5 Important Steps Before Selling

Before selling your home or marking dates on your calendar for an open house, it’s smart to prepare home selling plan. Of course, you want the highest you can get, but you could make costly home selling mistakes along the way if your excitement for quickly selling causes you to run out and stick a for sale sign in the yard before you’re completely prepared to sell.

1. Analyze your reasons for selling

   Everybody has a reason to sell and if you aren’t truly motivated or committed to selling you could be putting yourself up for disappointment.

   Most people who sell do so in order to buy another home. Put together a list of neighborhoods where you may want to live and drive them. Go to open houses and check out pricing between newer homes vs. older homes.  Consider your options, you might find you will rather stay where you are.

2. Contact real estate agents
   

   Interview real estate agents contact at least three neighborhood specialists.  Ask each listing agent to give you a marketing plan explaining what they will do to market your home. In addition, ask each for recommendations about:

3. Prepare your home for sale

   Consider accepting the soundest advice and compare suggestions. Usually, you will want to move out bulky and excess furniture.

   Staging your home - You can hire a professional stager, get help from your agent to stage or stage it yourself. You will get more for your home if it is staged.

   Pricing your home - Do not overprice your home, often when is overpriced a home will sell for less than market value.

4. Find a lender

   Call your current lender to find out exactly how much you have to pay off and it’s best to order a beneficiary statement. Then check out new financing offers from your own lending institutions and credit unions. Ask for a Good Faith Estimate – GFE. Compare rates and fees. Also, ask for referrals to mortgage brokers from agents. Often, mortgage brokers have more flexibility to discount rates and are more competitive.

   - Get a loan preapproval letter, so you know how much of a mortgage you will qualify to obtain.

   - You don’t need to apply for the maximum mortgage, and a lower mortgage payment might make you more comfortable in the long run.

   - Compare mortgage loan types and decide wisely.

5. Sell before buying
   

   At the time your home goes on the market, you might be tempted to search online looking at homes on the web. Next thing you know, you’ll want to make an appointment to view a few homes. Don’t get carried away by virtual tours and beautiful photographs of your dream home. It is almost always more profitable to sell before buying.