Chances are good that if you purchase a home, you’ll eventually have to sell it. This can be an expensive, time-consuming and stressful process, so you’ll want to make sure you’re fully ready to move through it to the best of your ability. While one can’t ever be fully prepared to sell a house, there are clear, established steps you can take to make sure that the process is manageable.
Here are the 5 questions you need to ask yourself before starting the home-selling process:
There are a variety of reasons as to why one might want to sell their home- awful neighbors, a new job out of the area, an increase (or decrease) in salary, and so on. It’s important that you ask yourself this question, on the off chance that your primary motivator for moving can be answered without a need for selling.
2. Is my house ready to be sold?
Most homes have a variety of problems that need to be tended to, and while some can be remedied rather quickly, others may be sufficiently problematic to warrant a lengthy pause before initiating the home-selling process. Potential buyers are likely to hire an inspector before purchasing their future home, so you’ll want to eliminate the possibility of buyers finding something that could be construed as hidden for the purpose of ensuring for a successful sale. Major problems in the house can also reduce your selling point, which is worth avoiding.
3. When should I sell?
The real estate market has by no means level activity throughout the year. The Summer market almost always sees more home availability and total sales, with a peak generally occurring during 4th of July weekend. Families often view homes on the market after holidays as well, with December 28th serving as one of the busiest real estate days of the year (at least in terms of home searches). People should consider selling their homes whenever both they and their homes are ready, but other factors worth looking into will invariably come into play (such as demand in the market itself).
4. What are other houses in my neighborhood selling for?
Building off of the question regarding timing, a potential seller is best served looking into recent sales of other homes in their neighborhood to see whether they’re selling, and if so, what pricing and timing was involved in said sales. If other houses in your neighborhood aren’t selling, or are selling at lower-than-average prices, you might want to consider waiting until the market picks up.
5. Should I use a real estate agent?
To be sure, there are pros and cons involved in using a real estate agent to sell your home. From my own experience, people that attempt to market and sell their own homes find that the process takes substantially longer to end and often does so at a lower than desired price. So long as you’re able to find a reputable, dedicated agent, I’d always recommend taking the well-established route when it comes to selling your home.
Sources:
http://gatewayrealtysc.com/2015/12/16/3-questions-to-ask-when-you-want-to-sell-your-home/