Four Things You Need to Do Before Listing Your House

If you’re eager to sell your home and buy a new one, you might rush to put your house on the market. However, you should take a step back and really assess the situation. If there’s a lot of competition in your local market, your property can sit for several months with little interest. This can be frustrating and discouraging. For that matter, don’t rush. Here are four things you need to do before listing your house for sale.

1. How much do I owe?

 

Emotions may persuade you to sell your house quickly. Maybe you’re expanding your family and need a bigger home. Regardless of the situation, you need to crunch the numbers and determine whether now’s the right time to sell.

Take into consideration how much you owe the mortgage lender. Visit your lender’s website or call the bank to get a payoff amount. Once you have this information, determine how much you’ll need to sell the property for. A real estate agent typically requires a 6% commission, and if proceeds from the sale will go toward the down payment on the next property, decide how much you’ll need to profit from the sale.

For example, if you owe the bank $140,000, and realtors charge six percent commission, and you need a $7,000 down payment to purchase a new property, given these numbers you’ll need to sell for at least $155,400. The next question is: can you sale for this amount?

You may think you can get a certain price for your home, but the local market ultimately determines the value of the house. A realtor can provide comparable sales and statistics to help you understand what similar homes have sold for in recent months, or you can hire an appraiser to assess your home’s value.

2. Realtor vs. For Sale By Owner

 

Most home sellers prefer using a real estate agent to handle the transaction. The realtor is responsible for listing the house, marketing the property, arranging showings, plus they can help with paperwork and answer questions. However, after completing market research and getting an appraisal, you may decide that you can’t afford a six percent commission, and selling the home yourself might be the only alternative. You don’t need a realtor to sell your house, just make sure you know what you’re getting into before handling the sale yourself. You’re responsible for the marketing and the meetings with potential buyers.

3. Get pre-approved

 

Before listing your house for sale, get pre-approved for a new mortgage. The truth of the matter is, there’s no point in selling your house if you don’t qualify to buy a new one. A pre-approval is a simple process that takes less than a week. Basically, you complete a mortgage application, submit your income information and the lender pulls your credit. Based on this information, the bank determines if you qualify for a mortgage, and how much you’re eligible for receive.

4. Tour other homes for sale

 

Because many homebuyers seek move-in ready properties that require minimum improvements, you’ll need to compare your home with other houses on the market. You don’t have to invest a ton of money in total renovations, just know that the more modern the space, the easier it’ll be to sell. Visit similar homes for sale in your area to assess the competition. If your sale prices are comparable, but these homes are staged, updated and in better condition than your property, your home might not sell as quickly.

To make your property more appealing to buyers, de-personalize the space so that potential buyers can envision their family living in the home. Choose neutral colors for the wall and replace worn items, such as the carpet, appliances, fixtures, tile floors and windows. Most buyers aren’t looking for perfection, but at the same time, many aren’t going to purchase a home that requires thousands of dollars in improvements — unless the price is low enough.

Final Word

 

Home selling is a competitive game, especially when there are many homes on the market. However, if you do preliminary work and research the market, and if you know what buyers want, you can sell faster and move into a new place sooner.

source:  totalmortgage.com

How to Sell Your Home Without an Open House

It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling a home yourself or working with a realtor, selling your property quickly is a priority. This way, you can move into your new home sooner rather than later.

Several marketing techniques can help sell a home faster, and many real estate agents host open houses which give potential buyers an opportunity to visit the home, receive information, and ask questions.

Although open houses are typical when selling a property, these aren’t always effective. As a matter of fact, you may consider open houses to be a complete waste of time. Luckily, there’s no rule that says you have to host an open house Instead, you may choose to focus on other selling methods. For example:

1. The power of an online listing

If you’re working with a realtor, ask about his marketing plan. You need your agent to do more than simply post a sign in the yard. You need your home to appear on websites, such as Zillow.com and Trulia.com.


Since many homebuyers use the Internet for preliminary searches, getting your house online is one of the most effective ways to attract attention. If you’re selling the home yourself, you can list the property on the multiple listing service (MLS) for a fee. This way, real estate agents can learn about the home and schedule times for their clients to tour the property.

Additionally, list your property on other websites, such as Owners.com and ForSaleByOwner.com (if you’re selling without an agent). You can also take advantage of a free Craigslist posting. However, there are rules when posting on this site. Read the terms and guidelines carefully to avoid having the listing removed from the site.


2. Don’t forget to add photos
With an online listing, it isn’t enough to provide text details about the property. That may be important stuff, but a picture speaks a 1000 words. Take images of each room of the house, and stage the property before taking these photos. Remove clutter, repaint and rearrange furniture to maximize space. It’s important to highlight as much available space as possible. Also, take photos of impressive features, such as a new fireplace mantel, granite countertops or any other sought-after real estate feature.

3. Create a video tour and post online

Since many homebuyers start their home search online, the more information you have online, the better. Some home sellers and agents have gotten creative and started making video tours of a property. These don’t have to be elaborate videos, and you can use any handheld video camera or the video camera on your smartphone.

Start recording at the entrance of the property and slowly walk through the home highlighting features and rooms, such as the kitchen and bathrooms, bedrooms, closets, and any other amazing features. You can add narration to your video, or use editing software to add music in the background. Once you finish recording and editing the video, post it to YouTube, attach it to your online listing, or post a link on Facebook or Twitter and share with your friends.

Bottom Line

The odds of finding a buyer with an open house are slim, so you’ll need to consider other ways to market your property and attract attention. Since the Internet is one of the first places homebuyers look, you’ll need to increase your online visibility to move your house quickly.

source: totalmortgage.com