There are a lot of decisions to make a long the way as you decide to sell your home and prepare it to be sold. This guide will walk you through the process and offer suggestions for each step of the process.
Step 1: Making the Decision to Sell
Are you ready to sell?Selling a home happens thousands of time a day and can be routine for the experienced, but if you haven't moved in a while have you asked yourself these questions:
- How are you feeling about moving? Are you motivated and ready to leave memories behind, have you review the condition of the home (is it ready to sell)?
- What do your finances look like? Do you owe less than what you home is worth?
- Have you spoken to a lender or have the cash to have the ability to position your self to be able to purchase the next home that suits your needs?
- What's my home worth? Let's Find Out
- What will be my net proceeds after the sale of your home. That is truly your bottom line. Most people look at how much they want to sell it for, but in reality you should be looking at your net proceeds and working backs to determine how much you should sell it for. Click here to request a net proceeds sheet for your home.
- What should I list my home for? This will be determined by the answers to the first two questions and what the market research tells you the market value is worth.
Step 2: Options to Selling Your Home Successfully
You have done your evaluation, feel confident in selling your home, and have an idea of what you can sell it for. The next big decision for you to make is what options do I have to sell my home?There are 3 common ways a seller will sell their home:
- Sell with the support of a real estate agent.
- List the home on your own .
- Look at offers from instant buyers.
Option 1: List with a real estate agent
There is no question selling a home can be stressful and time consuming. Far more than a homeowner realizes in the beginning. Here are some advantages to using an agent:
- They have a much larger network and marketing reach than the vast majority of home owners.
- Real Estate agents have the ability to get in front of hundreds of agents who's job is to look for homes for their clients who are already qualified and able to purchase a home quickly. IT'S THEIR JOB!
- Time and money savings is key - Real Estate agents can find qualified buyers faster and use their experience to navigate thru the multitude of contracts and forms as well as negotiate effectively to save sellers time and money.
- They have the ability to be objective and take the emotion out of the sale. Selling a home can be very emotional and buyers can be very critical at times. Real Estate agents can help take the emotion out of it and make sure your interests are met, you are getting the most for your sale, and your sale closes.
- Finally, paying a commission to a real estate agent can be worth every penny and more. Real estate agents typically sell a home for 6-8% more than the average home owner. Reduce your time and stress and still have a larger net proceed.
Selling your home is a FULL TIME JOB!!
Here are a few of the responsibilities a real estate profession will do for you:
- Perform an analysis of the local real estate market to price your home at fair market value.
- Assist with home preparation and staging. They will give you advice on where to spend your money and where not to waste it on repairs buyers won't necessarily care about.
- Offer a network of professionals to offer home staging, professional photography, virtual tours, and pre home inspections to help get you the most for your home.
- Marketing thru channels only available to real estate agents across 100s of website, multiple listing services, social media channels, and brokerages.
- Working with buyers to schedule appts, answer questions, and showing your home.
- Negotiate offers to get you the best price.
- Finally, handle tons and tons of confusing paperwork.
Option 2: For Sale By Owner
When selling your home on your own you are solely responsible for prepping your home, marketing, finding buyers, showing your home, negotiating offers, handling all of the paperwork, coordinating with lenders and title companies, and making sure the
deal closes.
Saving MONEY
In theory you don't have to pay a real estate agents commission to sell your home. However, all the time and work you put into selling your home is worth something. Also, real estate professionals know how to bring and negotiate competitive
offers which will bring you more money than the commissions you are paying them. Also, in most cases a buyer has an agent to represent them and will ask the seller to pay their commissions so all the work and time and still pay out a commission
without an expert on your side for negotiations and bringing you a competitive offer.
Saving TIME
Listing on your own you are under your own time lines to find the perfect buyer, find your next home etc. However, your own time lines and emotions can make the sale of your house drag out longer than you would like and then get in a rush to sell
and not make objective decisions that would benefit the sale of your home and your wallet. An agent would keep you on the right track and help you get it sold quickly and save you money.
Most For Sale By Owners sell a lot less quickly and for less money than they hope to when starting off. According to a recent National Association of REALTORS® survey, the reasons sellers choose to go the FSBO route, because they don’t want to pay
a commission (49 percent), they planned to sell to a neighbor or friend (26 percent), buyers contacted the seller directly (11 percent), or they already tried to sell with an agent who was unsuccessful (7 percent). It’s rare that the person simply
doesn’t want to work with an agent (4 percent). The survey also showed that the makeup of a FSBO seller has a median age of 54, an income of $96,700, and 75 percent are married.
The latest estimates from NAR also show that nearly 90 percent of sellers who try to market a home on their own fail, with most eventually turning to an agent after spending time and money trying to sell their home.
If you decide to list your home by owner here is a Step by Step Guide to selling your home by owner.
Step Option 3: Instant Buyers
What you need to know! Most sellers go the traditional route of selling with a real estate agent, but if you are in a hurry to sell, need to cash out of your home quickly, or have a home that is in need of repair and feel it will be difficult to sell
buyers maybe a route to go. They will give you cash instantly for your home with out having to make repairs, wait for buyers to view your homes, or deal with all the paper work involved in the traditional buying process. Instant Cash does
come with a price so beware it is not for everyone and every situation.
3: Preparing your Home to Sell
Staging and making repairs to your home is absolutely the most important thing you can do to make sure your home looks the best, sells quickly, and you get the most for your house.
Repairs
Only make repairs that are 100% necessary to get your home sold. Ask a real estate professional on what you should change or update on your home before making any changes. Most of the time home owners spend unnecessary money that they
won't get back on changes that buyers won't find important. For a list of items to repair check out this article. What to do before you list.
Staging and decluttering
Making your home look neat, organized, and open gives a buyer the feeling of a well cared for home that is comforting to them. Go thru your rooms 1 by 1 remove unnecessary furniture, objects, and personal items including family photos from the rooms
to eliminate distractions. Create a warm inviting space that a home buyer can see themselves in.
Marketing
Professional photos, virtual tours, and marketing material will attract the right buyers quickly and bring competitive offers. Ask your real estate professional if they offer professional marketing.
Now you have made the decision to sell, determined how and who you are going to use to sell your home, and prepared your home to sell. Next steps get your home on the market.
For more information on what to do after your home is listed including Finding Buyers, Negotiating Contracts, and Closing a Deal reach out to a member of THE 123 SOLD TEAM.
