Thinking of selling? You’re not alone – more than 900,000 houses were sold throughout the United States in July 2020. But if you’re still on the fence when it comes to listing your home, here are some questions that can help guide your decision.
Why do you want to sell?
There are many reasons to sell a home:
- You’ve outgrown your home
- The kids have moved out and you want to downsize
- You prefer renting to homeownership
- You no longer want to be tied down to a mortgage
- You’re relocating for work, school, marriage, or family
- You’ve gotten a pay raise and want to trade up
- The market is hot and you stand to make a profit
When deciding to sell your home, being clear about your reasons for selling will help you set goals and objectives for the sale. It will also inform your negotiation strategy.
For example, if you’re relocating for work, you might need to sell your home as quickly as possible. This will guide the selling process and make you more receptive to buyers who can close the sale without delays. But if you’re selling for profit, you’ll naturally want to sell to the highest bidder.
Is this the right time to sell?
Timing the sale of your home is crucial to success. Some sellers wait for favorable market conditions that can help them make a profit from the sale. Others may time the sale of their home with major life events, like a marriage, childbirth, divorce, retirement, or a death in the family.
Other factors to consider when timing the sale of your home include your emotional readiness to let go of the property, especially if you have lived in your home for many years.
Who’s representing you?
It might be tempting to cut out the middlemen and go the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) route. But if you have no experience selling a home or negotiating a real estate transaction, you might end up getting the short end of the stick. Getting professional representation will help you achieve your real estate goals with as little stress as possible.
Your agent will protect your interests by making sure your home is priced correctly and by negotiating the best terms possible. If you have questions about working with an agent, contact The Telchin Group today.
How much do you want to sell for?
Pricing your home is a delicate art. To get an accurate price estimate, you must gather relevant market data on West Palm Beach house prices, taking unique property features, major renovations, and recent upgrades into consideration as you go along.
This is where your agent comes in. A local agent can conduct a market analysis and look into comparable properties in order to come up with a price range for your home.
From there, you can discuss the best pricing strategy. Although it is common practice for agents to set the asking price a little higher than the property’s fair market value (FMV) to make room for negotiations, it can backfire under certain market conditions.
Discuss your motivations for selling with your agent – the highest offer isn’t always the best offer. Depending on your circumstances, you may need to prioritize buyers who can close the sale quickly or whose timeline is more aligned with yours.
Try to be as objective as possible by taking a hard look at available market data. Pricing your home accurately can help keep the property from staying on the market too long.
What’s included in the sale?
Now that you know how much your home is potentially worth, you must decide which items are included in the sale. Sellers typically include major appliances and fixtures in the sale. You can also sweeten the pot by adding certain pieces of furniture or artwork. In any case, you must itemize all inclusions and put them in writing so that buyers know what they’re paying for.
Have you already found a new home?
If you’ve already purchased a new home, then relocating should be no problem. However, most sellers wait to offload their current home before buying a new one. Moreover, if you’re buying a house contingent on selling your current one, you can only make the purchase in the event that you close a sale.
This will protect you from having to pay off separate mortgages for two different properties. If you think that this will be more advantageous to you, talk to your agent about including a contingency clause to your offer.
If you’re ready to sell in Ibis, FL and the surrounding communities, contact The Telchin Group here. You can also contact their agents at EricTelchin(at)Hotmail(dotted)com. They can help you secure the best offer for your home.