There is a lot of reading material out there available for sellers in real estate, but you better believe that some of it isn't worth the paper or website page it's printed on. In this article, we'll stick with only the facts of selling in real estate and give you the best advice out there to succeed.
If a potential buyer is coming to look at your home, do not try to force a conversation. Try to be as friendly as possible but allow them to open up the conversation. Be prepared to answer any questions that they may have about your home. Avoid talking too much when selling your home, let the buyers focus on what they see, not hear.
No one knows your home better than you do. At the sale of the home, you will be required to fully disclose any and all issues that have been corrected in the past as well as deferred maintenance or repairs that are currently needed. Not disclosing this information can cause lawsuits and major hassles down the road when they are discovered by the new owner.
Locate all of your warranties. If you are selling a home, chances are that you will be leaving things like a refrigerator, an oven, and possibly a dish washer. If you can locate them, find the warranties and guarantees for these things. Even an old user manual could come in handy to the buyer.
If you are trying to sell a home, it is important that you research the price of similar homes in the neighborhood and that you place the price of your home right in the middle of these prices. If you have to reduce the price, it will look like there is something wrong with the home.
When you have your home assessed and inspected in order to sell it, don't automatically assume the assessor and inspector recommended by your real estate agent are the best choice. Selling a home is probably one of the biggest financial transactions you will ever make. You need to be sure that the people responsible for determining the value of your home are trustworthy.
Feng Shui can be a powerful tool to help sell your home quickly. Seek out any areas of your home that are dark and uninviting. Add light in the form of an attractive lamp, or enhance existing light with a mirror. Pay special attention to the entrance of your home. Make sure it is well lit, and that your house number is clearly visible.
A common mistake among people who are selling homes they have lived in is to overprice their home. This happens because their personal attachment to their property causes them to inflate the price. When setting a price for your home, try to take a more neutral approach by examining the price of other homes in the area and consulting a real estate professional for an appraisal.
You're putting your house on the market. Great!! First piece of advice is to listen to your Realtor, who knows all about the local Real Estate market. If you don't have one, or want to do it yourself, then the first thing you need to do is to clean up!! Get rid of junk and clutter. Rent a storage unit if you need to. You have to pretend that it's not yours anymore. Good luck!
When preparing a home to show, have the exterior of the home power-washed. Power-washing will remove dirt and grime from the siding of the home, making it look nicer and newer. A washing could even remove the need for a new paint job, if the current siding is still in good condition.
If you notice that your home has been on the market for a fairly lengthy amount of time then it might be best to do some research to see if your asking price is too much above fair market value. Buyers will hesitate to buy homes that are much more expensive than comparable ones in the area.
Mortgage
When selling your house, you need to be very wary of the buyers that ask you to take back financing. There are so many banks and mortgage companies that can help them out, you should have nothing to do with the financing aspect. You are not a banker, and you shouldn't need to take on that responsibility.
When trying to figure out what price to sell your home for, look more at the prices that houses similar to yours sold for rather then houses that are currently on the market. When an appraisal is made for the sale of your home, the mortgage company will only approve a mortgage for the amount of the appraisal, even if both the buyer and seller agreed on a higher amount. Appraisers use previous sales as their guide. By doing this up front, you will keep yourself from having issues during the sale process.
Do not get into an owner financing deal with anyone. There are several lending companies that will provide the funding for just about anyone at this point. If the buyer wants you to carry the mortgage, you get a pretty good idea that they have terrible credit and you will likely be ripped off.
Helping a buyer with financing will help you make the sale. There are many painless ways a seller can assist someone who may not readily qualify for a mortgage; you might offer a lease-to-own option, pay for points to reduce interest rates or even foot the bill for closing costs. This could really shrink the time your home spends on the market.
Pre qualify prospective buyers to confirm that they have the ability to pay. Negotiating the terms of selling a house can be long and drawn out. The most frustrating thing is to go through that entire process and find out the buyer cannot obtain his mortgage. Before you spend the time working with someone, take the time to have them pre qualified.
For best results, selling a house should be viewed as a team effort. Many times, your team consists not only of yourself and an agent, but also of property inspectors and assessors, escrow officers, mortgage and financing professionals, and maintenance and repairmen who can get your property ready for sale.
Never list your home or property for sale, without thoroughly assessing your mortgage options for your next real estate purchase. This step is especially important if you are considering a move to a higher priced property or to an area with a higher cost of living. Carefully evaluate your financial resources and the changes that you may need to make, in order to afford a new, more expensive home.
If you have to move soon, and your home has not been sold, you may want to consider renting it out. The money you receive from renting out your home can pay off the mortgage on your older home so that you can have money to pay the mortgage on your newer one.
When selling your home, it is crucial to keep some information to yourself. If you are moving for your job or can no longer afford your mortgage, you do not want to share this information with buyers because it could lower the overall price of your home. If a buyer senses that there is urgency in your sale, they will try to negotiate more than they would have otherwise. You can be honest about your situation without providing specifics.
Once you have absorbed this advice, the next step is to put it all into action. Build up a solid plan of attack using what you learned here and never be afraid of any market conditions. Refer back here if you ever need to brush up on your tips and always remember to stay informed about the market.