Selling your home can be exciting. You get the opportunity to choose a new place to live, and that can give you a fresh start. It’s like an adventure. Still, if this is the first time you’ve ever sold a home, you may also have some concerns about the process. You want to do it right, and make sure you and your buyer have the best experience. As a first time home seller, here are five important things you might not be aware of.
1). Do you need to pay a commission?
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Whether you need to pay a commission depends on how you sell your home. If you decide that you’re going to work with a real estate agent in your local area, the commission expense could be high. If you choose to sell your home online, you can pay far less in commission through a company that can help you. Of course, you can also completely avoid paying commission if you use a FSBO listing. That would mean you were selling your home without any representation or help at all, and that can make you feel stressed if you’re not used to selling homes. As you get ready to list your home for sale, explore your options and ask about commission, so you’re clear on what you will need to pay and you understand the costs depending on the option you choose.
2). When should you move out?
You have some choices as to when you move out. Selling your home can be easier if it’s vacant, but it can be a good choice to have it staged. Many people also can’t move out of their home and into another one until they have sold their home, so they have to wait before they move out. If you aren’t planning on moving out of your home until it’s sold and you’re coming up on closing, you want to make sure you take good care of the home. That way you don’t have to worry about something breaking or going wrong right before the closing. The buyers may want to do a final walkthrough before closing, and if they find a problem that could hold up the process.
3). How do you decide what price to ask?
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Your home’s price is often the single most important factor in how quickly and easily it sells. As a first time seller, it can be daunting to come up with the right price. The way most agents arrive at a price for your home is through what they call the “comps.” These are listings in your area that have recently sold, and that are comparable to your home. Then there is money added or subtracted based on the differences between those homes and your home. Square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms, and many other factors are all taken into account.
If you’re a first time seller and your home is just sitting on the market, it could be because you’re asking too much. You can get a real estate agent to help you, or you can also hire an appraiser to give you information about the true market value of your home. Don’t base your selling price on speculation, what you owe on your mortgage, or what you paid for the home when you bought it. Those are generally not very accurate when it comes to deciding the actual value of a home. If you don’t price things right, you could end up with a home that just won’t sell, even if it’s a very nice place to live.
4). What can you really expect?
Knowing what they can and should expect is among the biggest things sellers are unsure about when they’re selling their first home. You don’t have anything to base it on, because it’s not something you’ve done before. Asking friends and family to tell you their stories can help, but it’s also very important to keep in mind that everyone is different. Your home-selling story isn’t going to be exactly like anyone else’s, and that’s okay. You should expect buyers to make offers and not just pay full price. You should also expect the buyer to want a home inspection, and they may ask for repairs or a lower price, based on what the inspector finds. In short, it’s usually best to expect the unexpected, and take some time to think about a response before making one.
5). How much work should you put into staging?
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Being prepared is a very important part of selling a home for the first time. Your home should be clean and de-cluttered, and should have as much curb appeal as possible. That can be easier with some homes than others, but it’s vital to consider how buyers are going to see your house. Don’t wait to make changes until you start getting negative feedback from people who have seen your home. First impressions are such an important part of getting a home sold, and you want as many buyers as possible to love your house right from the start.
De-clutter, put away personal pictures and knickknacks, and make your home as pleasantly neutral as possible. Also make sure that it’s easy to understand what every room is used for. That way buyers can see the true layout of the home and all of its useable space, so they can have a better appreciation for it. That can help you have your first home sale, so you can move on to new things.
