There are a large variety of reasons why someone might want to sell a home, but most people will likely have the same goals in mind: selling quickly and selling for a good value. Achieving these goals shouldn’t be too hard, especially since many cities and regions in the company are in a seller’s market, making the competition among buyers relatively high. However, even though selling a home might seem easy in these conditions, there are a lot of tools you will want to familiarize yourself with as a first time seller prior to listing your home on the market. Getting to know these tools, tricks, and tips will help you smoothly navigate your first home.
Get Your Home Appraised and Inspected
Before listing your home, you’ll want to get it appraised and inspected so that you can have a good idea of how much it’s worth and if you need to do any work to it. Finding the value of your home will help you to come up with a good and fair listing price that is close to what similar properties on the market are being sold for. Listing for both too high and for too low can deter serious buyers from making an offer. You should also look at an online home value estimator to get a ballpark answer of what your home is worth.
As far as inspections go, knowing if your home is ready to sell or requires some maintenance work is crucial to the process. Selling a home with code violations can potentially leave you at risk of contract violations and, at the worst, lawsuits. If your home does have violations, you will either need to make repairs or fully disclose what issues are at hand.
Match with an Experienced Agent
When selling your first home, having an experienced real estate agent by your side during the process will make you feel more comfortable and will help you during all of the ups and downs. Real estate is a complicated industry, and if you’re not familiar with the steps that go along with selling a house, then having a Realtor as your guide is key. While the commission percentage might seem daunting, you may actually save money by hiring an agent because they may be able to sell your home for much higher than its appraised value. Hire someone who you trust, who has excellent experience, and who you have good rapport with.
Stage Your Home and Take Professional Pictures
Prior to listing your home and getting started on showings, consider what your plan is for staging. Some people will hire a staging company to take care of this for them, especially if their house is empty, while others will take matters into their own hands. A well-staged home can make your listing appear more valuable and attractive to buyers and is a matter that you should discuss with your agent. In addition to staging, taking well-lit and high-quality photos is also important. Using these two tools will get your home ready to present to the market.
Meet With Serious Buyers Virtually or In Person
Once your home is listed and people start making inquiries, it’s time to set up showings. Because we’re still in a pandemic, decide what the best and safest option is going to be for both yourself and buyers. Virtual showings and open houses are still very popular, but if you feel comfortable with in-person showings, be sure to take precautions. Showings are one of the most important steps in selling a home and we suggest planning these carefully with your real estate agent!
Finish Up the Process
Once you’ve gone through the processes mentioned above, you’re likely well on your way to selling your house to a serious and qualified buyer. During the final steps when the buyer closes on the house after final mortgage approval, you’ll be able to finish the process and finally relax.
