Are you thinking about selling your home? Have you done everything you need to prepare it for the market? Is now even the right time to sell?
There are a lot of things to think about before listing your home. For example, making repairs and renovations will make your home more appealing to buyers.
Yet, the average home seller spends over $21,000 making these updates. Do you have that kind of money? What about realtors, inspections, and appraisals?
Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t panic, we’re here to make selling your home easier. Keep reading a complete home selling checklist.
Evaluate the Current Real Estate Market
The real estate market fluctuates constantly. It can rise and fall with the economy, the season, or even the day of the week. The key to getting the best offer on your home is selling it at the right time.
Before listing your home, research the current real estate market. If you’re in the middle of a buyer’s market, it means there are a lot of available homes. Sellers have a lot of competition and generally have to sell their homes for a lower price.
In a sellers’ market, on the other hand, there are more buyers than sellers. This gives you the upper hand. You’ll be able to ask more for your home and may even enjoy a lively bidding war over your house.
Real estate markets differ from state to state. If you’re planning on selling your home in New York, for example, learn more about this real estate market.
Hire an Experienced Real Estate Agent
Real estate agents bring a lot of value to the table, literally. Even though it will cost you 3% of your earnings to hire an agent, homes sold through realtors typically sell for $25,000 more.
But that’s not all a realtor can do for you. They can help you prepare your home to make it more attractive to buyers. They will also help you create compelling listings that drive up interest in your home.
When it comes time to field offers, your realtor will provide sound guidance and counsel. They have years of experience in negotiation, which can result in selling your home for more money.
Have Your Home Inspected
Learning about the condition of your property is one of the most important items on our home selling checklist. You need to know exactly what condition your home is in before you list it. If you have an offer on the table and the buyer finds out you have water damage, it could cause them to back out of the deal.
Furthermore, there are certain inspection issues that will make your home ineligible for certain lenders. For example, if your home has water damage, negative drainage, mold, foundation issues, or a bad roof, you might not be able to find a buyer whose lender supports their offer on your home.
Make Necessary Repair and Renovations
The condition of your home will directly affect its value. If you want to get the most money when selling your home, you need to know what to repair, replace, and update.
However, if you’re working with a limited budget, updating your kitchen and finishing your basement may not be an option. In this case, focus on aesthetic repairs and updates that will make your home more visually appealing. This includes:
- Fresh paint inside and out
- New hardware (doorknobs, light fixtures, cabinet handles, etc.)
- Trim repair
- Drywall repair
- Improved lighting
- Etc.
While these fixes will help you sell your home faster, they won’t negate major damages. If your home has major underlying issues, you must notify buyers. Your realtor can also help you decide how to handle it.
Hire a Home Appraiser
After you’ve completed any home repairs and updates, you can accurately value your home. There are several ways to do this.
First, you can work with your realtor to conduct a comparative market analysis. They’ll look at the homes that have sold recently in your neighborhood to get a baseline idea of nearby home values. Based on how your home compares to those that have sold, you can get an accurate estimate of your price range.
However, many buyers and their lenders will require an official home appraisal value. A third-party appraiser will come to your house to inspect it and provide the most accurate and respected valuation.
Declutter and Deep Clean Your Home
Before giving tours of your home, it’s essential to spend some time deep cleaning it from top to bottom. The cleaner your home is, the more inviting it will feel to potential buyers. A dirty and messy home full of mysterious odors, on the other hand, will send buyers running in the other direction.
Selling your home and preparing it for tours will be much easier if you declutter and downsize your belongings. Now’s a great time to purge unwanted and unneeded stuff from your life.
You can sell valuable items online, donate things you can’t sell, and throw away anything else. You can hire a storage pickup and delivery service in San Francisco for items you want to keep but are cluttering up your home and need to be moved to your new residence. The few items you have cluttering up your house, the more spacious and open it will feel.
Boost Your Curb Appeal
The outside of your house and your property is the first thing buyers are going to see when they come to tour your home. As they pull up to the house, what will their first impression be? Will it make them want to tour your home or back out of the driveway and look elsewhere?
As noted earlier, invest in a fresh paint job if necessary for the exterior of your home. This is essential if the current paint is faded, peeling, an odd color, or otherwise unappealing.
We also recommend:
- Cutting the grass
- Pulling weeds
- Trimming trees, hedges, and other plants
- Clearing away garbage and debris
- Investing in planters and other outdoor decor items
Imagine what you would want to see if you were taking a home tour. What type of curb appeal would make you more inclined to place an offer on the house?
Are You Selling Your Home?
Have you accomplished everything on our home selling checklist? If not, it’s time to get to work. And remember, there’s more than one way to sell a house.
For more real estate tips or advice on selling your home, don’t go anywhere. Read through some of our other articles to find the information you need. Our blog was created to help people like you find answers.