Deciding to sell your home is a big deal. Whether you’re moving, downsizing, upsizing, reducing debt, or you’ve just decided it’s time, wise sellers know they need to be fully prepared before jumping into the process. So, here’s what you should know before selling your home.
Committing to a Home Sale
Selling a home can be an emotionally exhausting process that also entails a lot of physical work. Between repairs, consistent cleaning, showings, and negotiations, there’s a lot that comes with selling a home.
Take the necessary time to evaluate your reason for selling your home, and make sure you are committed to the process. Without a firm commitment to sell your home, working through the process is difficult.
Run the Numbers
Before you sell your home, make sure it makes financial sense. Homeowners with negative equity (the balance due on the home loan is more than the property is worth), or those who cannot afford the down payment and closing costs on a new home, may need to wait if possible to better position themselves before selling their home.
Preparing to Sell Takes Time and Money
Selling a home is more than putting up the listing and waiting for buyers. Homeowners are responsible for preparing their homes for sale, or else it could set on the market for months and even years.
Current recommendations are to make minor repairs, declutter everywhere, make the home feel less personal, remove any odors, and prepare all the necessary paperwork.
However, not all repairs are worthwhile. Large repairs or renovations may cost more than you would make back during the sale. Kitchen and bathroom renovations tend to have the highest return on investment, but the small repairs are just as important.
Some of the most common recommendations for fixes include:
- Tightening loose door handles.
- Replacing broken light switches.
- Painting with neutral colors.
- Laying mulch and planting flowers.
- Patching cracks or holes in the walls.
- Sealing leaky plumbing.
Beyond repairs, decluttering and removing personal items, staging the home, and thoroughly cleaning can improve the first impression for potential buyers.
In general, homes on the market that do not need major repairs or work tend to sell more quickly and receive better offers. More buyers prefer turnkey homes than homes that need significant work before move-in.
Pre-Listing Inspections are Helpful
Having an inspection before putting a home on the market can be very helpful. By proactively bring in a third-party home inspector to show you the issues that might be brought up during the buyer’s inspection, and which may be used to negotiate down the price, sellers can best position themselves to sell the home quickly and at the best price.
Choose Your Real Estate Agent Wisely
Sellers should carefully choose the real estate agent selling their home. Take time to interview potential agents to get an idea of their experience, skillset, and success rate. Ask questions like these highlighted by the National Association of Realtors:
- How long have you been in residential real estate sales? Is it your full-time job? How many homes did you and your real estate brokerage sell last year?
- What designations or certifications do you hold?
- How many days does it take you to sell a home? How does that compare to others?
- What’s the average variation between your initial listing and final sales price?
- What specific marketing systems and approaches will you use to sell my home?
- Will you represent me exclusively, or might you also choose to represent the buyer?
- Can you recommend service providers who can help me obtain a mortgage, make home repairs, and so on?
- How will you keep me informed about the progress of my transaction?
- Could you please give me the contact information of your three most recent clients?
This is a small selection of questions for sellers to ask potential real estate agents. The idea is to find an agent with the experience and the right attitude to help the sale go through quickly and smoothly.
Often times, sellers are tempted to work with the real estate agent who promises to list the home at the highest price point. This is not always a good criterion, because the listing price does not guarantee a sale. Real estate agents should be realistic about the listing price rather than trying to outbid each other.
Asking Price
Homeowners naturally want to overprice their home. So, it’s important to work with an experienced real estate agent to determine the asking price before putting a home on the market.
Homes that are well priced, based on comparative market analysis, sell more quickly and for a higher price. Unless there is a housing bubble, overpriced homes generally don’t sell.
One technique used to price homes for sale, especially in hot markets, is to purposely price the homes on the low end to generate a bidding war, which can result in a higher selling price.
Maximize Exposure
Your real estate agent should take pictures of your home and post them on the MLS and other real estate websites, in addition to social media.
You can also help get the word out about your home by posting it on all your social media accounts, in addition to asking friends and family to help you get the word out.
Likewise, your agent may be running social media ads about your home, but you can also run ads on your social profiles for just a few dollars and get the word out to even more people.
Take Away
Selling a home takes a lot of energy and patience. Preparing before you start makes it easier to get the results you’re expecting, including a faster sell and a higher price. While you can’t control the housing market at large, you can control the quality of your listing and how your property is marketed and sold.
Marimark Realty
Marimark Realty, a top real estate company in Tampa, focuses on providing a personalized experience for buyers and sellers of real estate. As a full-service real estate agency, we help clients with luxury homes, homes for first-time homebuyers, commercial property, and investment property.
To begin the journey of purchasing or selling your home, or purchasing commercial or investment properties, contact us at your earliest convenience.