Sell Your Home

Important Questions for You Home Buying InterestsYou have evaluated your reason for moving, found that they are valid, and started researching your new neighborhood. You are committed to selling your home. Before you start interviewing real estate agents, ask yourself some important questions. Is your home in need of repair? Should I update the interior? How energy efficient is it? How much is the house worth? Technically, these are questions you should ask yourself about every 5-10 years. Looking at these items periodically and making the necessary adjustments will help to relieve so of the stress that selling your home can bring.Steps to Buying a HomeGet an appraisal and a home inspection. An appraisal will tell you what your home is worth within its current state within the market. This will help you to choose an appropriate selling price if you decide not use a real estate agent. If you have an agent, it will tell you if they are overbidding just to receive the list. Next, you know that the buyer is going to have your home inspected prior to purchase. Go ahead and have it inspected ahead of time so that you can properly repair any major problems prior to the listing. Either way it is going to cost you. Better to know and repair than to take a percentage off the asking price or before forced to repair it as a condition of the purchase. A pre-inspected home also shows buyers that you have nothing to hide.So, you know what your home is worth and it’s repaired so that you can list it at a better price. This is the time when you can start thinking about updating the interior and exterior. You know that the new owners may not share the same decorating tastes; however, knowing which updates to make to your home will help you to save both time and money. Let’s start from the outside and move on in.First impressions are everything when it comes to selling your home. The logic is if it looks bad on the outside; image what it’s like on the inside. This is why you will start the repairs from the outside. Check shutters, gutters, fences, paint, stonework and siding. If they need to be repaired, repair them. If your home still has the original door; purchase a new one. According to Remodeling magazine’s 2009–10 Cost vs. Value Report, a steel door will give you a 129% ROI. They recommend that you skip the fiberglass version as it only has a 65% ROI and costs three times as much. Also, opting for an energy efficient door will garner you a 30% tax credit. If you have yet to landscape, do so with some bright perennials or plants native to the area. If you live in a high drought area consider Astroturf, decorative stones, or a combo of both to help create a great first impression.Moving inward – repair and/or replace.If there are any plumbing issues, fix them. If you have the budget, replace insulation. According to John Miley his article 8 DIY Projects to Add Value to Your Home by Labor Day in Kiplinger.com, replace sinks and faucets as well as vanities and toilets. According to HomeGain.com’s 2009 Prepare to Sell survey of 1,000 real estate agents nationwide, even minor changes to a bathroom can give you a 172% return on your investment. Just make sure to start the replacements in the kitchen because it is the heart of the home and will always give you a great return on your investment. If you have extra money in the budget you can even update the backsplash or refinish cabinetry. Finally, finish any DIY projects that you started. Potential buyers don’t want to finish the project for you unless it’s an unfinished basement; even then, you should at least finish putting up the sheetrock on the walls. Also, do not forget to clear the clutter, neutralize, and depersonalize. (Clean your home, take down most personal-style accents, and re-paint bold color walls to a neutral color.)Market ReadyOnce you have done all this, you are ready to sell. Interview real estate agents that are specialists in your neighborhood and make them earn your listing. Do this by generating a comparative market analysis and creating a marketing plan for selling your home. Ask each agent for advice about preparing your home for sale, home staging, pricing, low-end and high-end net profits. Do not hire an agent that overbids the price of your home.Typically, houses that are overbid will sell for less than the market value. In this case, keep it real. If you decide not to use a real estate agent to list your home; visit www.fsboamerica.org for plenty of great information on how to sell your home on your own. This site even directs you on where to find proper real estate sales documentation. Make sure to weigh both sales routes carefully. Do not allow an agent to bully you into using them. If you decide to hire an agent, the one with the most thorough analysis, a great marketing plan, an appropriate pricing strategy and most importantly is someone that you trust to do the job properly. Once selected, find a lender for your new home and stage your home to show off its assets.