How old is it?

Photo: Contributed - Anastasiya Maksymenko

Selling your house in 2016?

If this is the year that you are going to sell your home, now is the time to get cracking. You already know that you’ll need the help of a professional realtor, but if you want your home to stand out from the competition, it can take weeks, and, in some cases, months, to make everything tickety-boo. 

At this point your realtor is your ally. They will help you showcase your home for prospective buyers, and showing your home properly is of prime importance. 

In some cases, your realtor may advise you on improvements that you can make to enhance the value of your home. You may be able to improve the home's aesthetics, but any improvements should be practical. I’m a big fan of home stagers, who, for a nominal fee, can make your home look more appealing to potential buyers. Hiring a home stager deserves some consideration, so ask your realtor for their advice.

It is likely that your home has endured some wear and tear over the years, and components may be aging. There is absolutely nothing wrong with aging components. Just because something is getting older doesn’t make it less desirable.

A professional home inspector may be able to assist in the sale of your home by reporting on its condition. Being armed with the knowledge of the condition of your home prior to sale will give you and your realtor a strong footing from which to negotiate. No matter how great your home looks, savvy buyers, when looking at the components of your home, will undoubtedly ask the question: 

‘How old is it?’ 

In home inspection-speak, the question is interpreted as, ‘Is the component still performing within its reliable service life?’

Guessing the age of the major components of your home doesn’t cut it, ie the age of the roof covering, water heater and heating and cooling systems. Now is the time to dig out your home records to determine the age of the last repair or replacement of those big ticket items, or you can hire a professional home inspector to help you out.

The age of major components is generally determined and reported on during a home inspection. The age of a component relates to its probability of failure and the concept is pretty straight forward: The failure of the system or component increases as the component ages. 

Remember, though, that even a brand new component can fail, although it’s much less likely. Take for example new cars. The odds are good that a new car will not break down in the first few weeks, but in the extreme minority of cases, it can happen.

Let’s take the age of a hot water heater as an example of how it relates to the sale of your home.

Photo: Contributed - Hugh Cairns

It is rare for manufacturers to offer warrantees longer than six years on their tanked water heaters. Home insurance companies have opinions regarding the age of tanked water heaters. It’s safe to say that a prospective buyer of your home will have difficulty insuring a system that is older than twelve years. Most likely the insurance company will want the tank replaced. 

Remember, insurance companies are in the business of eliminating or reducing risk, so a prospective buyer will want to know the age of the tank because it will affect their insurance coverage. This doesn’t mean that you need to go out and get a new tank today, but you do need to know the age of the tank, and how it relates to your eventual sale. 

As a side note, home inspectors see old and aging tanks every day. They work just fine. 

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.