Selling

No matter where you were selling your home the process can always be stressful. There are mountains of paperwork, weeks of showings and all the prepping in between. Having pets and children multipliers the stress because they only seem to make the matter 10 times harder. It's best to hit the ground running and sell your home before it grows still on the market. The secret to selling a home quickly is it has to show well, be marketed well, and priced precisely. If you are looking to sell your home fast you'll want to read these tips.

1. Get a storage unit

Fight the urge to shove all your clutter in a closet, because anyone who comes to your open house can and will look at your storage spaces. Then they will see the disorganization, the overstuffed closets and believe you are a slob who doesn't take care of your things. What you should do is buy yourself a storage unit for a few months. Put a third of your belongings in there while your house is on the market so your clutter won't scare off buyers. 

2. Have a professional stage and photograph your home

A professional home stager views your home from the buyers point of view. They will see how to highlight your strengths and hide your flaws. The first thing a buyer will see are the listing photos. These are proven to help sell a home quicker. Staging your home is necessary because it markets it in a way that is neutral to whoever walks in, allowing them to see the home as they may one day wish it to be. 

3. Find the right real estate agent

Hiring the right real estate agent is crucial when selling your home. They need to have a strong track record of sales that proves they know what they are doing. Are they familiar with the...

Trying to sell your home in a hurry? Your first idea might be to offer a great deal to attract more buyers. However, you could get the better end of the deal if you play your cards right. In a competitive market, pricing your home a tad higher can help you sell faster. 

Here's how and some tips for your listing

All marketers should know that the price of a commodity is only worth what somebody will pay for it. They see the item as having that much value. This is the perceived value. 

Apply this to home sales and realize why similar homes have such different prices. They might have the same square footage, number of bedrooms, etc., but are separated by a price gap. In a competitive market this can lead to homes being bought up fast! Some of the reasons are:

New Buyers

It opens the door for a new segment of buyers, perhaps the people who weren't originally shopping in that price range. 

Confirmation bias

It makes the buyer think about why the home is priced higher (from its similar competition) which forces them to look at it's selling points. The confirmation bias is when buyers presume something about the house, and search for an answer to back up their assumption. 

Higher bids 

First bids are usually higher because they are based on the asking price, which could lead to higher negotiations.

Market time

When I home sits on the market for a little while, the perception of the value begins to diminish. Buyers will wonder if there is something wrong with the home, and automatically dismiss it. 

How to get more for your home

Having a slightly higher asking price can get tires in your home to see if the the perceived value is there. Keep in mind that your asking price needs to match the home inside. If the home doesn't back it up, buyers will think you're overpriced...

Your home is your castle; with all the loving memories you've made along the way in such a special place. When it is time to sell your home and you don't even get any showings you start to question what has gone wrong. 

Instead of moping around about it, go through the house and look at it the good, the bad, and the horrible so that you know what needs to be done to sell your house.

The worst thing you can do is nothing, and the best thing you can do is take action. Ask what few people have looked at your house have thought, and request your agent send out surveys for feedback.

Don't take the results of the site surveys personal, that they are only looking at this as a business deal. And just remember that the customer is always right.

When you're selling your home make sure you don't fall in the trap of the four common things a seller typically overlooks that turns off buyers. One of these may be stopping your home from selling. 

1. Keep a clean home

Dishes in the sink, toys on the floor, male laying around - all of these eyesores portray to the potential buyer that the home isn't well cared for. It may also signal there is a lack of storage room. Clean your home of all the unnecessary items before anybody steps inside. Box stuff up, sell it online, or donate it; however you choose it has got to go. 

2. Update décor

Popcorn ceilings, wood paneling walls, shag carpet, are completely out of date. Buyers don't want to buy a home they'll have to renovate them selves. Simply trading out the brass doorknobs or painting the wood paneling or quick fixes that could remedy your problem.

3. Clean up after your animals

It's common that pets leave a lingering smell and the buyers walk out after a couple...

There’s been a trend in the past decade where Baby Boomers with gigantic, luxury homes in the suburbs downsize for a significantly smaller home closer to the city. On the other side, a new trend shows millennials leaving their small city-life-living. They’re giving the suburbs a try, and finding that more space and some land of their own is pretty awesome, especially if they are thinking about starting a family in the near future. 

