Complex, But Straightforward
Selling a home has a lot of angles to it that have to be taken into account. If you’re going to see the results you need to, best practices associated with those angles make a lot of sense. Who you list with, how you list, when you list, and where you list all represent aspects of first-time home sale that will influence the price you can sell at, and your actual earnings.
In this writing we’ll briefly go over a few considerable aspects of the home selling process to help you make the best choices in this area. As the old saying goes, without good counsel, plans don’t tend to succeed. So when you’re entering into the “battlefield” of home sale, be sure you have the “armor” and “weaponry” of solid advice.
- Realtors Can Help, But They Aren’t Always Necessary
Realtors know who’s looking for what, and where; but they take a commission. Just because selling your house at a higher amount would mean a higher commission doesn’t mean that’s something they want to do. See, if they can move a property faster at a discount, it’s to the realtor’s advantage to do that, because then they can move on to selling the next property.
Accordingly, realtors aren’t always going to hold out for the high price you know your property should command. That said, especially if you’re new at selling, you may not be able to find the buyers you need to for such high prices. In that situation, it would be folly not to work with a realty agency. In 2021, though, the market is hot. Colder markets recommend realtors more.
- Fix What Can Be Fixed, Renovate Where Appropriate
To maximize what you can sell a home for, you need to fix everything fixable, and upgrade or renovate if that’s appropriate. A refrigerator from the seventies should be replaced by a newer model. The same goes for washers, dryers, and dishwashers. New appliances do help property value, if slightly.
Landscaping also helps, as does changing all the lightbulbs, fixing all the “divots” in the walls, and cleaning up the floors. Reflooring some rooms makes a lot of sense as well. Upgrading and renovating property is very wise if you want to add thousands to your asking price. In fact, landscaping alone can add 5% to 12% or more to your property’s value.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
- The MLS Angle Can Do Much To Help You Sell
Something else to take into account regards the best means of selling a property in terms of making it visible. There has been a lot of writing on the subject, an MLS expert wrote a blog post that can be very illuminating. It concerns what Multiple Listing Services do, and what that means to you as a first-time home seller.
Essentially, for a small fee, you can list your home nationally across a broad variety of real estate websites. There are print periodicals as well that some MLS options will give you access to. That said, not all of them do. Regardless, the more visible your property is, the more likely you are to sell that property fast.
- The Selling Process Is Generally Not Fast
Even if everything is proceeding along at a rate that’s average, you should expect the time it takes to sell your property to be anywhere from one month to a year. The average tends to be between two and three months. Some markets go slower than others. There are places where a house won’t sell for years, and that’s the “normal” rate of sale.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
- As-Is Companies Buy Quick, But Cheap
As-is companies, by contrast, can get your property sold within a week or two—you’re unlikely to see the process be finished in a single day, but the right conditions can facilitate as much. Here’s why as-is companies work like that: essentially, they buy fledgling or bottom-dollar properties, fix them up, and sell them at an increased rate covering their refurbishment costs.
Accordingly, they have to buy from you at a rate cheaper than your property’s overall value. But especially if not working with them would require you pay for the cost of managing the property for several months anyway, it makes good sense to save that money and go with an as-is option. Still, you are definitely leaving money on the table. The question is: how much?
Getting The Most Value From Your Property
If you’re selling a property for the first time, there are definitely considerations you need to get your mind around. As-is companies can be more valuable than selling yourself or with a realtor, but only in certain situations. However you swing it, you’ll get less than the property’s actual value going this route.
Also, the selling process isn’t that fast generally, MLS services represent a pretty good deal for private sellers, renovation and repair will enhance property value, and realtors can be helpful, but in some situations they may not be necessary. All selling situations are different, so inform however you proceed through data and advice from those who’ve gone before.
