Jul 2, 2024 Top Tips for Selling Top Tips for Selling Written By, Illinois Land Broker Matt Cox. Selling a Rural Home? Here Are Our Six Top Tips! Selling a home can be stressful for both homeowners and buyers. An experienced real estate professional can reduce stress and help increase your home’s value. If you are thinking about selling your home, here are some of the best things you can do to ensure a smooth transition all the way to the closing table. 1. Keep the House Tidy and Ready for Showings Many times, sellers still live in the home. Keeping the house clean and uncluttered is more important than many sellers think. It may be a good idea to get a storage unit for unnecessary items and declutter as much as possible. A tidy house makes a buyer feel better about the maintenance and care of the home. 2. Keep Up on Standard Maintenance This problem is more common in vacant homes. It is very important to keep up on normal maintenance throughout the entire listing and selling process (until the day of closing). Keep the yard mowed regularly, keep the landscaping looking good, replace burnt-out light bulbs, make sure garage doors function, and regularly sweep and vacuum any bugs off the floor. If a buyer feels the home is not properly taken care of, they will assume there are bigger issues. Signing a purchase agreement doesn’t mean you sold the property; maintain the property until the day of closing as if the deal may fall apart. If it does, the property is still ready for more showings. 3. Do Not Shut Off Water or Electricity This often happens after a buyer and seller sign a purchase agreement. The power and water need to stay on for inspections. In winter months, shutting off the power can create major plumbing problems. Instead of shutting it off, set it up with the utility company to have it transferred to the buyer’s name on the day of closing. 4. Do Not Neglect Propane This is like electricity. The propane needs to stay on for home inspections and is usually necessary to keep the house from freezing. Address propane in the purchase agreement. Disclose whether the tank is owned or leased, but do not let the tank run out of propane. Propane can be prorated at closing so that the buyer compensates the seller for any propane left in the tank. 5. Septic Inspections Most septic inspections require the tank to be pumped out at the time of the inspection. Usually, the buyer pays for the actual inspection, but in most cases, the seller pays for the tank to be pumped out. 6. Tax Prorations In Illinois, taxes are paid in arrears. This means the tax bill you receive in 2024 is money you owe the government for 2023. This is usually taken care of by the title company at closing, but sometimes the bill gets sent to the seller even after they sold the property. DO NOT throw the tax bill away. Reach out to the title company or your broker to see how to handle this situation. Remember, if the bill was sent to you and is not properly handled, it will be your name in the newspaper for not paying your taxes, not the buyer’s name. An experienced real estate professional will guide you through the selling process from start to finish. There are always a lot of questions and concerns, and having someone to help can really eliminate a lot of stress. Sometimes the smallest details can create the biggest problems, so staying aware of them and getting ahead of them can make all the difference in how smoothly your transaction goes. Stay connected. Be sure to follow Matt Cox on Facebook. MEET MATT COX – Local Expertise Within Reach Matt, a full-time Licensed Realtor, with LandGuys of Illinois. He lives in Fulton County with his wife Ashley and two sons Easton and Camden. Matt specializes in rural land sales which include recreational land, tillable land, rural home sales, and waterfowl property sales. Over the years, Matt has sold rural properties. He has also assisted numerous clients in navigating unique circumstances and obstacles specific to rural real estate ownership. Through this blog, he aims to aid rural landowners in making informed decisions and calculated improvements to their properties. Matt hopes these efforts will enable landowners to maximize their enjoyment, enhance their return on investment, and ensure the land retains its value, both aesthetically and financially.