Rick Dulai

Real Estate Broker, Investor & Entrepreneur

Phone

(248) 609-1133

What to Expect When Showing Your Home

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A lot of home sellers wonder how to handle showings when their home is on the market for sale. So I am going to tell you exactly what to expect when showing your home, based on how my buyers view homes when we go out.

First of all, you are going to have to get used to the idea that people are going to go through your closets, kitchen cabinets and bathrooms. Remember, they are trying to figure out how the space works as they imagine themselves living there. They are not there just rummaging through your stuff because they are nosy.

Secondly, all appointments made through my office are vetted through the buyer’s agent’s office. We make sure to validate license information so that we know who is coming in and out. Remember, buyers are not permitted to be in a home without their agent. So expect some type of either phone or text confirmation of all showings.

Be Prepared for Critical Feedback.

Another thing to be aware of is that I always do my best to collect feedback on my listings from the buyer’s agent. I always provide feedback myself. Be prepared for critical feedback that you may not like. Just keep in mind that it is not personal. These buyers and their agent do not know you. They are not making judgments about you (like if they say the place felt dirty). Develop a thick skin and try your best to look for objective feedback. Objective feedback could give us insight into how to sell the home.

Make the home available to view as much as possible during reasonable hours.

Typically people will view homes between 9am and 7pm. Sometimes you could get a request for earlier or later than that but that is your decision to accept or deny. The more convenient it is for the buyer to get in and look, the better the chance we can get your home under contract.

I hope you enjoyed this article. You can visit my YouTube Channel for more tips and information about buying or selling a home.

Preparing Your Home for Showings

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Selling your home can be a very exciting process. Seeing your home online and receiving all of the showing requests really makes you feel good, especially when the photos/videos/etc are professionally done. However, preparing your home for showings (and marketing) can be a daunting task.

Have no fear though! I am going to help you keep track of what needs to be done and what to expect. Here’s a checklist to stay on top of everything.

1. De-clutter

Pick-up all the clutter. This seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how people’s clutter can become invisible to them. So go room-by-room and check all floors, table/desk tops and furniture. People need to be able to comfortably walk around your space.

2. Clean

If you don’t want to hire a cleaning crew to come through and do a deep, thorough cleaning, you can always take the time and just do it yourself. Do not skip this step! Vacuumed floors, squeaky clean countertops and mirrors, shiny appliances and sanitized bathrooms make a huge impression. If you decide to do nothing else on this list, that will probably be fine if you complete these first two steps.

3. Stage

This is much more simple than it might seem. If you have that interior designer touch, then have at it! For those of us that don’t, follow this simple rule. Define each room’s purpose and remove everything that doesn’t belong. If you have a bedroom that is being used as crafts room, I suggest clearing it all out and stage it as a bedroom. People want to see each room and how they will use it.

4. Landscaping

This is what we call curb appeal. Mow the lawn, add mulch to the flower beds, trim the bushes, etc. While you’re out there take care of any exterior repairs that might be needed. You want people to fall in love with the house as soon as they pull up. That first impression based on curb appeal is half the battle. I suggest actually getting in your car and driving up to your home and assess your curb appeal.

5. Lighting

Make sure all of the blinds are open and all of the lights work. Also make sure you have consistent light temperatures. That means the bulbs in a particular room are all of the same color. Pay attention to the color temperature usually labeled as daylight, soft white, etc.

Once you have taken care of all of the above, it is time to get your photos, videos and 3D tours done. Maintaining this level of cleaning and maintenance for showings will literally put you above every other showing out there.

Don’t forget to visit my YouTube Channel for more tips and information about buying or selling your next home.

What’s a Pre-listing Home Inspection?

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Getting a pre-listing home inspection is probably my #1 tip for homeowners looking to sell their homes (whether with a professional or on their own). Hire a home inspector to perform a full home inspection just like the buyer will do. Why? Well there are several reasons:

  1. You can identify repairs and maintenance issues. This will give you an opportunity to take care of these items before you go on the market. This can help improve showings too as buyers are smart and savvy and look at everything. When buyers see that a homeowner is proactively addressing issues, they are much more confident in their purchase.
  2. You can eliminate a buyer’s negotiating power. Now keep in mind that no two home inspectors are alike. Also, the same inspector may find different issues on the same property during different inspections. However, I would guess that 99% of the issues that would come up during a buyer’s inspection would have been found and taken care of with a pre-listing inspection. This is very helpful when negotiating because buyer’s will exaggerate the cost of a repair. For example, if you found a leak in the roof due to bad flashing around the chimney, you might get it fixed for a few hundred dollars. The buyer might try to get a new roof out of you!
  3. You can have peace of mind. Knowing what issues may or may not exist in your home will give you peace of mind. If you find something problematic, you now have an opportunity to fix it. Knowing your house is taken care of and you and your family are safe is worth a few hundred bucks for the inspection. If you find that there are no major problems, you can be comfortable and confident in showing your home to potential buyers.

I am certain that a pre-listing home inspection will help you get top dollar for your home. Spending about $400 upfront can easily help you net much more than that with an accepted offer.

Don’t forget to visit my YouTube Channel for or Tips and information about buying or selling your next home!

Schedule a Free Home Selling Strategy Call

What is a Seller’s Disclosure Statement?

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The Michigan Seller Disclosure Act requires a home seller to disclose the condition and other information about the property known to the seller through a Seller’s Disclosure Statement. It is not a warranty by the seller or agent and it is not meant to replace a buyer inspection. Also, agents will not (and cannot) help you fill this out. This is required to be filled out by the homeowner and what they know to be true.

What does a Seller’s Disclosure Statement include?

A Seller’s Disclosure Statement will typically cover appliances, systems and services associated with the home. The homeowner must be truthful in all representations. If you know that the dishwasher doesn’t work, you need to indicate it. However, if you never used the dishwasher and have no idea if it works or not, you can mark “Unknown” truthfully.

How Important is a Seller’s Disclosure Statement?

A buyer and their agent may use the seller’s disclosure statement in order to structure their offer or inspect any concerns they may have over any of the statements. For example, above I mentioned the seller might not know if the dishwasher works. Well, a buyer might want to ask their home inspector to specifically test it. This could influence whether the buyer’s asking price will include a discount for the dishwasher or not.

Property conditions include statements on whether the basement or crawlspace has ever had water leaks. It also asks whether the roof has ever leaked and how old it is (again, if you don’t know you can write in “unknown”). The seller is also asked to disclose any issues regarding the heating system, the plumbing system, electrical system and if there have ever been any infestations.

If a seller were to intentionally make a false statement, they could end up in a lawsuit down the road from their buyer (the new home owner). Let’s say the seller had a foundation leak in the basement and hid it. It was missed by the buyer and their inspection. Years later it was discovered that the leak was still present and had created very expensive damage. If the new home owner could prove the previous homeowner had lied on the disclosure statement, they might decide to hire a lawyer and sue!

Always tell the truth and exactly the truth. There is no need to guess or try to dig in and find out. If you don’t know, just say so.

Here’s a link to the Seller’s Disclosure Statement. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

For even more tips and information about preparing your home for the market, visit my YouTube page here.

Buying a Foreclosure

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I put this quick little video presentation together to give you some insight into the process of buying a foreclosure property. I hope you find it informative. If you are looking for foreclosure properties, just enter your email address in the box to the right over there and you will get immediate access to a live/updated list. As always, please contact me if you have any questions or comments. Enjoy!

Don’t forget to sign-up for your foreclosure list on the right!

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