7 Easy Steps To Selling Your House
Defining your needs, goals and reasons for selling your house is important prior to even thinking about the 7 steps outlined here. Why do you want to sell and what do you expect to accomplish with the sale? Do you have a specific time frame or profit margin that must be met in order to achieve your goals. These 7 steps about how to sell your house will help you answer some of these questions.
Understand current market conditions. The key indicators here are: number of homes on the market and the number of homes under contract to close (supply and demand). Are the number of days on the market and the number of pending sales increasing or decreasing? Is the months of inventory over 7 (a buyers market) or under 4 (a seller’s market)? A knowledgeable real estate agent has access to these numbers.
Assess the value of your home. An in-depth comparison of homes currently on the market, currently under contract, sold with the last 7 months and homes that did not sell with the last 6 months is essential information for determining the value of your home. Buyers are comparison shopping when they look at your home which makes it imperative that you know your competition.
Set the right price. Not pricing your home correctly may result in leaving money on the table or not selling your home at all. In any market it is a good idea to look at a range rather than one set price. If your time frame is short, pricing your home at the lower end of the spectrum may be advantageous. If you are a risk taker and want to test the limits, trying at the upper end of the price range could work out if you monitor it closely and look at all of the feedback with an objective mind. Asking the professionals for pricing recommendations at the low end, on target and premium priced is recommended.
Calculate the bottom line. The sale price of your home will not be the amount of money you net from the sale. Understanding all of your costs at the beginning of the home sale process is critical. Gather together the following information before meeting with a realtor: your first and second mortgage payoff, your annual property taxes and sewer lateral line costs and your home owner association dues. In Missouri the seller closing costs are relatively small but ask your realtor at this time to prepare an estimated net sheet for you.
Preparing your home for sale. When it comes time to sell your home, you must think of it a bit differently. Today it’s your home, tomorow it’s your asset. A buyer’s search includes 5 criteria: community, neighborhood, street, curb appeal and… you have 15 seconds to capture their attention after they open your front door. As a seller, you have control over the last two. You only get one chance to make a first impression.
Marketing your home. Once your house is ready to go live, it’s time to shout it from the rooftops. Buying a home is with the heart but in order to get a buyer to “heart” you house you need to get them inside. According to the National Association of Realtors, the 2018 buyer profile tells us that 44% of buyers started their search for properties online. Overall, 95% used the internet to search for properties. Eighty-nine percent bought through a real estate agent. Know the marketing strategy of the professional you hire to make sure they have a strong presence online. Not a bad idea to ask them to email you a link to a home they have marketed so that you can review their presentation.
In November of 2018 the National Association of Realtors released these statistics which profile home buyers in 2018.
Negotiating the sale. First and most important, review the net sheet with your agent and your most recent payoff information. This is definitely now a business deal, your home has now become your asset. Review your goals. Treat every offer seriously. Decide the significance of the buyers requests and your needs. Take a new look at the recent sales in your neighborhood and price point. Try to keep the negotiations cooperative rather than combative. Click here for additional information on negotiating the sale of your home.
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