so you can adjust the price to accommodate the project.

If you have more questions about a pre-listing walkthrough or projects that you can do to improve your home's value before going on the market, call our team at (434) 214-6121. Rives, Kelly, & John would be glad to answer your questions.