The millennials were born in a peculiar time. Think about it, from the mid 80’s to the late 90’s, American children were growing up in an environment that was dramatically changing culturally and socially. Their preferences are often and sometimes vastly different from their Baby Boomer parents. So here are a few tips to remember when you go to sell your home to a millennial. 

They are busy

(Most) Millennials are not scared of work and they choose to work a lot. What free time they do have they enjoy spending it with family and friends. They also happen be a bit more transient than their parents, so moving often isn’t a big deal. Another trait about them is they’re a little impatient. They would much rather prefer a home that is live-in ready than one that needs a little renovation or remodeling. 

Sadly, most millennials don’t want to take the time to make a house their home. Baby Boomers on the other hand, were all about this when they bought any house. 

House hunting is similar to dating

IF you know a millennial you know they are literally attached to their phones. They can order dinner, reserve a seat at the movies, and even find a person to take out all with their thumbs. 

With smart phones able to do nearly anything, they can home shop too. So as a seller, it’s important to take the time...

No two home is exactly the same, each with a different design and story, they are priced separate, but unique. It's difficult to pin price a home, but there are a few small things you can do to find A relative price. 
One of the best things you can do is look at the recent sales in the area and particularly in your neighborhood. Do your homework and add in a little extra market research and talk to your agent and you can come up with a pretty accurate price.
Here are several rules-of-thumbs to remember when pricing your house.

Look at recent comps

Markets are ever-changing so you'll want to only  look at the last three months comparable sales. Check out the current pending sales to get a good idea. And if you look at homes from six months ago, just know they're a bit dated and the market has probably changed. 

Fixtures and finishes matter

Today's buyers would rather have a delightfully decorated home with neutral finishes and fixtures as opposed to an unrenovated home.
It's important to look at homes objectively. Other buyers will too, so if your home is not updated, you won't get top dollar for your home. 
Chances are the money you spend on your upgrading, is less than the differences in value. 

Each home is unique

Homes with similar square footage and amenities should sell for the same price right? Absolutely not! One homes bedrooms may all be on the top floor, while having a much sweeter master bath, and the other homes kitchen is connecting to the dining room. Each home has its own layout, which some can be more valuable than others. 
Buyers really pay for the...

The hardest part of selling your home is deciding you are ready to sell it. Timing is also a big part of it too; but 2017 is going to be a good year for sellers. If this isn’t your first rodeo in selling your house you know the process. Find a real estate agent, tidy the house up, take photos, and get the paperwork ready.

With technology today accompanied by today’s uncertainty in the market, it’s important for greenies and veteran sellers to take advantage of the best tips to sell your home quickly in 2017.

Have the right agent

Professional agents should know the market like 2^nd grade math. They should know every neighborhood, and if they’re really good, every block. They’ll know which neighborhoods are selling hot, who is moving where, and how to stage a home properly.

Emphasize listing photos

Homes should be represented well in their listing photos. The photos are what draw potential buyers in; so home’s needs excellent photos that catch all the buying eyes. These photos make your home standout.

Consider the latest technology

Professional photographers may not be enough for some edgy sellers. They may use all the bells and whistles, like getting a drone to take a video of the property, or using a 3-D tour throughout the house.

 Going social

Good agents know how to market, and in today’s market the best bet is online. Good agents will not only use the MLS or their website, but all the social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

Freshen the home

The most basic way to freshen up a home is a quick coat of paint. It makes the walls look crisp while giving it a fresh...

5 Types of People Who Attend open Houses

In the real estate world, Sunday’s are very important days. It’s the day of open houses, and it goes without saying, anyone can step inside to check out a home on the market. Keep in mind though, not everyone who goes inside is a potential buyer. Here are the five types of likely to walk into an open house.

The real buyer

Real home buyers are somewhere in the home buying process, and they’re checking out the market or they’re intent on buying a home and qualified. Sellers want these people coming through their doors.

Buyers are using open houses as their alternative visits as they’ve probably already toured the house with their agent during the week. Open houses allow them to casually walk around as if it was already their own.

The nosy neighbor

These people have been waiting to finally check out the home. Chances are their home is quite similar and they want to do a little comparison of properties.

Of course there are other reasons. Some neighbors like to see where all they can be seen from the house across the way. These neighbors just want to satisfy their curiosity about their home, or even the seller.

Agents looking for their clients

Agents are always on the hunt for new homes for their clients, and most of the time they are polite and professional.

There are the agents who will walk-and-talk around the house on the phone to their clients. They’ll describe what the home is like and tell their clients of the pros and cons of the home.

