The following steps are intended to get both buyers and sellers off to a good start when they decide to make a real estate transaction.
Step 1: Research the Market for Your Current & Future Residence
In an ideal scenario, you’d relocate from a seller’s market to an area with a strong buyer’s market, as this allows you to get the best possible selling price for your property and a great buy on your new home.
In reality, a variety of variables influence the housing market. Plus, hyperlocal housing markets may exist within certain cities, meaning conditions can change based on zip code.
For example, a seller’s market may constantly exist in an area with strong schools, but a suburb with a rise in crime may suddenly become a buyer’s market.
Step 2: Is Now the Time to Move or Should You Wait?
Families that do not want to relocate during the school year often choose the late spring and summer months.
Winter is a sluggish season, particularly in locations where there is a lot of snow.
You should also consult with an area real estate expert to determine if there are any additional considerations that you are unaware of.
Even if now isn’t the optimal time to sell, you can still begin the preparations for your home to get it ready to sell. The sooner you get your house ready, the less difficult this tedious task will be when the time comes.
Step 3: Prepare Your Home To Show Well
Here are the things you should address when prepping your house.
1. Separate Yourself From Your Home
It’s not easy to leave your home. You’ve lived there for years, and it has memories. To emotionally disconnect from it, you must comprehend that it is just a shell waiting to be inhabited by others. Looking forward to creating new memories in your upcoming home is one way to overcome this.
Realizing your existing home is about the people who live there, not the space or structure, is also a good mindset to have.
Remember that your new home will quickly seem like a second home as you personalize it and create new memories.
2. Remove Your Personal Effects
Remove photos, family collectibles, and other clutter that may distract prospective buyers and deter a sale. You want to give potential buyers a blank canvas to fill with their own photos, furnishings, and art.
Depersonalizing your property helps prospective buyers see their own belongings in it.
Keep furnishings to a minimum, so it doesn’t distract or give off an undesired impression of the property.
For example, a buyer could struggle to see their own personal effects and furniture replacing a pink leather sofa, polka dot chair, or deer head mounted on the wall.
The idea is to make a prospective buyer view the property as their own.
3. Clear Knickknacks Out of Your Home
People tend to accumulate a lot of stuff over time. Intentions to reuse or repair goods later are common reasons for retaining them. Not using anything for over a year means it’s probably no longer required.
Donate unused items to a charity or non-profit organization like Goodwill. Keep in mind, some of these donations are tax-deductible.
Clean off bookshelves and kitchen counters. Daily necessities should be stored in compact boxes that can be kept out of sight, in a closet, when not in use.
4. Organize Your Closets & Storage Areas
Buyers will want to inspect closets, pantries, and cabinets for storage. A messy storage room with objects spilling out conveys the wrong impression.
Messiness tells a buyer that you don’t really care about your stuff or, possibly, the property too.
In the kitchen, sort pantry foods by item with labels out, stack dishes neatly with coffee cup handles aligned, and keep counters clear.
In the bedroom closets, hang shirts, sweaters, and pants together. Neatly arrange shoes, hats, purses, and other accessories. And, finally, try to keep the carpets free of clutter, especially in walk-ins.
5. Consider Getting a Temporary Storage Unit
Almost all homes seem more appealing with less decor and fewer items of furniture. Distracting furniture, artwork, and cluttered bookshelves should all be stored away, out of sight.
Remove and store any window drapes, appliances, or fixtures you intend on keeping before displaying the residence to avoid any awkward conversations and potential deal-breakers.
6. Repair Any Minor Cosmetic Issues
Repairs may make or break a sale in a normal or buyer’s market. Here are some items to look for:
- Replacing damaged flooring – carpet, tiles, wood planks, etc.
- Kitchen or bathroom tiles that are missing or broken are a must-fix.
- Fix dents and holes in walls.
- Leaking faucets are often an easy fix too.
- Any doors or kitchen drawers that don’t open and close properly should be adjusted.
- Replacing burned-out lightbulbs is a good idea.
- Open up all of your window’s blinds and drapes and switch the lights on throughout the house before showings.
7. Make Your Home Shine
It may be necessary to hire a professional cleaning team to get your house ready to be seen by buyers.
