Published by Programme B
A time will probably come when you want to sell your home. Maybe you feel like you need a larger house because you’re expecting a child. Perhaps you want to downsize because you’re going to retire soon. You may want to move to a home without stairs if you’re an older adult with mobility issues.
Whatever the reason for moving on from your current house, you should keep a few things in mind if you’re going to sell. We’ll talk about some of those now.
There’s a Good Time of Year to Sell
Most years, around 40% of home sales happen between April and July. That’s what some realtors call “selling season” or “home buying season.” It’s a sweet spot when you can usually expect pleasant weather around the country. Nobody likes trying to buy a home in January or February when you need to deal with snowstorms, ice, etc.
You can always try selling your home at a different time of year, but if you put it on the market between April and July, you have a better chance of making a quick sale. If you try to sell the property at a different time of year, you might have to wait for a buyer.
If you have a house on the market for quite some time and can’t find a buyer, you may have to continue lowering the price until you do. You can wait till the four-month period we mentioned if you don’t have some compelling reason to sell the home at a different time of year.
Staging a Home and Professional Photography Can Lead to a Fast Sale
Some people make a couple of mistakes when they try to sell a home. They take pictures of the home’s interior, and then they post those pictures on Zillow or Redfin when they put the house on the market.
The issue is that they don’t bother cleaning up their home’s inside so that it looks as nice as possible.
They also fail to move all of their own things out and move in some pieces to stage the property, like high-end furniture, art to hang on the walls, and so forth. If you already have the house very nicely decorated, then taking pictures of it and leaving your own furniture and decorations is possible.
For the most part, though, you have a better chance at a quick sale if you move all your own things out, get a professional to stage the house, and hire a photographer to take the pictures rather than using your smartphone to take them. Staging a home with high-end furniture and art is crucial if you want the property to appear attractive. You should also get a professional to take pictures you can post on selling sites and apps.
A Seller’s Market Can Backfire on You
Over the past couple of years, a strong home seller’s market has developed in America. Most home prices have soared.
Markets favoring buyers or sellers don’t last forever. At the moment, though, you’re likely to get a great price on your home if you do some work on it and put it on the market.
There’s an issue, though, if you’re planning to sell your home and move into another. That makes you both a buyer and a seller. The money you make selling your home might all have to go toward the new one you’re buying, which should also fetch a high price. In other words, the bullish seller market can quickly wipe out all your profits.
If you are selling your home and moving into an apartment, that’s probably the best way to get around this. You can keep the majority of the profit you made by selling your house while the market’s in your favor. Maybe later, when the market cools off, you can move from the apartment back into a house that you can get at a lower price.
Curb Appeal Can Sell Your Home
You might sell your home based on curb appeal if you can’t secure a quick sale right when you put it on the market. You can improve the property’s appearance by adding things like flower boxes to the windows or applying some fresh paint.
These options don’t cost a great deal of money and might secure a sale. They won’t cost anywhere near as much as putting on a new roof or some other significant home improvement.
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