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Seller’s Guide

Your House Selling Guide

Selling your house can be a very difficult process. Keep track of your progress with a checklist, to eliminate many of the mistakes, delays, and headaches that can occur at any time during the selling process. Consider bookmarking this page so that you can return to it frequently and ensure that you haven’t missed an important aspect of selling. Having a good game plan is crucial!

Should I Work With a REALTOR?

Some people believe that they will be able to handle selling their home on their own. But, the reality is that for sale by owner (FSBO) home sales typically take longer to sell and do not sell for as high of a price. Working with the right, professional REALTOR will ensure that your home gets the needed marketing and attention. As a point of reference, for every hour a real estate agent spends with their client, they typically put in an additional 9 hours of work toward selling your house on their own.

Be Realistic About Your Home’s Value

Everyone wants to sell his or her home for top dollar, but overpricing your home will often leave it sitting on the market for a long time. Many people will wait for the price to come down – or your home won’t even turn up in their search results because it is out of their price range. Plus, people will typically shop around in the area and immediately notice that you are asking for too much. By having a professional REALTOR price your home by comparing similar homes in the area that have recently sold, you will typically have a faster sale, and sometimes even multiple offers.

Prepare Your Home

Be sure to clean, de-clutter, and de-personalize your house before hosting any open houses or taking any videos or photos to market your home. People need to be able to picture themselves living in your home in order to be attracted to it. A good REALTOR will know how to professionally stage your house as well to maximize its appeal. So take down your collectible snow globes, organize your closets, the garage, the pantry, et cetera, and put things in storage if need be. You can also ask a friend or family member to store items for you in order to prepare your home. Now is also a good time to hold a yard sale and get rid of items that you don’t need to be taking to your next home.

Get a Pre-Inspection

Having a home inspector come in and evaluate your house can save you a lot of hassle later on. They may find issues with appliances, the structure, bugs, mold, and more. By being proactive and fixing these issues beforehand you won’t be as likely to see potential buyers backing out of a sale or making additional demands that could slow the process or decrease the sale price. Overall, it’s just smart to know if there are any problems well in advance because a buyer will be having the home inspected later anyway.

Cover All Bases For Your Move

Remember, not only are you selling your house, but you are also moving to another location. Be sure that you will have enough money to do this and that you will be ready to move quickly once your home is sold. It may be a good idea to have a contingency clause in your contract that allows you to have enough time to move to your new place. A good REALTOR should know how to ensure that you don’t run into any problems.