Cleaning involves window glass inside and out, hiring a pressure washer to clean walkways and outside walls, cleaning carpets and mopping hard flooring, recaulking baths, showers, and sinks, plus polishing faucets and other metal accents.
Assemble your furniture in the room for flow and make sure it’s dust free.
Keeping the bathrooms and kitchen sparkling is of the utmost importance. Close the toilet lid while not in use and hang up your guest towels.
The kitchen is a significant point of interest for buyers. Be prepared if someone opens your fridge.
Air out your house and ventilate any musty spaces.
Avoid cooking fish, broccoli, curry, or any stinky foods before a viewing. These odors might linger for hours or longer.
Make litter boxes disappear and keep them emptied leading up to showings. Assess all areas affected by your pets.
8. Evaluate Curb Appeal
For some buyers, the façade of your property is enough to turn them away from a possible sale.
Think about what people find inviting, like a wreath of dried wildflowers or flower pots on your front porch. Make your yard seem nice by mowing the grass, pruning bushes and planting perennials.
Finally, make sure your home number and mailbox are visible.
Step 4: Hire a Local Real Estate Agent(s)
When you list a house with an experienced real estate agent, you not only have someone to answer your questions, you also have an expert with firsthand knowledge of the area’s market conditions.
They can advise on house staging and curb appeal adjustments. They can refer a professional photographer and stager for your property, if needed.
They should actively be looking for buyers, host open houses, and present the home while you’re not there.
They can also collaborate with other agents to sell your house.
A knowledgeable Realtor can price the house effectively, so it doesn’t fly under the radar. This saves time and reduces stress levels.
Agents can also assist you in finding temporary accommodation while you sell your house and prepare your new one. This helps if you want to wait to purchase your next home until your present one closes.
Step 5: Have Your Down Payment Ready
The majority of homeowners cannot afford to purchase a new home without first selling their existing home or selling both homes at the same time.
In the event that you purchase a home before selling your present one, you may have difficulty coming up with the necessary funds for the down payment.
Before you begin the financing process, be certain that you are aware of all of your financial possibilities.
Step 6: Start Your New Home Search
If you’re relocating inside the same city, you should sell your existing home and purchase a new one with the same agent. However, if you’re relocating, you’ll want to hire a new real estate agent familiar with the area.
If you’re purchasing a new home in a seller’s market, visiting the houses in person before placing an offer may be difficult. While buying a house without seeing it is not ideal, a skilled agent can assist you with the decision. Plus, most home builders and new home listing websites have floor plans, images, videos, and home features listed, which can help give you details about the home.
In addition, a good real estate pro should be aware of the kind of home and area you’re searching for. Such as if you have children in grade school, if you work from home and require a peaceful community to live in, or if you have active dogs that need trails to explore.
Make a wish list of what you want in your new home’s community and also list out the things you don’t care for in your present neighborhood. This helps pinpoint home opportunities much more efficiently.
5 Home Buying & Selling FAQs
Take a moment to read over frequently asked questions about the buying and selling process.
#1 Can I sell my house and buy another one at the same time?
Worried about the timing of your house transactions? Request an extended closing. If you’re certain that your old house will sell quickly, you may ask to have your new home’s closing date extended beyond the normal 30 to 45 days. This will allow you to sell your present property and utilize the proceeds to purchase a new one.
#2 Is it better to sell your house before buying another?
If you need to use your present home equity to purchase your new house, selling first is a good idea. However, selling your current home first typically necessitates temporary accommodation while you look for a new one. Selling before purchasing makes the most sense from a real estate market perspective for seller’s in a buyers market.
#3 Do you need a deposit when selling and buying?
You’ll need to pay a deposit when you exchange contracts on the home you wish to purchase. You should try to exchange on the same day as your buyer, so you can use the deposit they provide you to pay for the deposit on the home you’re purchasing.
#4 How do I calculate my mortgage payoff when I sell my house?
The balance due on your mortgage, including interest, is referred to as the mortgage payback. To figure out how much you owe on your mortgage, you’ll need the total amount you borrowed, your yearly interest rate, the total number of payments made during the life of the loan, and the total number of payments left.
#5 Which month are most houses sold?
Historically, May has been the most popular month to sell a home. However, more recently, that buying frenzy has shifted to March. Homes advertised between March 11 and March 18 in 2019 sold the quickest, according to Zillow.