Ensuring that your home is ready to sell is a crucial step to ensure that you successfully sell your home.  Prior to listing your home:

1. Clean and then clean some more – your home needs to be in show ready at all times.  A dirty home will cloud a potential buyer’s opinion and likely result in a lost sale
2. Eliminate smells – strong smells (both good and bad) can be a real turn off to potential buyers.
3. Clear out the clutter – you want buyers to focus on how great the space is, not how messy it is.
4. Stick to neutral colors – unfortunately many buyers can’t see pass bright colors or unique wall designs. Consider repainting the walls with neutral colors.
5. Keep the decor simple – unique decorations, furniture and art can distract a buyer from being able to visualize themselves in the home.
6. Let there be light – open up all of the windows to let in natural light and consider adding floor or table lamps in areas that are darker.  A bright room looks bigger and more inviting
7. Get rid of bulky furniture – the bigger the furniture, the smaller the room looks
8. Organize your closets – storage space is a huge selling point and a messy closet can detract from what very well may be incredible storage space.
9. Take care of the little stuff – if there is a list of little things you’ve been meaning to do, do it now.  Fix the leaky faucet or paint over the scuffs from when you first moved in your furniture.  It’s the little things that buyers have a tendency to notice the most.
10. Dress up the curb – the exterior of your home is the first thing that buyers will see and first impressions are everything in real estate.  Trim your shrubs, weed your flower beds, fix any peeling paint, clean the siding and make your home look inviting.

Real estate is often hurry up and wait.  Once your home is actively listed for sale, there isn’t much for you to do until you receive an offer.  The biggest thing to keep in mind is that a buyer’s agent can request a showing at any time, so keeping your home in “show ready” condition is extremely important.

North Carolina is a due diligence state, meaning that the buyer has the right to walk away from a contract during the due diligence period without losing his/her earnest money.  However, the buyer generally pays a non-refundable due diligence fee in exchange for this.  The due diligence period is a mutually agreed upon time period in which the buyer does all of his/her inspections, surveys, appraisals, etc.  As the seller, you are obligated to make your home available for the inspections.  You may also receive a repair request from the buyer after the inspections, which can then be negotiated. After the due diligence period ends, the buyer’s earnest money is non-refundable.

Depending on whether or not the due diligence period has expired, the buyer may get back his/her earnest money.  Either way, once the contract is officially terminated, you are free to put your home back on the market for sale.  It’s not the end of the world if this happens.  A good real estate agent will know how to market the house properly to avoid a terminated contract from detracting from your home’s appeal.

Per the contract, you are required to move all of your belongings upon closing unless other arrangements have been made.  It is a courtesy to the buyer to have your possessions moved no later than the day before closing to allow the buyer one last walk through of the property to ensure no damage has occurred during the move.  Utilities should be moved out of your name prior to the day of closing as well.  However, keep in mind that you are required to have the utilities on for all of the buyer’s inspections, etc.  It is also a courtesy to the buyer to transfer the utilities, rather than have to reconnect them to avoid large fees.