The First Five Steps to Selling a Home
At Nest, we believe that buying and selling real estate is the most important financial and life decision you will ever make. These are the first five steps to take when selling your home. These steps apply to both first-time sellers and seasoned homeowners. Read on to get a head start on the home selling process:
The First Five Steps to Selling a Home:
1. Determine why you are selling.
2. Secure a trusted agent.
3. Get your home ready to sell.
4. Find comps and price your home.
5. Determine what’s next for you.
Let’s dig deeper…
Step 1: Why are you selling?
Take some time to determine why you want to sell your home in the first place. Do you want to be in a different neighborhood? Closer to work or family? Do you want more land to roam around, or would you like to cut down on yardwork? Do you need a bigger house, or smaller? Knowing your reasons for selling will help you determine your wants and needs as you look for a new home.
Step 2: Seller’s Helper
Once you’ve settled on selling, you need someone on your team who can help you navigate the ins and outs of the process. A listing agent is essential if you want a seamless sale. Your listing agent can give you suggestions on how to prep your home for sale, connect you with the right people to help the process go smoothly, and offer advice to sell your home for the highest dollar amount. Choose your listing agent carefully. Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations. Your listing agent should be your greatest advocate as you sell your home. Don’t just settle for anyone! Interview as many agents as it takes to find the right fit, since you’ll be trusting them with helping to guide you through making one of the biggest decisions of your life.
Things to look for in a listing agent:
• Communication—extremely important! You don’t want to work with someone who won’t return your calls. (Make sure to communicate how you want to be communicated with—do you prefer email, text, phone, WhatsApp, Signal, etc.?) You also need to find someone you can be open and honest with about your needs, expectations, and abilities throughout the process.
• Honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness—your agent will have access to your sensitive financial information. They will also be your mouthpiece during the process, so you need to know they have your best interests at heart. Honesty is key; some agents may value your home too highly in an effort to secure your business, so beware of any agents who give you a price that seems too good to be true.
• Real estate knowledge and experience—you’re hiring an expert, so find someone who knows what they’re doing. Your agent will be the one helping you get the best price and negotiating on your behalf to sell your home.
Step 3: Ready, set…
Even if the selling market is hot, you shouldn’t assume your home will sell as-is. Think like a buyer and you should be able to see ways to improve your home’s suitability to sell. Your agent can look at your home with an outsider’s perspective and tell you what changes will make the most impact.
Those little things that you’ve been meaning to do around the house? Go ahead and do them. Deferred maintenance is the most important thing to tackle as you get your home ready to sell. Buyers may shy away from spending much money on a home that needs a lot of repairs. If you know what needs fixing, great! Your agent can also point out repairs to get done. If you want to cover all your bases, you may want to consider having a home inspection done (your agent can recommend a good inspector). Buyers will probably request a home inspection before they buy; getting your own done can reveal problems you can then address before the home even goes on the market. Don’t forget to make a list of all the work you do.
Deep cleaning everything is a simple and cheap way to get your home looking its best. Giving your home a refresh beyond needed repairs can also help get you top dollar. This can include doing upgrades to improve kitchens, bathrooms, curb appeal, etc.—if it makes long term financial sense. Don’t overspend trying to add value if you can’t make that money back on the sale. You may want to consider staging your home. You’ll also want to work with your agent to have your home professionally photographed—it really makes a difference.
Remember, a little work can go a long way toward getting you the highest price for your home. Click here for an easy home sale checklist and find more helpful hints here.
Step 4: It’s worth how much?
Placing a value on your home can be tricky. If you’re like most sellers, you have spent years in your home and you’re used to all its quirks. You may have a sentimental attachment that will influence you to value your home above market value, and you may be overlooking red flags that might scare off buyers.
Real estate websites are not the best place to get an accurate estimate of your home’s value. Websites cannot take all factors into account. Often, web algorithms miss things like upgrades in a home or even location metrics, causing inaccurate estimates. Don’t fret—your listing agent can help! They can help you value your home and can recommend professional home appraisers. With a little care, you can price your home in that sweet spot to attract buyers and get you the highest price possible.
Step 5: What’s next?
Before going on the market, take the time to plan your next steps. You don’t want to be unprepared if your home sells quickly. Will you buy another home? If so, you can talk to your listing agent to get recommendations on a good buyer’s agent. Check out our post on Buying 101 for the first five steps you should take toward buying a new home.
Renting may make sense for you in the short term while you search for a new home. This can remove some of the stress of selling your home before you’ve found a new one, since you will have the flexibility to move at any time. Speak with your listing agent to see what their advice is, whatever your next steps might be.
Considering buying a home? Check out our Buying 101 post.