The agent who lost the listing

A lot of the times a sellers interviews multiple agents and selects which one they want to represent them. Agents spend a lot of their time, energy,...

The art of pricing a home for sale is one of the biggest parts of being in the real estate market. Each home has a true value, and if you want top dollar, finding the sweet spot is what you will have to do. The true value of a home is determined by what that specific potential buyer is willing to pay for it.

If you can price it closest to what you think someone will pay for it at the beginning, you have a better chance of getting top dollar. If you overprice it and it sits on the market for a while, you’ll probably be kicking yourself when you are forced to drop the price a time or two.

Do yourself a favor learn how to price your home correctly.

Price – buyer vs. seller

Sellers probably don’t have much perspective on the market and develop unreal expectations. They are only worried about their house, limiting their view.

Good agents live and breathe the market every day. They are well in tune with what’s going on because they’re the ones showing and touring homes, gaining an understanding of what drives home sales.

A lot of sellers overvalue their homes because they have that emotional attachment price tag tacked on too. Their home is only special to them, and no one else. It’s not uncommon for sellers to believe the agent’s price doesn’t match their own because they want a quick sale; and the friction begins.

Most good agents know what a home can truly sell for, because quality homes that show well sell in good days and bad.

First impressions last

Markets respond to new listings within a couple weeks, so it’s your job to make it attractive to potential buyers from the start. Your best bet is to follow exactly as your agent says, declutter, clean, painting, and staging in order to gain the advantage.

If you list at the wrong price you can leave a bad first impression...

Even though the market is red hot, it doesn’t mean it will be a breeze for you. It’s not always smooth sailing, so be prepared for some situations that may cause you trouble.

Trying to sell in a red hot market might seem like the best move of your life. Let’s face it, at the rate homes are selling lately, faster this year than last, signs are quite promising.

The key is to get your home set and ready to sell in a competitive market, but you should know what that means. Typically a hot market is one that sells homes within two months. The supply of inventory is a crucial factor in determining how hot it is. As more homes arise, demand seems to fall, but with fewer homes to choose from, demand rises.

Homeowners love hearing it’s a seller’s market, but that doesn’t mean all the cards are stacked in your favor. As in every big venture, there are risks; risks definitely worth considering. Below are five potential problems for sellers, as well as how to ease this burden.

The appraisal is below expectation

Offers are rolling in and they are way more than the asking price! Your big break, not so fast! If the home appraises low, buyers may take a hike. If this is the case, your best bet is to ask what the problems are, and fix them. You also have the option to renegotiate, or get yourself a second appraisal.

From For Sale to Sold

It’s totally possible you may sell your home faster than you can find one for yourself. Unless you have a super sweet deal, or somewhere to stay for the meantime, you will need to buy a second house. A portion of sellers find homes they want before listing their own, but in a true seller’s market, you will be among the buyers and bidding for homes too.

You should always have plan B, as in temporary housing. Moving twice is okay, and you’ll be glad you did it instead...

Deciding to put your home on the market and getting your appraisal next can be a scary experience. All your do-it-yourself projects will be judged for their weight in dollars, and it can determine thousands of dollars lost or made. 

But it doesn't have to be this way; with the proper tools and know-how, this experience can spring you forward into your next home. Gaining a little extra cash by making the proper improvements and repairs will be worth it in the end. Plus its a true test of your man skills. 

Here's what you want to do

Just like any other big life decision, you do your homework to better serve yourself. Find out the appraiser's market knowledge of the area. Having a local, well-rounded, veteran, state certified appraiser is who you want. They're good at what they do, they've been around the area long enough to see changes, and have a confident base of the market. 

Check the maintenance 

Your maintenance costs are your smaller costs. Anything like a chipped shingle, snagged rug, or broken mailbox; fix it before the appraiser comes. Any little defect could chip away at your home's value. 

Keep a list of updates/renovations done to the home, and keep the receipts that went with it. This is a sure way to keep track of what you spent on the upgrades, so you can figure out how much you've put in against what you expect to get back.

Maximize your curb appeal

An inspection is puting your home to the test, so it has to be the nicest one on the block. 

Landscaping is the first thing anyone sees when walking up to the house. it's the first impression, and it's the lasting impression. Clear out all the debris...

