Too many times we hear from potential house sellers “I want to sell my house but do not know where to start.” Another version is “I need help selling my home but do not know whom to turn to.”
This post will take you through all the answers that might pop up in your mind when you need to sell your house now.
Please enjoy the video that helps you figure out the absolute must-do’s when selling your home. Then set up a consultation meeting and we can strategize together to sell your home quickly.
A home selling process has several moving parts that must mesh to complete the sale. If you think that you will list your house, buyers will pour in, and all that you have to do is collect the cash and hand over the keys, you cannot be more wrong. In reality, many parts of the sale process are in your hands and others are not.
Factors that are in your control are getting your house ready, decluttering it, hiring an experienced real estate agent, and getting all the documents together. What is not in your hands is market conditions and trends. If the market is low with high inventory and interest rates, you will not get a good price for your house. Similarly, in high-demand low inventory areas, you can set a high price for your home.
If you need to sell your house now or at the earliest, here is a step-by-step guide to get started.
Set a time goal for selling your house
Start preparing your home well before you plan to list, keeping in mind that it might take several months.
At least three months before you want to list have an inspection done by a professional home inspector. The report will warn you of any issues that a buyer might point out during showings. If there are any major flaws, start the repair work so that it will be completed by the list time.
About a month before the expected showing, deep clean and declutter your home. Put large unwieldy furniture and other items in storage and remove personal belongings like pictures and souvenirs from the walls or mantelpiece. Potential buyers would want to visualize themselves staying in the house during showings and this stuff can upset the image.
Hire an experienced agent
Once you think of needing “help in selling my home”, hiring an experienced real estate agent is your go-to answer. Research the Internet, go through their experience, profiles and success rate, and shortlist a few of them. Take personal interviews, explain your requirements, and based on their assurances, hire one of them.
You have to pay a commission of around 3% of the sale price (on $400,000 it comes to a substantial $12,000) to your agent and in most cases a similar amount to the buyer’s agent, you get a lot of benefits that far outweigh the value of this amount.
A real estate agent will expose your house to a much broader audience than you could have going it alone. An agent will also negotiate on your behalf and get the best price for your house. You will also get help in prepping the house and staging it including having professional photographs taken for online marketing. Hire an agent if you want to sell your house now!
Know what to upgrade and what to leave out
Do not make costly renovations and upgrades hoping they will get you above market prices. Not all upgrades necessarily increase the curb value. Renovations to the bedrooms and the kitchen typically get high returns, but if you install new wood boards in your living room, you might lose money on it.
Instead, try DIY projects like landscaping your garden that catch the eye as soon as potential buyers walk in.
Set a reasonable price
This is a critical part of the sale process. Too high a price above market trends will scare away buyers. Too low and either you stand to lose money or put off buyers who might think there is something wrong with the property. A possible way to get it right is to check the rates at which houses in the neighborhood have been sold recently. This will help you to decide how much you can realistically ask from buyers.
A common mistake made by sellers is to price their houses unreasonably high and then downgrade in stages. This is not a good practice as buyers think that there is something amiss and will avoid buying the properties.
Marketing and preparing for Showings
While physical showings have been the norm for ages for selling a house, the advent of the Internet has given rise to online marketing. Buyers go through pictures of your house and decide whether it is right for them.
While your real estate agent will be guiding and helping you, ensure that a professional photographer takes photos of the house to put in the listings. A good photographer can make your rooms look bigger, brighter, and more attractive. Moreover, online listings are very crucial as it is here that potential buyers will first see your home and get their first impression.
As part of marketing, stage your home and keep it clean. For around $2000 hire a professional stager to guide you. Put all your excess bulky furniture in storage and ensure there is optimal flow of space between rooms throughout your house.
Finally, do not be in the house during showings. A buyer should have the leeway to discuss certain aspects of the house with the agent and it might be awkward to do so with you hanging around.
Go through the offers received
Once the possible buyers have seen your home, offers should start rolling in. Your real estate agent will now be a key player in negotiating them on your behalf. In a favorable market, you will get a price close to your listing but you might have to drive a hard bargain when the real estate markets are down.
There are three aspects here, accept the offer, reject it, or make a counteroffer when you want to sell your house. For example, in return for keeping your original price, you can offer to put a fresh coat of exterior paint or buy a new house carpet for the living room. A counter offer should be in writing and the buyer must respond quickly, say in 48 hours.
Consider the closing costs and the tax implications
In any real estate deal, both parties are liable to pay a part of the closing costs. While it has been the norm that the seller pays the commission of both the seller’s and buyer’s agents (approximately 6% of the sale price but negotiable), that is about to change. A federal lawsuit has stipulated that each party pay their part of the commission. This amount has always been the major chunk of closing costs for sellers.
Some other closing costs to be paid when you want to sell your house now are transfer taxes and recording fees. Moreover, married couples get a maximum of $500,000 tax rebate on the profits from the sale.
Put the paperwork together and close the deal
Keep all documents needed for a home sale together to help things move quickly. Your real estate agent will inform you of the paperwork required. Bring all the documents and any fees to be paid to the closing. After everything is signed and handed over, you have successfully sold your house.