When people come to view your home, the most important thing is usually the home itself and they may have already researched the neighborhood they want to live in, but providing neighborhood data as well as some of the things that the buyer can’t see, like utility costs or even hidden or overlooked special features in your home, may be the thing that seals the deal for them. Gather the following data and then make a special features or “What I Love About This Home” flyer to place in a “Home Book” and on the kitchen counter for those viewing your home. Most of these will be uploaded into the Documents section on your listing in the MLS.

• Legal Information like the legal property description, picture of the parcel outlines, and the preliminary title report if you’ve ordered one. The legal description and parcel outline is public information found on your county’s assessor website so you’re not disclosing something that isn’t readily available elsewhere and some people want to know. The preliminary title report will have some personal information so you may not want to put that in if it’s a concern, but buyers may ask for it before making an offer and will certainly look at it once under contract. If you’ve had a property survey done, you should also include this.
• If you are on a well and/or septic, the recent inspection report showing they are in good working order.
• Property tax information including any exemptions you may have that affect what you pay.
• Property Disclosure Report. This is a real estate form with questions about the condition of the property like whether there are any issues with the plumbing or how old the roof is. You will have to provide this to anyone who makes an offer so you might as well provide it up front.
• Information on local schools including the public school district you’re in. You may also consider providing a list of private schools, including day cares, near you since more and more people, especially here in North Idaho, are choosing to send their children to private schools.
• A list of utility providers and your average monthly cost.
• Local businesses you recommend like restaurants, supermarkets, health care, and the like. Some people may be moving from out of the area and this will be useful. Is there a great restaurant just a mile down the road that has trivia nights every Thursday? That’s a selling point!
• For the “What I Love About This Home” sheet, tell the story behind your home. When we sold our last home, one of the things that unintentionally helped sway the buyers was a portrait of our family showing our three boys. We’d actually put this in the garage while “depersonalizing” our home, but the buyers saw it and, after we’d gotten under contract, they told us that was one of the reasons they wanted to move there, as silly as it may seem. They were newlyweds but wanted to have three boys of their own. Of course, I’m not saying you should go into detail about your family. In fact, depending on how you frame it, it could even be a fair housing violation, but even though you want to depersonalize your home to a large extent, adding a little personality and warmth that can only come from the human touch may be the thing that attracts that eventual buyer. Some things you may want to put in this section:
  • Why you bought the home.
  • What you will miss about the home and neighborhood. If the sunsets are spectacular from the back porch or if the neighbors get together for outdoor movie nights in the cul-de-sac every Friday, point this out.
  • The potentially overlooked features in the home. Talk about drinking your morning coffee in the bay window while watching the hummingbirds feed or the fact that there’s a slide out spice rack that may be overlooked while touring. For these overlooked features, it’s a good idea to also make little cards to tape up around the house highlighting them.
  • What your favorite thing about the house is.
  • What your favorite thing about the neighborhood is.
  • What upgrades you’ve made to the home including new appliances, a new roof or siding, or new furnace and when these upgrades were made.