Thinking of selling? What you should know. What you should do.

Posted by Georgia Real Estate

July 19, 2007

That’s the advice on a number of fronts for prepping a home for sale.

Bankers send out appraisers for a loan for the property and pay attention to the major problems that need to be fixed. “We are going to want to make sure the home is inhabitable,” says Scott Cormican, of Wachovia’s mortgage banking division “and that there is not anything structurally or otherwise that prevents the borrower from living in the home.

On major problems discovered by the appraiser, Wachovia and most lenders would want the seller to take care of the problem. Cormican says the major problem most often he sees is water damage from faulty pipes.

Georgia, along with all other states, has adopted the International Code Council’s set of building and construction codes that cover plumbing, electrical, mechanical and other matters. A home needs to be “up to code,” according to Joseph S. Rabianski, C.R.E., a professor in the Department of Real Estate at Georgia State University. There also may be some local codes that pertain to homes.

Real estate agents have a punch list of items the Georgia Real Estate Commission covers in its inventory of possible defects, ranging from soil, trees and shrubs to termites and pests to structural items to roofs and gutters, drainage and plumbing related items.

Tim Bentley, Daily Report

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