Information for Sellers on Preparing to Put Your Property on the Market
Please carefully review the information below regarding steps to be completed prior to putting your property on the market. You may want to bookmark this page for future reference.
DISCLOSURES
We’ll be emailing you a link to walk you through filling out the disclosure forms electronically. Please complete those at your earliest convenience so that we can have all the disclosure forms filled out and signed prior to going active on the MLS. Once you have filled out the forms, we’ll review them and then send them to you for electronic signature via Docusign. When you first log into Docusign, the system will ask you to adopt a set of initials and signatures, and will then go through all the documents for you affix initials and signatures in the appropriate places. (If the system asks if you’d like to sign up for any additional service that might require payment, simply decline.)
If you would prefer to complete the disclosures manually, please let us know and we can provide a hard copy for you to complete and sign.
STAGING & PROPERTY PHOTOS
We’ll need to schedule property photographs about a week prior to your target listing date, so please keep us posted on any painting, cleaning, repairs or other activities that need to be completed before the photos, and let us know if you need any referrals. If you’ll be doing any staging, we’ll also work with you on coordinating that.
TERMITE INSPECTION
We also recommend that our seller clients have a termite inspection completed prior to the property going on the market. Once we start receiving offers, some of them will likely request a termite report and clearance, and we find it’s helpful to know the cost of any potential termite repairs in advance. If you have a termite company that you have been using for regular maintenance, you can request an inspection from them. Be sure to let them know that you are listing the property. If you don’t have a regular company, we are happy to provide a referral to one of the companies that we work with regularly.
CARBON MONOXIDE & SMOKE DETECTORS / WATER HEATER STRAPPING
Two important items for you to complete prior to listing the property are to make sure the water heater is properly strapped, and that the legally required smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are installed. The water heater must be double-strapped, with one strap in the upper ⅓ of the unit, and the other in the lower ⅓ . The lower strap must also be 4” above the water heater control unit. Please refer to this guide for more information on properly strapping your water heater: https://www.ladbs.org/docs/default-source/publications/information-bulletins/plumbing-code/how-to-brace-your-water-heater-ib-p-pc2011-003.pdf?sfvrsn=14
Smoke detectors must be present in 1) the hallway outside the bedrooms 2) in each bedroom and 3) on every floor regardless of whether there is a bedroom on that floor. Carbon monoxide detectors must be in the hallway outside the bedroom as well, and also on each floor. Combination units that detect both smoke and carbon monoxide may be used in the hallways and on each floor instead.
KEYS
Prior to going on the market we also ask that you provide us with two sets of keys: one to be held in our office and the other which is typically placed in a lockbox at the property to facilitate showings. I’ll follow up with you regarding the keys and specific showing instructions once we are closer to the actual listing date.
COMMUNICATION
Our main team cell phone number is 562.896.2456. Calls to that number ring on all team members’ desks during the day Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 5:30 p.m.. This is also the best number to call if you need assistance after 5:30 pm on weekdays or on weekends. If you reach the team voicemail, leave a message and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
We use a system called Follow Up Boss to manage our client communications, so you may also receive calls or text messages from these “computer numbers.”
Shannon Jones: Cell Number – 562.335.1965, Follow Up Boss Number – 562.850.1405
Brad Jones: Cell Number – 562.335.4996, Follow Up Boss Number – 562.526.7065
Kelli Handy: Cell Number – 323-353-0737, Follow Up Boss Number – 562-471-6344
Julia Gutierrez: Cell Number – 562-852-9360, Follow Up Boss Number – 562-471-6151
SHOWINGS AFTER THE VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE
Following our initial virtual open house, agents who want to show your home will need to make an appointment. We use a scheduling assistant called ShowingTime that allows real estate agents to schedule appointments to show your home. ShowingTime is available 24/7 so we’ll never miss a showing request. Would you prefer that we coordinate showings via phone, email, or text?
Also, we can let ShowingTime know how much notice you need for showings and whether there are any times when your home is not available. How much advance notice would you like to request for appointments? For vacant properties, we can set up ShowingTime to automatically approve appointment requests, but when someone is living in the home, we wouldn’t do that because we wouldn’t want you to be caught off guard in case you are home or want to tidy up prior to the showing.
Please confirm the method and timing you prefer for showing appointments and let us know if you have any questions. Also, I’m attaching some tips for preparing for open houses and showings that many of our clients have found useful.