sellers

Selling your home can be complex, and finding the right agent is key. Between recommendations from friends and family, your co-worker who sells real estate part-time offering to help, and all of the review websites available, it isn’t easy to know who to trust with one of the most complex financial decisions of your life.

This is why taking the time to interview agents to sell what is likely your largest asset is essential. Here are a few questions you should ask when interviewing realtors to help you find the perfect fit for your needs:

➊ How long have you been in the business? How many homes have you listed and sold in the past year?

➋ What is your schedule and availability?

➌ Are you a full-time or part-time agent? How much time will you be able to dedicate to working with me?

➍ Do you work independently or with a team? If a team, who will be my main point of contact throughout the transaction?

➎ How will you communicate with me, and how often?

How many clients do you work with at one time?

➏ What is your marketing plan for my home?

➐ Can you provide references?

If you are thinking about selling, I would love to interview for the position to guide you every step of the way and net you the most money possible in our current market. Don’t live in my area? I’d be happy to connect you to a great agent to help you sell in your city!

Buying a new home at the same time as you’re selling your current home is all about timing — and a great agent, of course. With the right strategy and a professional real estate agent by your side, you can navigate the process with ease.

It’s also important to consider options for temporary housing. While the stars may align and you may not need them, a plan for where you’ll go in between selling and buying will help alleviate some of the stress.

Buying and selling at the same time can be complicated and at times, overwhelming, which is why I am here help make it as stress-free and exciting as possible! If you are thinking of buying and selling at the same time, give me a call. I can help you decide which option may be best for you.

Request an Extended Closing

This is a great strategy if you and your agent are confident that your current home will sell quickly. With this scenario, you can request to extend the closing date of your new home past the typical 30-45 days. This will give you enough time to sell your current home during that timeframe before moving into the new home.

However, this option will only work if you have the downpayment for your new home and are qualified to carry both mortgages simultaneously. The lender will qualify you based on the worst-case scenario (that your home does not sell in time).

Ask for A Rent-Back Agreement When Selling

Also known as a post-settlement occupancy agreement, a rent-back allows sellers to stay in their home until a specified date past closing. After settlement, you (the sellers) would pay rent to the buyer who now owns the home (almost as if they are your new landlord for 30-60 days). This would allow you the time and money to find a new home with no contingencies and without having to worry about overlapping mortgage payments.

Take Out A Home Equity Line Of Credit. (HELOC)

A home equity line of credit allows you to borrow against the equity in your current home. You can use this money as your down payment on the new home, and pay it off once your current home sells. Make sure you speak with a lender first, to make sure that you can qualify to hold both mortgages in the interim before your home sells, along with the HELOC payments.

Make An Offer With A Home Sale Contingency

In this scenario, you would focus on finding a new home BEFORE you list your current home. Once you find a home you love, you will submit an offer with a home sale and settlement contingency, which means you will buy the home only if you can successfully sell your existing home.

Keep in mind that in most markets, this is not really an option, as there are still many multiple offer situations happening due to the lack of inventory. This is something that some sellers may consider if their home has been on the market for a while.

It’s not a seller’s dream scenario: you put your house on the market, hoping for a quick sale — but you haven’t received any offers and showing requests have been few and far between, leaving you to ask: Why?

There are 4 main reasons a home will sit on the market:

Condition
If your home needs some TLC, it can lead to a lack of buyer interest. Most buyers in the market today are what I like to call “HGTV buyers” — they don’t have the time, money, or skill to do repairs and take on large projects and would prefer something move-in ready. Most buyers, in general, want to move right in and avoid taking on projects. It might be time to consider some cosmetic upgrades such as a fresh coat of paint, swapping outdated lighting fixtures, and minor bathroom or kitchen renovations. Often, simple repairs can make a big difference.

Location
One of the most important factors for buyers and the value of your property is located. Think school district, busy road, neighborhood, outdoor space, etc. Location, unfortunately, cannot be changed, so it holds a lot of value. That could be the answer to your problem, which means you might need to rethink your price.

Marketing
How does your home look online? Your online presence should entice people to schedule a private tour. This means professional photography and videography (NO iPhone photos!) and a strategic writeup. How your home looks online is crucial to how many people see it.

Price
At the end of the day, the price your home is listed at is the factor that is going to make or break whether or not your home sells. Always price your home in line with the market. It’s never a good idea to go above value “just to see what happens”… this can backfire badly, cause your home to sit on the market longer, and net you less than you would have if you priced it correctly from the start.

If you’re thinking of selling, send me a message. I would love to schedule a no-strings-attached consultation.

Pricing your home correctly is the single most important factor to consider when you’re selling your home. When you want top dollar, it is best to have the right price the day your house goes on the market. The first few weeks of any property sale are key, so you must price your home correctly from the start if you want to maximize interest. There’s nothing wrong with listing your home on the high side of fair value; however, overpricing your home so that there is “room to negotiate” can backfire. Why?

▪️ The more you overprice, the fewer buyers will come to see it. Today’s buyers are educated and have all the data in their hands with the internet and home valuation sites. They know if a home is overpriced and will wait for price decreases.

▪️ Very few buyers will even make an offer on an overpriced home — they will wait for the price to drop.

▪️ Your property attracts the most interest when it is first listed, and the majority of showings on a home occur in the first 30 days of the listing hitting the market. The longer you wait to adjust the price, the smaller your pool of potential buyers becomes.

▪️ After your house has been on the market for several weeks or months, buyers will notice the number of days on the market and may assume there is something wrong with your home.

In the end, you may end up making less money by overpricing than you would have if you’d priced your house correctly when it was first listed.