For the right set of people, destiny gives them the chance to indulge in an activity most get to do only a few times in their lives. Readying a home for sale. And given the onerous responsibility that it is, most try to pass it on to specialized agencies of which there are but a few worldwide.

What it generally boils down to is that one owning a house ought to take certain steps to ready the property for sale to get its best price while providing the buyer a thing of the right value. These steps include among others, the following:

    1. Get all the paperwork in place

Papers are a necessity. In fact, so necessary are they for the sake of ownership, that they are almost a necessary evil that has to be guarded and treated with extreme care and caution. That said, a property being readied for sale ought to have all its original property-related documents in a condition so as to exhibit the ownership and delineate particular properties.

In fact, when it comes to preserving ownership documents, maps, blueprints, and the likes, steps ought to be taken for their upkeep and preservation right at the time of procuring them! Nearing the time of sale, they ought to be readied such that the property passes most effectively and efficiently at the time of sale with the least bit of inconvenience to either side. Where it’s an apartment in a complex or a plot of land out of a bigger parcel, title deeds, divisional documents, and No-objection certificates too ought to be procured.

    2. Get all the ownership-related matters clear, including mortgages

A house that has multiple owners may lead to a legal tangle either immediate or in time. To avoid the same, legal recourse should be taken right at the time of proposing the sale by taking every stakeholder’s consent in writing for the sale. It could also mean getting ‘Power of Attorneys’ in place to execute the same. Mortgages too are a regular occurrence these days which ought to be accounted for at the time of contemplating a sale. They should either be settled with the financing body, or its status informed to the likely new buyer for the best possible deal with the least possible trauma.

    3. Get all the tax-related matters out of the way

Property and houses are tax-earning sources for authorities, be they in villages or cities with property tax being its most usual form. These besides, homes in urban clusters may have their own share of taxes, levies, and cess which may have to be accounted for before a sale takes place. For this reason, it makes immense sense to set right all matters relating to tax, cess, and fee with all the authorities within whose jurisdiction the property is situated. Getting a document to this effect, as a NOC helps.

    4. Get all the utility-related issues out of the way

Practically all homes have utilities including gas, electricity, water, and sewage services which in most cases have to be paid for by the owner of the property. Any property sales that do not consider these services may put the buyer in deep trouble. For this reason, utility services’ outstanding should be cleared and documentary proof of the same taken at the opportune time.

    5. Things that are part of the property, be it the structure, utilities or peripherals should either be in the right order or deviations mentioned clearly to a prospective buyer

A house is a physical structure whose dimensions ought to follow certain predefined guidelines set by the government, and which ought to be maintained at all times in order to keep the integrity of the structure. That said, deviations either by omission or by the commission are a reality one cannot wish away. The ideal situation to get the most out of a deal could then be to take positive steps to address such deviations which could include setting it right before a deal or informing the party of the same in ways that keep the spirit of the deal alive and intact.

    6. Do a reasonable up-keep of the above so that the sale fetches the highest value

Houses that are decrepit don’t fetch their full value for obvious reasons. That being the case, repairs could be undertaken depending upon the seller’s intentions, and the extent of damages and issues. Certain changes may have cosmetic value while others could affect the very structure of the house. Still, others may not affect value much but may end up making a home liveable (like a home with sewage choking-up issues). It finally boils down to individual conditions but if the need exists, it may have to be done.

    7. Advertise on all those venues where the target audience is most likely to see it, including social media

An immovable asset like a house gets its owner a hefty sum of money. Even the slightest cut may reduce the final price by an appreciable sum. For this reason, it makes sense to get the event to the attention of the largest number of people which these days one gets only through the digital domain of which social media is the best bet.

Houses in any part of the world could be of interest to people, and social media gives it the leverage to get it to the attention of the right set of buyers. For this reason, a seller ought to make a deep study of the likely audience (i.e., the most likely category of buyers) and where they may be found before deciding on a digital marketing strategy to attract them towards the deal. That said, the use of websites and brokers is also advisable. All these put together may get a house its most likely best price.