Are you planning to sell your home in Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, South Pasadena, Altadena or surrounding neighborhoods? Here are 8 tips to help you avoid last minute scrambling and get through the home selling process as hassle-free as possible.

Beautiful Home For Sale

  1. Review Construction Permits for Completion - Go to your city's building and planning department and pull permits.  Make sure to review them for final sign-off and completion.  Permits issues have a tendency to creep up on you during the escrow process and may cause your home sale to fall through.  By taking this step, you'll be able to avoid many headaches and reassure the new home buyer and give them peace of mind.

  2. Check your home's square footage with the Los Angeles County Assessor.   The basis of home sales price is always based on the price per square foot.  Now that you know all the permits are signed off on, you want to make sure that the additional square footage is reflected by the Assessor.  Your Realtor® should be able to pull a property profile directly from the Title Company to help you with this.

  3. Order a Pre-Home Inspection - Smart home sellers know to hire a home inspector to do a thorough inspection of the home.  This way, they can take care of many issues up-front and will not get caught off guard during the escrow inspection period.  It's always great to provide a copy of the inspection report to the home buyer.  The inspection will run anywhere between $250 to $500 depending on the size of the house and is well worth the investment.  Read More:  Pasadena Home Sellers save thousands of dollars with home inspections.

  4. Order a Termite Inspection - Contact your Real Estate Agent to order a termite inspection from a reliable, licensed California termite company.  This inspection is FREE of charge if ordered through your Realtor®.  It is standard practice in the Greater Pasadena area for the home seller to pay for Section 1 repairs.  These can be costly at times.  Understanding the costs involved will help you better calculate your net proceeds.  Read More:  Termite Inspection Explained!

  5. Order a Pre-Sale Home Warranty - Your Realtor® is able to order a home warranty for you if you do not have one on your home now.  It is very valuable in case something breaks and needs to be repaired while you are marketing your home for sale or are in escrow.  Large items like air conditioning and plumbing systems are a covered benefit.  There are some limitations of course, but talk about peace of mind.

  6. Do NOT invest money in repairs - Talk with you real estate agent first!  Many times, costly repairs or updates can be avoided.  Your realtor® will be able to guide you in what repairs will give you the most return on your money.

  7. Get a Staging Consultation - Paint, Furniture, Light, Accessories MATTER!  De-cluttering MATTERS!  Home stagers are trained in creating the right environment and eliciting emotion in home buyers.  Buyers buy on emotion especially homes that they "see" themselves living in.  Home Staging results in a quicker sale and the highest possible return on investment.  Read More:  The right paint colors can sell your home!

  8. Curb Appeal - Do not ignore your home's curb appeal.  Do you need to make some changes to your landscaping?  Ensure your grass is green?  Cut back some hedges?  Home buyers make decisions in the first few minutes as they get out of their car or drive by your home.  Read More:  Curb Appeal - Before and After - It's the little things that matter.

Make sure that your Realtor® is involved early.  We get paid for helping to guide you through the process from preparing your home for sale to marketing and through the escrow period.  Take advantage of your real estate agent's expertise.

Thinking of selling your home? Interested in finding out the current market value of your single family home, condo or investment property? Then call Irina Netchaev at (626) 629-8439 to discuss what is happening in today’s Real Estate Market.

Interested in more information about cities in the Greater Pasadena area, check out our City Guides below:

Alhambra City Guide

Altadena City Guide

Arcadia City Guide

Eagle Rock City Guide

Monterey Hills City Guide

Pasadena City Guide

San Gabriel City Guide

San Marino City Guide

Sierra Madre City Guide

South Pasadena City Guide
And, if you are interested in fun activities to do in Pasadena, take a look at our 365 Things To Do In Pasadena® page.