Agents’ strategy is to get close to their clients, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. The more they know about them, the better. Sellers are often in vulnerable situations when putting their house on the market, and it may stay that way for an extended period of time. During this time, bonds can form, or feelings can grow sour. The lines between business and personal space can become blurry, which can lead to the seller acting out in ways that drives the agent nuts.

Here are five ways in which sellers can get under their agent’s skin, and kill their chances for a smooth sale during their relationship.

Not keeping the home clean

When a home is on the market it needs to be in pristine condition at all times. Keeping it clean and tidy is part of the process that must be done continuously. Keeping furniture and counter spaces clean and organized is what this boils down to.

Before you put your home on the market, pack up all your belongings that you won’t need until you move into your new home. Make a space in a hidden part of the house for the typical day-to-day items that you will need. Doing this makes your agents not have to worry about cleaning your mess, and goes a long way with potential buyers.

Staying around during an open house

Agents rarely want their sellers lingering around during an open house, and the reason is that your presence can alienate your customers by making them feel uncomfortable without you even knowing it. Even if you are friendly and hospitable, this is still not appreciated.

Potential buyers want to walk through the house as if it was theirs to get the full experience. They will be opening every door they can, and poking around cabinets and making comments to their partners or kids that they would probably not make if you were standing in the room.

Your lingering self prevents them from...

You can always count on a short list of requests buyers have once you are selling your home. When they pull this card, be expecting to see numbers in this game.

The numbers often come out to the number of square feet, the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, and the number of bucks in the budget. There are some rather unusual requirements occasionally. Here are a few of them:

• There must have a formal and distinct dining room.
• There must be a place for the green chairs
• There must be enough wall space for 32 framed and decently sized pieces of modern art.
• There must be an open for plan with the kitchen stretching into the family room.
• There must be a private spot for the kitty litter box.
• There must be room in the garage for a golf cart.
• There must not be a home owners association.
• There must be a perfect place for the Christmas tree, and a big enough spot around it for a sizable train.
• There must not be kids playing outside, or being kids at all for that matter. And if there are, they cannot be having fun.
• There must be a place for a 70-inch flat screen tv without window glare, and a good sport for an L-shaped couch.
• There must be a shower and a tub (separate) in the master bath.
• There must be traffic noise when all the windows and doors are open.
• If you have anything like this please feel free to share!

Hindsight is always 20-20, so be sure you know what you are doing before you assume you know it all and sell your home. Having your second home in sight is often a great feeling until you realize you must sell your current home in order to afford this home. Just because you’ve bought your first home and been through the process, doesn’t mean you don’t need help selling your home.

Below are the most common things sellers wish they had known before they listed their home.

How much is my home really worth?

A lot of buyers have glossy eyes and think their home is much more valuable than it really is. They don’t do their homework and have an unrealistic price they want to sell it for. It’s easy to get super excited about selling your home and putting all this money into the equity of your next home. The worst thing you can do to yourself is come up with a false number that it is worth. You will only be disappointed in the end.

Do your homework and find out what your home is truly worth by looking into local comparisons, nearby home sales in the last six months, and look at the properties that most closely resemble your home. If you have a gut feeling your home is troubled by termites, or foundation issues, get that fixed now rather than later. You will have to get it fixed before it sells anyway.

How important is my listing agent?

You will want to look into more than one listing agency. Going with just one agent might hinder your sale in the end, as they may not have your best interest and cost you money. If you’ve never hired and agent before this can be tricky. Interview several agents and do it before you want to list your home. This will leave you plenty of time to make a decision. Look for their knowledge on the local markets, and watch out for their promises of “too-good-to-be-true”.

...

This article will be about the best way(s) to sabotage your own home sale, or if you are renting and want to sabotage your landlords sale. Kidding obviously, but there are certain things buyers notice that will immediately turn them off. Sellers spend a ton of effort to get buyers attention and in the door, so they want to keep them interested and not lose them by means of carelessness.

If you are putting your home on the market go through this checklist to make sure you aren’t doing any of these.

