Financial|Real Estate

Selling Your Home? How Not To Lose Money

Selling your home can be a challenge when you don’t know what it’s worth, or how to get the best price for it. We have a few great tips on how to maximize your profit potential when selling.

It Starts With An Experienced Agent For Selling Your Home

Working with an agent that has significant experience in selling homes in your area. You are going to want someone who is as invested in getting every dime of value out of your home as you are.

Occasionally sellers will try to save money by using an agent with lower commissions, but you are going to get what you pay for, as the saying goes. If an agent who charges even a single percentage point more can bring you 5% more profit, you’re already up by 4%.

The Price Has To Be Right The First Time When Selling Your Home

Pricing the home right initially is a huge benefit. The home will lose value the longer it’s on the market without selling. Opening the listing at the right price will benefit you in a couple of ways. First, it will encourage a short time on the market. Second, overpricing can not only cost you time, it can cost you money, as people will know that it is overpriced, and will use that in negotiations. Leveraging a skilled agent can help you get the best price initially.

Make sure you have personally researched local listings and recent sales. Look for trends. Touring open houses can also give insight into what is on the market. Call your bank and asking for a beneficiary demand can also give you an idea of what the home is worth.

Preparation Is Key

This one might cost a little bit of money, but the value added to the potential sale should far exceed what you put into it. This is the stage where you spruce up the cosmetic appearance and curb appeal of your soon-to-be-former home.

Basic home repairs can count for a lot here, as can a fresh coat of paint in several key rooms. Also make sure you pay attention to your landscaping, maybe hire a crew for an afternoon to get it ready for the weekend showings. This can help first impressions be great.

Keep An Eye On The Fees

When you receive an offer from a potential buyer, the offer will list the fees the buyer expects the seller to pay. Sometimes, the buyer requests inspections or other closing concessions. These can all be negotiated, and if they request a percentage toward costs, you might consider raising the price to help offset that.

Be sure to negotiate, particularly on the fees. The same goes for a home warranty, if the buyer wants reports for inspections or pests, for example, make sure you cap the potential expense that may make you liable for. Also shoot for the end of the month for closing, so that you can save a little money in interest.6