One of the very first things you should do before putting your home up for sale is,
ask yourself a few basic questions. These should be answered to make the decision a good move.
Here are just a few:
- What is the real reason why I'm selling my home?
- Do I need to sell it, or I want to sell it?
- Is my home ready to sell?
- If I sell my home, where and how are we going buy a new home?
- Can I afford the payments on a new home, and how can I find out what they will be?
- What kind of price will my home bring in today's market?
- Can I sell my home myself?
- What are my legal responsibilities of selling my home?
Since we can't cover all the questions that may come up during the process
of preparing to sell your home, let's start with just these basics, one by one.
What is the real reason why I'm selling my home?
- Many people come to the conclusion that they would like to sell their home for the wrong reason.
Maybe the home is too small for your family. This would be a good reason to sell,
but if you have not owned your home for very long, the chances of pulling a good enough price
may present an uphill battle to get it sold, especially if you have priced your home higher than the market will bear.
As a free service, I offer my services of evaluating your home. This takes only a few minutes on your part to let me tour
your home. Next I research the area, look up the homes that have sold recently that are similar to yours, and compare the
homes that currently on the market as competition to your value. From this analysis I can determine what the fair market value of your home should be.
This gives you the edge in placing your home in the price range that brings the highest price in the shortest time on the market.
Do I need to sell it, or I want to sell it?
- This can be a confusing question for some people to answer. For the most part, wanting to sell is the common answer. However if circumstances have pushed you into a situation where you cannot make the payments anymore, then there are many ways of handling this situation.
It is possible to sell your home even if you are in the beginning stages of foreclosure, or are well past the bank taking your home back.
Many times I have gone to bat for the owner to sell his home, working diligently with the bank to help spare the severity of the damage done to your credit. Sometimes I can convince the bank to let us sell your home for less, yes less, than what you owe on your mortgage. This can be very difficult to do, but I've learned what banks are willing and not willing to do in this situation. The good part is, you do not have to lift a finger in this process, we sell your home, we make the bank happy, and we help you through what seems like an impossible dead end.
Is my home ready to sell?
- To answer this question, it's always a good idea to take a careful walk around your home inside and out. Is there missing molding, base, or other trim work? Is the flooring in good and clean condition? Are there missing cabinets or drawer faces missing or damaged?
Outside, is there missing or damaged siding? What's the condition of the roof? Has it leaked and caused damage to ceilings inside? What's the condition of the yard? Is there needless "stuff" in the yard?
A thorough examination of your property may make you wonder if someone is going to want to buy your home. Remember if there is a home similar to yours on the market, at even a little higher price, a buyer is most inclined to purchase the one in better condition. Typically if a potential buyer sees something he is going to have to fix as soon as he moves in, you can bet, in his mind, he will reduce the price of his offer by the estimated repair costs and another $5000 or more for the hassle.
Your home does not have to be in perfect condition to sell. The trick is, what are the most important and least expensive repairs or improvements to make to beat the competition.
As part of my service, as your agent, when I tour your home, I can tell you which items can make the biggest difference in selling your home faster, as well as getting the highest market value in the sale.
If I sell my home, where and how are we going buy a new home?
- As your home is on the market awaiting a potential buyer, you can be laying the groundwork for buying your new home. Many preparations can be done ahead of time in anticipation of the sale of your home. One of the most important is financing. Shopping for the best rates and terms can prove to be very time consuming. Getting this step underway while your home is on the market can save some very valuable time, especially if you have sold it and are awaiting the closing.
Also as your agent I can be searching for the home you will next buy, even if that is in another state. As we progress toward the selection and purchase of your new home, I can assist in every detail of the transition to make it as easy as possible for you. After all, that's my job!!
Click here to go to our Finance Selections.
Can I afford the payments on a new home, and how can I find out what they will be?
- This is a very good question that must be answered well before you decide to put your home on the market. I've seen cases where the home was sold and the owner's credit and financial position had changed so much that he could not afford to move in to another home.
Estimating your budget well before making a move can keep you out of the poor house. You don't want to be "house poor" meaning, you don't want to be so strapped with paying for the new home, you can't even afford to make any improvements or have a little extra money for emergencies.
It’s quite easy to find out what your payment would be on your next purchase. Most banks and Credit Unions have web sites that include mortgage calculators, but mostly these calculators are based on fixed rate mortgages and can't predict what would happen if you had an ARM type mortgage.
Also, the payment that is derived by these calculators do not add your taxes and insurance into that payment amount. Those figures alone can make a payment jump another $150 to $300 more, plus you may have to pay other fees in your payment that will raise it also.
I strongly suggest calling or visiting your bank or mortgage company to assist you with your mortgage needs. Feel free to use the link above to have any of these area financial experts contact you regarding this. It usually only takes just a few easy minutes to assist you in your plans and their services are free without obligation.
What kind of price will my home bring in today's market?
- The key word here is "today's". The market is constantly changing, even from season to season throughout the year. Plus there are changes in the economy that can affect the value of your home. The area of the country, the area of the state, all have factors that determines weather your home will bring a good price or remain on the market for months.
You can't even rely on that appraisal you had done last year, because things can change so fast in one year, componded by the fact that there may be a glut or shortage of homes for sale at presant. Don't guess at what your home is worth, you could be thousands of dollars off either way, causing you to sell your home too cheep or wondering why it's not selling.
I'm constantly in tune with what the value of homes are doing in our area. Studying the changes and anticipating the up and down trends. I have to be on top of this data because without it, I can't present you with the most acurate evaluation of your home's marketability as well as pricing it to sell for the most money in the shortest time. This is a service I extend for free to all my clients, old or new.
Here is a good thing to remember. "Your home is worth what someone is willing to pay for it".
Can I sell my home myself?
- Yes...Many people do sell their own home themselves. For the most part if they have done their homework, placed ads in the best pulling areas, collected the proper forms, documents, and paperwork. Set up showings, screen prospective qualified buyers from just lookers, negotiate the best terms and conditions, bring to close and finalize the transition from owner to owner, record all the necessary documents with the correct governing agencies, and hope nothing goes wrong after the sale, then they are successful.
If you have time for all that, then you can save some money. But what if something goes wrong after the sale? Now you have to settle the matter with or without a lawyer or the courts involvement. Did you really save any money? What's the value of your time? Are the people viewing your home honest lookers or crooks looking to case your home for a robery, how do you tell?
Your REALTOR does all of these services for you. We do not show your home until we have verified that first, they are qualified to get a mortgage, qualified to purchase your price range of home, and meet most of the match criteria they have requested for your area. Sometimes it takes weeks to get a prospective buyer to this point alone.
Taking and making all the functions to make the sale happen IS a full time job, plus we all carry what's called "Errors and Omissions" insurance, which covers legal problems that may occur after the sale has been completed.
What are my legal responsibilities of selling my home?
- I touched a little on this in the question above, but if the process of selling your home is not done correctly, it's up to you to fix the problem legally and financially. If problems do arrise it could come back even years after the sale to haunt you. Doing your homework of the laws and requirements to do the job correctly in this ever changing legal world can be a real challenge even when someone such as myself work with this everyday.
Flat out and plain....YOU are and will be held legally responsible for the correct selling of your home.
To sum it up.
- If you would like to sell your home, I would suggest at the very least to have a free consultation and evaluation of your home by myself. We can discuss basically how much involvement you would like from me, all the way from just handling the paperwork and close, to a full listing package, where you just sit back and let me take care of all the details from start to close.
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