Selling a house is as easy as putting it in the market and then selling it for a lump sum of money, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, a lot goes into the selling of a house. If you’ve decided to make the leap and sell your house, there are a few important decisions you need to make, and quite a few things you need to do before you get to the actual selling part. Keep reading to learn more about the most important steps you need to take before selling your house.
Decide on the type of buyer
There are various types of people who buy houses – some people buy houses to live in, others buy them with the intent of renting them out. Certain buyers buy house with the hopes of renovating them and flipping them for a profit, and then there are investors who buy homes. Determining the type of buyer you want is important, as it will affect your asking price, your method of advertising, and whether or not you will be renovating your house. It may even have an effect on how quickly your house will sell.
Decide on whether you want a real estate agent or not
There are two main routes you can go when selling your house: you can either hire a real estate agent, or try to sell it on your own. Many people avoid real estate agents, since they take a portion of the profit and therefore lower the amount of money you’ll get from the sale, but there are various reasons why getting a real estate agent is a good idea. You’ll need to weigh the pros and cons of each option and decide which one is best for you.
Get a house valuation
No two houses are exactly alike. The price a house will be sold for depends on a lot of factors, and most of the time, we don’t even know what to look for when deciding on an asking price. That’s where house valuations come in. Property valuations will give you an idea of what a reasonable asking price will be, as well as give you ideas of what you can do to increase this price.
Decide on an asking price
Once you’ve had your house valuated and have an idea of the price bracket it falls into, you need to decide on what you’re going to ask for it. This isn’t as easy as simply asking the price your house is valued at. Most houses never sell for exactly their asking price, although there are secrets for selling your house without dropping the asking price. You’ll need to decide whether you’re going to make your asking price a bit higher so that you have some room to negotiate with the buyer. You’ll also need to decide on what the lowest offer is that you will accept. You can always do some renovating and remodeling so that you can up the asking price, but keep in mind that this will cost you a fair bit of money.
