Selling a long-inhabited home with deferred maintenance for a family member or loved one is a tiring, stressful experience. The ever-growing list of to-dos can get overwhelming fast.

Whether mom or dad is directly involved in the sale, or they’re moving somewhere safer after a health event, or the tasks have come down on you as part of an estate settlement, each situation will have a property in varying states of distress, a unique family dynamic and not-so-fun plot twists you can only understand by living through them.

But there are so many of us who have been there before, and you can help yourself by asking for help from real estate professionals.

I have been in the industry for decades and after I saw how intense it was to make rational business decisions while process-ing serious emotions, I created specific services to help people during these major life transitions.

The biggest mistake I have seen family members make has been investing time and money into specific improvements that will not affect the sale of the house. So let me tell you the most important thing to do before investing anything into a well-loved property: have a real estate professional walk through the house with you. My company provides a free consultation that will tell you everything you need to know in less than an hour.

First and foremost, we will identify the issues that would make a home uninsurable or non-financeable to a mort-gage company—like if a home has an old roof, an old heating system, flaking paint or broken windows. Those issues would in turn block most buyers from making serious offers on the property. We would also be able to identify what would come up on a buyer’s building inspection and save you time and money after going under contract. During our consultations, we can create priority plans for maintenance, make cost estimates, and come up with a timeline that works for you. Our goal is spending too much of the owner’s money but try to make it look good for a smooth transaction.

This is also when we could save you a lot of time by identifying if the house is so distressed it would be best to sell to a cash investor or someone who will take over the entire task, scenarios where I have often seen the buyer pick up all commissions. We at Flynn & Company have a list of contacts who work on home rehabs to help expedite this type of sale.

However, more often than not, when we walk through a home, we see a dated space that simply needs to be emptied and cleaned. While everyone knows that nice kitchens and bathrooms help sell homes, the most important thing to remember is that if a home is clean, neat and fully functional, you’ll be ready to go to market very soon. These straightforward items will generally help sell a home:

■ Fresh coats of paint, inside and out

■ De-cluttering the home or emptying it entirely if the seller has already moved

■ Replacing the roof if it is near the end of or past its life

■ Updating older electrical systems, which could be an insurance issue for a new buyer

Flynn & Company offers full service clean outs, and professional cleaning services that most companies do not. If the seller can’t afford these services up front, it can be settled at the closing.

Whether your family is anticipating change years ahead of time, or you have an emergency that needs immediate attention, you can combine our 30 years of home selling services with our Home Services division to come with a compre-hensive plan, put you at ease and make your life easier.

Is your property just dated or beyond repair? Get an objective opinion from Flynn & Company to know your options.Call 207-776-5226 or email joe.flynn@atlanticrealestatenetwork.com.