You’ve sold your home, settlement is complete, and now you’re ready to hand it over to the new owners—but what should you do before you leave?
In our previous articles we’ve been talking about the closing process, where ownership of the home is officially transferred from you as the seller to the buyer. We’ve gone over what to expect, how to prepare, and what to bring with you. Now one final topic remains when it comes to closing. Here we’ll be sharing a checklist you can use for when settlement is done and it’s time to close the doors behind you for the last time.
1. Leave a clean home. When you walk into your new home, it will feel even better if the previous owner has been conscientious in cleaning, so be sure to extend the same courtesy to the buyers of your home. If you aren’t able to do a thorough clean yourself, it’s relatively inexpensive to hire a service to take care of this last detail.
2. Leave behind whatever the new homeowners will need. Do you have a garage? Leave the garage opener. Is there a key to the backyard gate? Make sure that is available to them. While it’s obvious that you should leave the keys to the house, go beyond what’s obvious and leave any other keys, openers, codes, or remotes that might be needed. You can go the extra mile if you leave behind any manuals you have for appliances as well.
3. Don’t leave any of your personal stuff. While there are certainly items you should leave behind for the new owners, unwanted pantry items, clothes, or other personal affects are not among them. Leaving things behind in cabinets, closets, shelves, and storage areas just makes extra work for your buyers on top of the already hectic process of moving.
4. Turn off appliances. Whether your old home is going to be vacant for a while or not, it’s a good idea to turn off and unplug appliances where you can. If you know the home will be unoccupied for some time before the new owners move in, you may even wish to switch off the circuit breakers and turn off the shut off valves for plumbing. Just be sure to let the new owners know you did that, so they don’t think there’s a problem!
5. Cancel your subscriptions and utilities. Do you have a newspaper delivered to your home, or a magazine? Be sure to cancel these subscriptions. Keep track as well of your utilities—call each utility provider to arrange for them to be turned off at your old home when you leave.
6. Lock the doors! Remember that your old home is going to be empty—whether for a few hours or possibly much longer. Close up house like you would if you were going on vacation to make sure that everything is safe and secure for the new homeowners to move in when they are ready.
There are many things to consider at every step of the process of selling your home, including this last step. For questions about how to have the best and most profitable experience in the sale of your house, talk to a trusted real estate agent today.
