If you live in Raleigh, NC and are trying to sell your home, proper maintenance will help you find a buyer. Here are common maintenance mistakes to avoid.
Are you ready to sell your home for cash in Raleigh, NC, and already feeling overwhelmed? Before you even begin cleaning, staging, and marketing the property, you need to take care of needed maintenance and repairs to appeal to buyers. Remember that if buyers view a home that isn’t well-maintained, this may cause them to move on.
Read on to learn the top seven common maintenance mistakes most home sellers make when it comes to maintenance!
1. Procrastination
This is one of the top mistakes home sellers and homeowners in general make when it comes to their home maintenance. They know that a repair or touch-up needs to be addressed, but since it doesn’t seem urgent at the time, they wait.
Although this is understandable, especially if they don’t have a large home maintenance budget, these issues can end up becoming far costlier for home sellers in the future.
To avoid this, sit down and make a list of every maintenance item that needs to be addressed. Then, talk with your realtor or home inspector on which items are the most urgent.
Schedule these repairs on the calendar on your phone, and if they’re too costly open up a separate saving account that’s specifically for home maintenance and repairs.
2. Water Damage
No matter where you live, it’s going to rain, and if you’re not careful water damage can lead to costly repairs. Some homeowners and sellers choose to ignore the root of the problem and paint over the damaged floors or walls that water damage causes.
Unaddressed water damage can lead to rotting and mold that will need to be completely eradicated.
There are simple ways to completely prevent water damage, such as:
- Cleaning gutters and downspouts
- Checking appliances for leaks
- Checking water pressure
- Monitoring water bill
If you notice a leak, don’t hesitate to inspect it!
3. DIY Repairs
Everyone wants to save money when it comes to home maintenance, but if you’re not familiar with a repair, then use caution when you’re doing your own research. If the damage is bad enough, you may end up spending more time and money in the long run to fix a botched job.
Doing your own repairs on appliances could void warranties, and you’ll need to use even more caution when you’re dealing with electricity. If you do want to start doing small jobs around the home on your own, make sure you have a well-stocked toolkit beforehand so you don’t need to make constant trips to the hardware store.
4. Ignoring the Small Things
Owning a home comes with one huge positive–it’s your space and your space alone. However, this positive can also quickly become a negative if you’re not keeping up with all the little maintenance tasks each week. Here are a few tasks that, if ignored, can lead to huge problems and expensive annoyances:
- Loose tiles
- Rotting wood
- Leaking faucets
- Accumulated dust or dirt
- Clogged HVAC filter
You can see how, if ignored, any number of these fairly straightforward maintenance tasks can lead to needed appliance repairs or replacements, insect infestations, mold, and more.
5. Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping is an important part of protecting the inside of your home from the elements. It allows you to seal gaps, cracks, and other crevices. When there’s well-applied weatherstripping, you’ll be saving yourself energy costs each month and avoiding costly water damage.
Remember to be patient when it comes to installing weatherstripping yourself–read the instructions before you even start. If you install it improperly, remove it and begin again.
6. Roof Repairs
Roof repairs are another important maintenance item that can often become neglected. A well-maintained roof helps with energy savings, protects you from the elements, and will be far sturdier when it comes to hurricanes and storms. Maintaining your roof should be scheduled in your calendar, and it can be simple as:
- Removing loose debris
- Checking for loose flashing, nails, and bolts
- Checking for peeling or lose shingles
- Removing moss and mold
- Removing debris from gutter and downspouts
You’ll want to schedule a regular roof inspection at least once a year to ensure there’s nothing you’ve missed.
7. Power Washing
Regularly power washing the exterior of your home will approve the look of its exterior as you wash away mildew, dirt, and algae. However, a common mistake that homeowners and home sellers make is using too much pressure on certain materials in their homes.
For instance, if you’re standing too close to a surface with too much pressure, you can easily carve into your walls or your wooden decks. In contrast, some homeowners don’t use the right amount of pressure and your home won’t be as clean as it could be. Using only water also contributes to this issue–many professionals use a combination of water and cleaning solutions.
Avoiding Common Maintenance Mistakes for a Sellable Home
Many of these common maintenance mistakes all have one thing in common–homeowners aren’t carving out the time necessary in their schedules to deal with them. If you allow simple, small maintenance tasks to build up over time, you’ll soon find that you’re spending even more time and money to rectify larger issues in the future.
Remember that if your home has a variety of maintenance issues that needs to be addressed like an old roof and water damage, you won’t be able to sell the home for the amount you want.
Ready to sell your house quickly and for cash–no repairs needed? Contact us today to get started!