Sell Ready Checklist

Documents and facts your listing agent will ask for on the first call.

• Payoff statement

  Your lender can produce a current payoff figure, which is not the same as the balance on your monthly statement. Your agent needs it to estimate what you walk away with at closing.

• HOA documents and dues

  Find the declaration, the current rules, the dues amount, and the name of the management company. Florida sellers in an association have to give a buyer these, and tracking them down late is what delays a contract.

• Survey

  The survey from your own purchase shows the lot lines, the easements, and anything that sits on them. A buyer's lender may want a newer one, but yours answers fence and setback questions on day one.

• Permit history for past work

  Pull the permit record for the roof, the windows, the panel, the water heater, and any addition. An open or missing permit on work already done is the item most likely to surface during inspection.

• Most recent tax bill

  The bill shows the assessed value, the exemptions on the property, and the non-ad-valorem assessments. Buyers ask what the taxes will be, and the honest answer depends on what they are today.

• Insurance policy and claim history

  Keep the declarations page and any claim paperwork together. Roof age and past water or wind claims drive what a buyer can insure the house for in Florida, so the questions come early.

• Repair and replacement receipts

  Collect receipts and warranties for the roof, the HVAC, the water heater, the panel, and any re-pipe. A dated receipt settles an age question that would otherwise be answered by a guess.

• Appliance manuals and warranties

  Put the manuals, model numbers, and any transferable warranties in one folder. It takes twenty minutes now and it is one of the few things a buyer remembers after closing.

• Utility accounts and typical bills

  List the electric, water, sewer or septic, gas, and trash providers, plus a normal summer and winter bill. Buyers ask what it costs to run the house, and a real number is better than a shrug.

• Keys, remotes, and codes

  Round up house keys, mailbox keys, gate cards, garage remotes, pool and gate codes, and any smart lock or alarm code. Missing pieces turn up on the day of closing, which is the worst day to look for them.

Walk the house and listen. Finding it now means you decide what to do about it.

• Ceilings and the roof line

  Look for stains, sagging drywall, and daylight in the attic, then walk the outside and look for lifted or missing shingles and tiles. Water shows up on a ceiling long after it started somewhere else.

• Under every sink

  Open the cabinets and feel the supply lines, the trap, and the cabinet floor. A soft cabinet base or a chalky ring is a slow leak that is cheap now and a rot repair later.

• Toilets that keep running

  Stand in a quiet house and listen at each toilet, then check the base for movement. A running flapper is a ten dollar part and a wobble at the base is a wax ring, and both read as deferred maintenance.

• Run the HVAC in both modes

  Run cooling and heat, note how long it takes to respond, check the drain line for standing water, and look at the age plate on the air handler and the condenser. In Central Florida the air conditioning is the system a buyer asks about first.

• Outlets, switches, and GFCIs

  Test every switch, press the test and reset buttons on the kitchen, bath, garage, and exterior outlets, and look in the panel for anything that does not sit right. Exposed or taped wiring anywhere is a stop-and-call-an-electrician item.

• Windows and exterior doors

  Open and close every window and door, look for fogged glass between panes, and press on the sills and frames for soft spots. Failed seals and rot are visible to anyone walking the house.

• Water heater and laundry connections

  Check the water heater for rust at the base and the date on the label, and look behind the washer for damp drywall. Both are ordinary repairs that become negotiating points once an inspector writes them down.

• Grading, gutters, and the slab edge

  Walk the perimeter after a rain and see where water sits, then check that downspouts carry it away from the house. Standing water against a Florida slab is the start of most of the problems inside.

• Attic, insulation, and vents

  Put your head in the attic with a flashlight and look for wet sheathing, displaced insulation, and bath fans venting into the space instead of outside. Ten minutes here explains a lot of what you smelled downstairs.

Small visible fixes you can do yourself in an afternoon.

• Replace every burned-out bulb

  Match the color temperature across a room while you are at it. A house with one dead bulb per room photographs dim and shows dimmer.

• Replace dingy outlet and switch covers

  Painted-over, cracked, or yellowed plates are at hand height in every photo. New plates are a few dollars and a screwdriver.

• Clean air vents and ceiling fan blades

  Pull the return grille, wash it, and wipe each fan blade. Dust on a vent reads as a system nobody has serviced.

• Recaulk tubs, showers, and sinks

  Cut out cracked or stained caulk and lay a clean bead. It is an afternoon, and split caulk is what makes a buyer wonder about water behind the tile.

• Wipe down window sills and tracks

  Vacuum the tracks and wash the sills so the windows open smoothly during a showing. A window that sticks gets tried twice.

• Wash the front door and hardware

  Clean the door, polish or replace the handle set, and make sure the lock turns easily. Buyers stand at that door while the agent works the lockbox.

• Touch up scuffs and nail holes

  Fill the holes from whatever you take down and touch up the trim and door edges. If the original color is gone, paint the whole wall rather than leaving a patch.

• Clean the driveway, walk, and lanai

  Central Florida grows algae on concrete and screen enclosures. A pressure wash of the drive, the walk, and the pool cage changes the first ten seconds of every showing.

• Clear counters, closets, and the garage

  Move anything you will not need before you move out. Closets and the garage are the two places buyers open to decide whether the house is big enough.