How to Make Your House Easier to Buy

With so many tools and information sources available, the homebuyer is even more sophisticated and demanding than ever. In addition to wanting to know everything about your home, they want details about the neighborhood, community, culture, schools, shopping and recreation.

Such information is actually a powerful sales tool for you!

By making it easy for buyers to learn everything there is about your home and neighborhood, you can actually influence the sale. Working with a Real Living agent who is intimately familiar with your neighborhood will help ensure that these details are well-marketed to potential buyers. You should also be sure to share any key information about your home or neighborhood with your Real Living listing agent so s/he can use it to more effectively and efficiently market – and sell – your home. You'll also want to make sure that your agent provides as much information about your home as possible – on the Web. Time-starved home buyers like to use the Web as a convenient way to hasten the home search process. Oftentimes, it's the homes that are marketed online, with the most information, photos and details, that sell the fastest and for top dollar.

Here's a sample of the kinds of information you may wish to make available to potential buyers:

• Fixtures or furnishings you plan to include in the sale of your home, including draperies, blinds, and appliances.
• Warranty information on appliances that go with the house.
• Records of maintenance costs, such as utilities (especially budgets), property taxes, insurance, and trash/recycling pick up.
• Homeowners' (or condo) association bylaws, financial statements, maintenance fees, and special assessments.

Here's a list of information your agent should be prepared to make available online:

• Multiple photos of your home (inside and out, showing your home's best features)
• Property, school and tax information
• A brief description of your home's best features
• Mapping tools to show your home's location
• Home details including parking, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.
• Contact information for your agent, so interested buyers can schedule showings online

Your Real Living agent can also provide a buyer market analysis, which provides community facts, information on average home prices, public and private school data, plus a summary of area conveniences like shopping centers, medical facilities, parks and museums.

While this will give you a great start, be sure to ask your Real Living listing agent what questions they hear during open houses, just to see if there's additional, helpful information you can provide.