Tips and advice for selling a homeor townhouse/condo. Learn how to properly stage your home and get it ready for sale. Find out how you can ensure you sell your home for top dollar and in the shortest amount of time.

Safer alternatives to rock salt

The snow season is here and in the past I have written about home sellers being sure to keep the driveway and walkways clean so buyers can easily view your home; you also need to be aware of the negatives of using salt to melt ice and some good alternatives to try.

Salt damages concrete and can cause pits and cracks on a walkway, patio or driveway. Salt can also ruin the plantings in your landscaping. Anyone who has pets may have them struggle walking outside on the salt as the little chunks of salt often gets caught between their paws. Not only is it painful but the animal may end up licking their paws to remove the salt and ingest the often harmful salt. Salt can also corrode and destroy metal such as fencing, gates…

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This issue seems to come up in almost every transaction. Typically, a homeowner made an improvement to the home without obtaining a new certificate of occupancy or proper permit and is now worried it may affect the selling their home.

The most common examples are above ground pools, finishing a basement, making a deck larger, a shed, adding a bathroom or making a 1/2 bath into a full bath. Trying to sell a house with a building violation can be a small or sometimes a big problem. The problem is not with the building department. Building department inspectors do not create the building codes they just enforce them. The problem is the buyer’s bank. For the most part a buyer is not going to be able to get a loan for your house if violations exist. Not…

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With all the snow still on the ground it is hard to believe that Spring is only a few days away. Because the snow has been sitting on the ground (and your roof) for so many weeks, a Spring do it yourself home inspection is more important than ever.

If you aren’t able to shovel the snow off your roof then go up in the attic and take a look around for any leaks or went spots on the wood. You should do this anyway even if all the snow is off the roof. Most homeowners rarely look around when they are up in the attic other than trying to find more space for their stuff. A slow leak or mold or anything related to water damage usually goes unseen so bring up a flash light and look around to see if there any problems.

Head down to the basement and check for…

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More and more buyers are coming across homes with underground oil tanks and more and more sellers are starting to realize that buyers do no want anything to do with an underground oil tank. Not only are buyers becoming more concerned but the first thing a buyers agent asks me about my listings with oil heat is “where is the oil tank.?” They often ask this question before they even book an appointment to show the house.

So what is the big deal? The buyer pays for an oil tank inspection, soil test and if everything turns out okay they just move forward with the purchase. As long as the oil tank is not leaking and passed the oil pressure test, the oil tank is in working condition the seller is not responsible to remove the tank and replace with an above…

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In this high paced real estate market many homeowners who are trying to sell their home are also buying a home during the same time. The most important thing to do in this sort of situation is put your home up for sale far in advance of buying a new one. You may want to consider selling first especially in a buyers market. This way you will know exactly how much money you will have when buying a new home. Too many potential sellers start looking at homes before they put theirs on the market and often fall in love with something and then have to rush to get their home on the market. They price it low in order for a quick sale to find a buyer right away to avoid losing the home they like to another buyer who has nothing to sell and is ready to move forward.…

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