1. Turning your garage into a family room – everyone loves a family room, but if you’ve made the sacrifice of turning your garage into one, it could be disastrous. Some buyers might not have a family, and wish the garage was still a garage. A lot of the time garages also serve as storage rooms. It takes a certain type of person to enjoy a family room as a garage, and they are difficult to find.
2. Changing bedroom into not a bedroom – the bedroom is the fundamental room every buyer looks for. They want to know how many. Turning a bedroom into a wine cellar, or poker room might work for you, but it’s not for everyone. And even though a lot of people work from home now, that doesn’t necessarily mean they want a built in home office. If you are hell-bent on changing a bedroom into another room, make sure it can easily be changed back.
3. Lay down carpet over hardwood floors – Hardwood floors are the way to go. They are cleaner, and don’t show as much dirt. If you’ve got hardwood underneath your carpet, pull the carpet up.
4. Install flamboyant light fixtures – fancy chandeliers can sometimes be too much for families who prefer simple fixtures. When it’s time to sell, pack up the chandelier and take it with you, replacing it with a simple fixture. You are appealing to the masses when trying to sell, not what kind of taste you have.
5. Turn your kid’s room into another planet – Yes it’s fun when kids...

Many have forgotten the real estate market is still recovering, which means many homeowners have left the market, and are just now starting to get back in it.

A lot of homeowners who couldn’t sell their home became landlords, but not on purpose. They had to rent the home because they had to move. And in a down market, sellers just weren’t buying, and once the prices began to rise, they had tenants occupying the house.

Tenants can kill a deal quite quickly. As a seller planning well in advance and having open communication with your tenant is crucial for a successful sale. Sometimes having to postpone the sale until the tenant is gone is necessary.

If you’ve got a property you are trying to sell, and a tenant is living, you have two options. Here’s what you’re looking at.

Wait for the least to expire

Most real estate agents would recommend just waiting it out, because some tenants can be sort of a bull in a china shop if pressured to get out quickly. So don’t pressure them and just wait it out. Make the cosmetic changes necessary to sell, and go on with your plan.

Some tenants could become quickly unhappy, or feel betrayed if their home is being sold in front of them. They might become difficult, and that’s the last thing any landlord wants. It could make showing the home more difficult, and if they’re really difficult, they could do damage. The place would then be less appealing to any potential buyers which would have an effect on your profits.

Looking at it another way, selling an empty house could cost you money, because they aren’t there to pay the bills, or mortgage (if there is one). It could possibly take several months for a home to sell once it hits the market, and all that time the seller isn’t getting rent checks.

Sell while tenant is still living there

This option is only...

A handful of sellers think they’re ready to sell their house, but often times they are pressured to make a move. Most real estate contracts only offer “outs” for buyers, and not sellers; so it is a smart move to sit still if contemplating selling your house.

If your home sits on the market for too long, buyers will begin to think there is something wrong with it. If you are going to list your home, and any one of these three things applies to you, you should seriously wait.

Haven’t let emotional attachment go

Selling your home and selling your car are two different things, there is much more emotion involved. Did you make incredible, irreplaceable memories in your home? Is the home sale a result of a major life event like a death, or divorce?

If this is the case, allowing strangers to inspect every inch can be gut-wrenching and painful, but to make the pain better, consider holding off. Take your time to accept the loss of whatever is passing, and list the property when you are ready to move on with your life. If you don’t, it’s going to be an agonizing process.

Your desired price is more than 10% of what agents are telling you

Homes get the most attention in the first couple weeks it is on the market. If you priced your home too high, it could still be on the market months later. At this point you will have few options, and your best tone is to drop the price, and the buyers will get you for a lot less than what you had in mind.

If you get a second opinion from another agent, and they say it will sell for 10 percent below what you were expecting, you should probably wait on selling your home. Try doing some quick renovations to bump the price up a little.

You don’t have a solid exit strategy if you get a deal

If you do not have a plan B for your living...

First impressions last forever, and when it comes to selling your house, you only have one shot to impress the potential buyer. Their attention span only last a few seconds when scrolling through pictures, and if left unimpressed, they’ll gladly click to the next home. If you fail to stage your home properly you could lose out on a sale without ever knowing it.

Most buyers today search online first. Photos happen to be the primary factors in letting buyers decide which homes they like or dislike.  Once they see a home online they like, they’re more likely to ask to see it in person. Staging a home can be highly beneficial and can bring you a tremendous return on investment. There have been homes that look better staged than when families were living in them, which gives the home a little more value than they intended to sell it for.

Follow these home staging tips to help you in your sale.

Accessorize smartly

Accessorizing a room is quite easy, and gives it a fresh up-to-date look.  A new couch pillow, and some coffee table books or magazines can go a long way. Having tasteful art hanging above your fireplace and on your walls brings color to the rooms. For some reason, having an odd number of art pieces is better than having an even number.

