From listing your residence for sale to closing the deal, the process of selling a home is a road filled with obstacles around every corner. In 2019, the National Association of Realtors or NAR found that only 66% of homeowners were satisfied with the process of selling their homes.
If you’re a first-time home seller, here’s a complete guide to help you sell your property and guarantee satisfaction in the process.
The first step to sell your home is intentionally deciding to put your property on the market. Many people sell their homes in haste and then regret their decision later down the road.
If you’re thinking about selling your home, stop and ponder over these questions first:
- Do you feel emotionally ready to leave your house and all its memories behind and move to a new place?
- Are you equity positive, meaning you’re certain you won’t owe more money than what your home is worth?
- Are you in a financially stable position, and can you afford to buy a new home that will fulfill your needs?
In 2019, more than 5.34 million houses were sold in the US, and this number has only increased in the last two years. Many people are deciding to sell their homes and buy new ones during the pandemic. However, selling a home is a big decision, so you need to be sure and avoid jumping the gun to prevent feeling any remorse after the sale.
After you’ve made the decision to sell your home, you need to evaluate its worth. The price of homes has increased during 2021, and buyers are interested in buying new properties quickly and at a higher price due to low inventory in the real estate market.
You can calculate the value of your property by doing a free home value estimate using online tools available on the internet. These automated valuation models or AVMs use real estate market data and algorithms to estimate the price of your house. All you have to do is enter your home address into the tool to get a ballpark figure of your home’s monetary value.
However, these online tools will only provide you an estimate, and you need to consult an expert before you set a selling price for your home. Setting the right asking price is crucial as going too high might lose you interested buyers, while going too low would cause you a financial loss.
You can contact a local real estate agent to provide you a comparative market analysis or CMA. This price takes into account the recent selling prices of properties sold in your surrounding area with features similar to yours.
A detailed and thorough CMA involves collecting data such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in your house, its square footage, proximity to local attractions or noisy main roads, etc.
You need to remember that your home’s asking price is not the amount of money you’ll earn from the sale. To calculate your final take-home pay, subtract sale costs such as taxes, utility costs, HOA fees, real estate agent fees and commission, cost of any renovations or remodeling you do before the sale, remaining mortgage.
Selling your house at the right time is vital if you want to secure a higher price and close the deal in less time. Recent statistics show that a homeowner can increase their profits from a home sale by more than 75% if they sell their property at the right time.
While a popular belief in the real estate world is that spring is the best time for houses to be put up for sale, this might not be applicable to the specific area where you live. Conduct an inventory analysis on the real estate market in your local area, see how many houses are being sold and how much competition you’ll face to judge what will be the best time to put your house on the market.
You should also look at whether you’ll be selling in a buyer’s or seller’s market. A market where there are less than six months of supply favors home sellers, whereas a market with more than six months of supply is better for home buyers.
It's generally recommended for homeowners to put their house for sale in a seller's market where there's less inventory, and you have more chances of getting a higher price for your property.
Lastly, you must calculate the amount of time the process of selling your home will take so you can estimate when you’ll need to move out and when you should start looking for a new home.
Generally, a house sits on the market for about 26 days, and it takes an additional 46 days for a home buyer to close a deal by securing a purchase loan. In total, you should expect to spend about 72 days in the complete process of selling your home from listing to closing.
The author is a real estate expert and provides tips for home sellers and buyers. He also writes about selling homes for cash in Akron, Canton, Cleveland, and other places in Northeast Ohio.