5 Things to do before you sell your Investment Property!

Often we get asked what should we do to prepare our property for sale? When people are preparing their primary home for sale there usually isn't much that people don't know about doing. We know we have to have a clean yard, clean up the clutter, make sure the paint looks good, and make sure things smell good. So since everyone knows about those we thought it would be good if we spoke about how to get your investment property ready for sale. Let us know what you think. There is an investing section on the following website that is helpful as well at investing in Long Beach.

Investment Property Prepareness list

1. Make sure you have all of your repair records in order - This is critical to your escrow going smoothly and no surprises being found. Make sure that any and all repairs that you have done you have a record for it. After all you should be taking repairs as a deduction against your income. Even if you have purchased small items don't hide anything.
2. Make sure that you are in compliance with all local mandatory city ordinances - We never like to see transactions blow up because someone didn't check to see that the city requires wired smoke detectors instead of just the battery ones. Check with your city website they will let you know. An great example at: http://www.ci.la.ca.us/ or http://www.ci.long-beach.ca.us/. Both cities give plenty of information and phone numbers.
3. Make sure you have signed lease agreements and copies of them for prospective buyers - If you aren't using a lease of any sort we recommend that you do. You can purchase sample ones at Staples and other office stores. Please make sure everything is accurate and never misrepresent anything!
4. Get a preinspection of the property completed by a certified inspector - We recommend knowing your problems ahead of time. An inspection of $500 and repairs ahead of time could save you thousands in a transaction. Make sure they are certified by an organization like http://www.nachi.org/ or one endorsed by your state.
5. Make sure you know what you are going to do with your proceeds - We always advise clients to plan ahead of time. If you are going to be doing a tax deferred exchange (Commonly referred to as a 1031) plan ahead for where you are going to go and don't wait till the last minute. Make sure your realtor presents you all of your options.

There are more things one can do but these top 5 things to do before you sell your investment property will save you lots of headaches! Let us know what you think!