Selling your home is not easy. A large part of the process involves figuring out where to focus your attention and making sure that you understand the terms of the sale, especially if this will be your first time selling a home.
If you are going to sell your home, then it is important to make sure that you are taking all of the necessary steps and precautions. But what should you keep in mind when you are looking to sell your home, and how can you make sure that you are prepared for every eventuality?
1. Who You’re Selling To
It is easy to feel relieved when somebody wants to buy your home, but you should always do at least a little research of your own – especially if your home is being bought by an actual company. The more you know about the buyer, the easier it becomes to make sure that you are not walking into a scam.
For example, some companies will offer to buy any house but deliberately undercut the sellers. Some independent buyers might also pull a similar tactic. Being able to recognize potential scammers, or at least find out more about who they are, can make a big difference if you have multiple buyers lined up to choose from.
2. If the house is prepared
It is always important to consider how well you have actually prepared your home for sale. While it might not sound all that important if you have not sold your home before, you really need to avoid having a lived-in feeling – too much mess and clutter will turn away buyers.
Homes sell best if you can meet the right balance between keeping them clean and making them feel like a living space. This means removing any personal possessions that can clutter up the area while also avoiding too much empty space – a balance that can take a while to perfect.
Be sure to carry out basic repairs and maintenance, too. A damaged appliance or exposed wire can be enough to devalue the house on the basis that more work will need to be done, even if the work itself is minimal. It gives buyers ammunition to justify lowering their offer.
3. What Your Selling Points Are
You always want to market your home based on hot-button details or unique selling points, things that drive people to purchase your house instead of a cheaper one in the same area. This means that you should always emphasize the things that add value to your home – decks, balconies, extra rooms, and so on.
This obviously depends on the kind of people you are selling your home to. A great view and a real fireplace will matter a lot to some people, but others may prefer something more practical like new rooms or an added bathroom. Emphasize whatever is strongest about your home as both a property and a product.
4. How You’re Selling It
If you do not have any real sales skills yourself, then you might overlook some important parts of selling your home – and this can snowball into even more problems if you accidentally mislead a buyer. It is also very easy to undervalue your property, something that buyers will take advantage of.
If you do not have very good skills for selling your own home, then it can help to have some home seller house guidance. Using a third-party company to sell your home can be a great way to make the process a lot easier, even if it costs you some of the sale prices, and it takes a lot of pressure off your shoulders.
5. When You’ll Get The Money
A lot of people sell their homes just before buying a new one, using the money from the sale to afford the first payments on their new property. However, this requires some precise timing and very careful planning, especially if there is only a tight window where the two can overlap.
There can be various factors that change when and how you get your money – for example, selling through a company might influence the time it takes for you to receive payment. Selling it yourself can be faster, but you also need to have the expertise and tools in place to actually make this kind of sale a viable option.
6. Relevant Rules and Laws
Always make sure that you review the important legal information regarding selling your home before you actually go through with a sale. No matter what you are aiming to achieve, you want to at least make sure that you are doing it all legally, and that you are not skirting any dangerous legal boundaries.
For example, you need to disclose anything that might negatively impact the home’s value. This could be damage to the property, problems with the neighborhood (such as bad smells from nearby industrial sites), or even things like deaths within the home.
Some of these might seem like small things, but they quickly add up. Disclosing that your home was a former meth lab is required in most cases, but you also need to document things like repairs, zoning concerns, or even histories of past infestations.
7. The Sale
The most important part of selling your home is the sale itself. No matter what else you are focused on, be sure that you always keep track of how the sale is going – whether you are doing it yourself or selling through another company.
Make sure to never lose sight of your main goal, and always keep pushing towards a better sale if you can achieve one. You want to earn as much as possible for your home, ideally, with the least hassle you can manage, and that means keeping a close eye on how trends (and your potential buyers) are changing.
The sooner you can find a buyer you are comfortable with, the quicker you can get your home sold and move on to other things. If you drag things out for too long, you can burn through your budget and annoy your buyers, some of which might even withdraw if they are kept waiting.
