Moving can be a major hassle. You have to organize all your stuff, pack it away in boxes, load the boxes onto a truck, load them off a truck, then unpack them and reorganize everything all over again. One thing you can’t take with you, though, is your house itself.
Selling a house is a more complicated process than many people realize. It takes time. It takes effort. But most of all, it takes planning. Here are some factors to consider when putting your home on the market:
Closing Costs
Think that selling a home is as simple as putting up a For Sale sign and waiting for the cash to roll in? Think again. Believe it or not, selling a property takes both work and money. Sure, you’ll gain more than you lose, but these are still things worth keeping in mind. The biggest embodiment of this idea might just be the concept of closing costs.
Closing costs include such expenses as transfer taxes, attorney fees, agent commissions, title insurance, seller concessions, and more. It’s a good idea to use a seller closing costs calculator beforehand so you can figure out approximately what is expected of you.
Advertising
As noted above, selling a house requires more than just having a house you don’t want anymore. Indeed, the very nature of “selling” isn’t just about exchanging money; it’s about offering a product that someone likes enough to buy. That takes marketing and advertising know-how.
Without advertising, the audience you’re hoping to attract won’t even know you exist. Without marketing, that audience won’t see what makes your property any better than the other zillions of properties on the market. That’s why it’s important to have a game plan going into things. Know where you’re going to advertise and who you’re trying to advertise to, then go about staging and photographing your home to appeal to those potential buyers.
Home Inspection
No one wants to buy a house that they know nothing about it. In particular, people like to know if a property you’re going to have to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in is going to require even more thousands of dollars for maintenance and repairs.
Arranging for a home inspection before you put your property on the market is a good way to reassure buyers that they won’t run into any unpleasant surprises. If an inspection reveals issues that need fixing, you might want to work on making repairs yourself or, at the very least, informing your buyers so they can make a properly educated decision.
Timing
It’s been said that timing is everything. That’s as true in the real estate market as it is anywhere else. Good timing is an integral part of any home-selling plan, and it can make a major difference in how successful you are and how much profit you’re able to generate.
Timing can be hard to get right, considering how often the real estate market shifts. Still, by paying close attention to the rising and falling of property values in your region, you’ll be well-equipped to pick the perfect time to strike. It’s worth noting that winter has always been considered a “slow season” for real estate, while the months of May, June, and July tend to be the most profitable.