Especially if you weren't planning for an additional family member, having another child can make your current home seem way too small. Selling, though, can be a challenge, especially when you're already busy trying to keep up with your growing family. Here are 10 ways to sell your existing home faster and smarter, so you can move on to the larger home you need in time.
1. Make Sure You're Qualified To Take On A Bigger Mortgage Payment
Before you get your hopes up for a new home, make sure your family can afford the payments. Once you know you're capable of meeting the larger financial obligations, talk to your bank or other lender and be sure to mention the fact that you're selling your existing home.
2. Choose An Agent To Help You Sell (And Maybe Buy, Too)
Having a baby is a major life event, emotionally, physically, and financially, so save yourself the hardship and stress of a DIY sale by hiring a qualified agent to help you sell your old house and perhaps buy the new home, too. Between getting the home ready itself, meeting with potential buyers and the paperwork (especially at closing), selling yourself can really be an overwhelming experience.
3. Prepare For A Home Inspection And Appraisal
To sell your home, it will need to be inspected and appraised and this could be nerve-racking. Spiff up to get ready, if needed, and make sure the professionals visiting your house have clear access to all rooms, including the basement and attic, and that they can get up close and personal with your furnace, heaters and other important appliances. Your real estate agent can provide you with a checklist.
4. Let Your Agent Determine The Sale Price Of Your Home
Due to many factors, from emotional attachments to unrealistic expectations, you may not be the most qualified person to price the home you're selling. Market factors, buyer trends and demands and even the season you're selling in all influence the success of your sale, not to mention the price itself. Your agent will discuss the price with you and although you're able to set a demand, if you want to sell faster, follow the agent's lead.
5. Attend To Curb Appeal And Your Home's Exterior First
Because you want to make an awesome first impression on potential buyers, you want to have an awesome front yard. Groom it to perfection, removing any personal items, like bikes, watering cans and toys for kids and pets, then add simple touches to complete the elegant and welcoming look, such as a new mailbox and the quintessential bird bath.
6. Prepare To Pack
Your house could sell in less than 30 days, but it could take much longer. Because you really can't predict the when, you should be prepared from the onset. That means having all of your personal possessions secured in boxes and maybe some of them stashed in storage. Have a larger-than-needed storage unit on hand and waiting, so your family is able to slip out of the home on a moment's notice. Try hard, though, not to keep an ongoing moving mess in the home as you're trying to sell it. Much easier said than done, but highly recommended for a faster sale and a smoother transition.
7. Take Care Of Any Repairs And/Or Upgrades Your House Needs
If your inspection revealed needed repairs, these should be taken care of at your earliest convenience. Most likely, they'll be another inspection scheduled for after you've made the requested modifications; thus, you want to move this part of the process along as quickly as you can.
8. Coordinate Moving Into Your New Home
Hopefully, you have a new address right about the time your old one is sold; however, since Murphy's Law may have something to say about it, be ready for anything. For example, you might need to rent a temporary home while you wait for closing on your new one, or if the sale of your old one is delayed, consider renting that out on a short-term of even nightly basis, just to cover the mortgage and protect the property after you've vacated.
9. Get Ready For A Lot Of Showings
When you've done everything right, like hire an ace-realtor, spiffed your home beautifully and priced it to sell, you should see a lot of interest. That means, even though you're dealing with your growing family and everything else going on in your life, many people could be walking through your front door. It will likely be tiresome, tedious and intrusive, but hey, that's what your real estate agent is hired to deal with, so just smile at the potential buyers warmly and be available if they have any questions. Otherwise, your agent has got this, so you can deal with other matters.
10. Hire Professionals To Help You
Most especially if the new family member is growing inside your belly, you want to make this seemingly chaotic process as easy on yourself as possible. Hire movers to haul the major furnishings into storage while you're waiting on the new home and get help packing and cleaning. The more prepared you are to deal with the sale of your home, the smoother and faster that should go, making the investment on professional assistance all worthwhile.
You want to sell your home faster, but you still want to do it right. Have a plan, solicit assistance from the right sources and be prepared for the flurry of activity it will take to move you out of the small home and into one more suitable.
Share21 June 2017
Once I paid of the mortgage on my house, I decided I wanted to buy an investment property. I had no idea that the buying process would be different, but it really was. There were so many things to consider that I hadn't thought about, and even the loan application process was different. It occurred to me that if I didn't know about it, others likely didn't either. I built this site to help others see what I went through buying my first investment home. I hope that it helps you to approach the process with more confidence and understanding.
