Is your home currently listed for sale? If so, you can greatly improve the chances for selling your home by making sure that it is market ready. With so many homes available on the market at great prices, buyers have the luxury of choosing among many comparable homes and selecting only those that have addressed areas of concern to most buyers.

A homebuyer will almost always have the home inspected by a licensed home inspector. These inspections are very detailed and often uncover items that a typical homeowner never expects. A buyer may view these repair items as a symptom of neglect in other areas and simply terminate the contract and move to a less problematic home.

By having a home pre-inspected, a seller can have the discovered problems corrected in advance of the buyer’s inspection and leave the buyer feeling good about the state of the home and its upkeep.

Another area that can sometimes derail a transaction is termites. Eastern North Carolina is very prone to termite infestation and they love the moist soil that often exists under homes here. When termites are active or their past infestation is observed, a typical buyer will not move forward without a building contractor’s assurance that no damage has occurred. A termite pre-inspection will allow a seller the opportunity to address the presence of termites and any resulting damage prior to the buyer’s inspection.

A more recent concern for sellers is the issue of flood insurance. This is an area of changing regulation but it is important for the seller and buyer to understand all of the details of living in flood prone areas. When selling a home located in a flood zone, a seller should consider that the home will need to be brought to current FEMA codes in order for the buyer to obtain flood insurance. This starts with a current flood elevation certificate. Most land surveyors can perform this work and supply a FEC. The home may not be compliant with FEMA standards, usually in the form of flood vents. Flood vents have to meet FEMA code for number of vents per the size of the home and their functional operation. There are several area building contractors that can install these vents and bring the home to FEMA standards.

By being pro-active a seller can increase the odds of selling their home by understanding the concerns of buyers prior to the buyer ever seeing the home. If you have questions about any of these important issues or other steps necessary to make your home market-ready, please feel free to contact a local Realtor.

Georgia Atkins is a broker with The Rich Company and can be contacted at ganne@therichcompany.com