Do not over-accessorize

Accessories are nice, but don’t over- do it. In this instance think, “less is more”. If you have too many books on a table, or too much art, it can really turn buyers off, making them feel cramped and cluttered. If you want to make it perfect, try organizing them by size and color. Professional home stagers will have a pile of items that they don’t want buyers to see, so take this stuff out of the home and into a storage unit or somewhere out of sight. Your home will look much more spacious without all this stuff in it.

...

We all know the IRS sucks, and they’ll take however much they can get. The IRS doesn’t typically care about your home sale unless you profit drastically from it. On the other hand, the IRS will grant home sellers tax deductions. In order to receive this you must itemize your taxes, as tedious as it is, it will be worth it in the end. Here are five tax deductions you ca n take advantage of when selling your home.

1. 1.       Selling costs

If you fail to qualify for the 121 exclusion, you will surely owe taxes on whatever profit you happen to gain. So be sure to deduct all selling costs from your gain. And you can (and should) deduct your real estate agent’s commission, legal fees, title insurance, inspection fees, advertising costs, and escrow fees.

You can also qualify for a partial exclusion if you must sell your home due to certain circumstances like divorce, health problems, change in employment, or any other drastic life changing event.

1. 2.       Moving Deduction

Moving expenses are on the table to deduct if you have to relocate for work. This includes transportation costs, storage costs, and lodging costs.

1. 3.       Property tax deduction

Deducting your property taxes for the year you owned the home is fair game! Deduct the taxes every day you lived there, but not of the day the home sold.

1. Home improvement

Every home could use an improvement somewhere, unless it’s perfectly built, which is super rare. If you make an improvement that will help sell your home, like replacing the HVAC system, a new roof, or new plumbing, they best be within 90 days of the sale...

One would expect their real estate agent to be busting their butt day and night to sell your home, but is it possible they are lounging around your swimming pool doing the bare minimum to get your home sold. They might be sabotaging your home sale right beneath your nose. It’s usually not intentional, but these are the signs to see if they are holding up the sale of your house.

Your agent is taking a low commission (or doesn’t offer a competitive commission to buyers agent)

A low commission sounds good to any seller, but on the other hand it isn’t enticing at all for the buyer’s agent. The standard 6% in most markets is usually split 50/50 between agents. If they are receiving a 5% commission, the 2.5% isn’t that enticing to buyer’s agents, meaning they will be reluctant to show your house.

Your agent is MIA

This may not happen until you’ve signed the 90-day exclusivity contract with your agent, but if they go missing in action, and don’t respond to any mode of communication you send, that is a huge red flag. Their paycheck comes with the transaction of your house, so they should be free to talk to you at any time of the day. If they aren’t returning your calls or emails promptly, they probably don’t want to be working with you in the first place. You want an agent who will return your calls ASAP, and who will be calling you all the time.

Your agent is a people pleaser

They’re a people pleaser by telling you’re your home is worth way more than it actually is. Some agents tend to lie about the real condition of the market, and a home’s value just to get the listing. Everyone wants a realistic price, but if the agent over prices your home, it may end up costing you in the long-run. If this is the case, it could prove to be difficult for the agent...

Having to sell your home is no simple task like taking the dog for a walk, or getting your car cleaned. It’s a huge, financial transaction with emotional ties, and practical implications. With all the stipulations of selling a home, and potential pitfalls, it could make anyone cower and forget about the idea all together. For those of us who are a little concerned, here are the biggest fears and how to handle them.

My house won’t sell

A home that sits week after week after week on the market is the number one fear for all sellers. This can be especially true if they are relying on the money from that home to buy another home. Rest assured any home can sell for the right price and right condition; it’s just a matter of the local market too. The moment you know you want to sell your house, talk to a real estate agent relatively soon. Plan ahead and know what you’re getting yourself into.

I’ll have to update my home to sell it

Most sellers know their homes need some work in order to attract a large group of potential buyers. Knowing is just half of the issue, the other half is actually doing it, and that part is often disregarded. The sooner they realize the condition of their home affects the sale price, the better off they will be. If you can afford to lose some money, leave some work for the next owner and do the bare minimum. If you are a good cleaner, stager, and repairman, you should get top dollar for your home. Ask the real estate agent for help on what you can do if you don’t know where to start.

My house won’t sell by my target date

If any major life event has you pressured to sell your home by a certain date, there’s no doubt about it you will be stressed. Realistically you are looking to get rid of it fast, which means putting the price below the average comparable sale....