A Guide to Simple Home Selling

Selling your home is a long process – but by taking purposeful steps throughout the process, you can feel confident from prep work to closing paperwork. The tips below provide a great base to build from.

Meet with an Agent Right Away

Every home sale is unique. With that said, you need someone who knows these transactions like the back of their hand to guide you through personalized steps from the very start. For example, your agent can walk through the home with you to share their opinions on what updates would bring a return on investment and overcome some buyer’s apprehensions, and which ones would be better off skipped.

At the same time, don’t rush into a relationship with an agent. Do your due diligence and make sure the agent is a right fit for you. Interview them like you would with anyone you were offering a job to ensure you are on the same page. Pro tip: do not hire the broker that promises the highest sale price, to learn more about this read here.

Set your Desired Timeline

Home sales take time — figure out the date you’d like to move by and work backward from there. Consider choosing a span of a few months in case your agent suggests a certain time of year that will work best in your situation. It’s always best to start with a plan, and January is a perfect time to map out what you want your year to look like.

Declutter your Living Space

Getting your home staged to sell takes time, especially if you’ll still be living there during the showing process. Start by going through the items you no longer want and donating or selling them to create some extra space. Then, look into the things you don’t need right now. Can you rent a storage space for out-of-season clothing, knick knacks, unneeded furniture, and memorabilia?

This can also be a great time to perform any small fixes or coats of paint that your agent recommends, since you’ll be moving items around anyway.

Chat with a Lender

This suggestion might seem irrelevant if you’re focused on selling your home, but many people listing homes are also looking at buying in the future too. Make sure to be prepared for both sides of the transaction by talking with a lender and ensuring your finances are ready when you decide it’s time for your next big buy.

This stage may include a number of small tasks, including:

Checking your credit score.
Doing the math to see how much you’ll make on your home sale (and how much you’ll be able to put down on the next one).
Cutting costs to afford a better upgrade or to squeeze last-minute fixes into the budget before the big day.
Can you get a bridge or HELOC loan?
Or maybe you should consider buying a new home first before selling

Whether this is your first home sale or fifth, it’s going to be a process that takes time, focus, and frontend effort. With the help of that solid agent you find right away, however, it can be pretty close to painless.

Get in touch for help, advice, or just to find out what selling your home could look like. We’d love to work with you!