1. Pricing Your Home
The first step is to be sure you established a good price for your home. Improper pricing is the most common mistake that costs home sellers thousands of dollars.
Here is what to consider: if the price is too high, it will sit unsold and becomes “stigmatized” or “shop-worn.” On the other hand, price it too low and you may give away thousands in profit to a total stranger. Either way you lose. Finding the appropriate price sets the right stage for the entire selling process.
A great benefit to you is to get in the right frame of mind for the sale. Be objective and remember that selling your home is a business transaction, and you need to put your personal feelings and attachments to your home completely out of the equation. This is critical! Keep in mind that potential buyers are not looking to buy your home - they are looking to find a house that they can make into their home.
The next step is to arm yourself with the facts. By not establishing a realistic price from the beginning, many home sellers end up costing themselves thousands of dollars. The value of home is determined by supply and demand. If there are a lot of sellers and few buyers, prices tend to go down and homes take longer to sell. This is referred to as a “Buyer’s market.” But when the opposite is true, and there are many buyers but few homes for sale, prices will rise and homes will sell very quickly - this is known as a “Seller’s market.” So do you know which market you are currently in?
It is best to access the knowledge of a professional - but don’t spend money on a formal appraisal - your Realtor will provide a market analysis for you. Your agent will determined which type of market you’re closer to; then study your neighborhood to compare your home to others based on size, style, number of bedrooms, baths, garage, basement, view, and lot size.
Once you have established market value, you can calculate your bottom line or net figure. This is the check you will receive after all the expenses related to selling your home are paid. Closing costs vary depending on how the contract was structured and where the closing takes place. When you meet with your agent, you will get a very accurate estimate of what costs will be incurred and what these costs will mean to your net figure or bottom line.
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