There are a thousand and one reasons why you may decide to sell your home and whatever the reason; there are certain steps you must take to ensure you make the most out of the sale.
Your home can be sold profitably if you apply the following tips and suggestions when putting the property on the market.
1. Find Out If You Can Get a Loan Instead
Many times, people sell off their homes to raise some money; however, there are ways to make some money from your home without having to sell the home immediately. One of such ways is by getting a reverse mortgage loan.
Reverse mortgage loans are a type of loan that you can secure with your primary residence. Once secured, this loan permits you to access a portion of your equity, without ever having to make monthly repayments. The lender only gets his money back whenever you finally sell the house or if the last surviving owner of the home dies. Even after taking out a reverse mortgage loan, you’ll be allowed to keep the title of your home.
The amount that one can access from a reverse mortgage loan is determined by certain calculations made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This calculation mostly takes into consideration the borrower’s age, the department’s lending limit, and the value of the home in question.
The best thing about reverse mortgage loans is that a borrower can choose not to pay them back until the day they pass away, and they won’t be charged any penalties for this. For years, homeowners have been able to safely access some of their home’s equity without having to sell their homes.
However, this type of loan is not suited for everyone and before you take out a reverse mortgage, you must first qualify for it. Some basic qualifications include being at least 62 years old. The home in question must also be your primary residence. You must also take some mandatory counseling sessions and go through some financial assessments to qualify. Typically, in a reverse mortgage, borrowers can access up to 60% of their home’s worth. The amount to be accessed is usually determined by the age of the youngest borrower, current interest rates, and limits pre-determined by the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)
2. Do Some Thorough Research on the Real Estate Market.
Even if you have lived in your present neighborhood for several years, do not just assume you know the current prices of homes in your locality. Talk to local realtors and do some research to find out the real cost of homes in your area. Find homes with comparable features as yours and find out what they cost, you can do this by searching real estate sites or attending open house events.
If you decide to hire a real estate agent to do the job, do thorough research to find the most suited for the job. You can interview a couple of agents before hiring one. If you feel like you can, you could also try the DIY route. However, this route would require you to learn all state laws about the sale of real estate, just like an expert realtor would. Depending on the laws in your location, you may be required to disclose any facts about your home that may impact its value or desirability.
Finally, your research will help you set a reasonable asking price for your home. Pricing your home isn’t an emotional decision, so you cannot set a price based solely on what the home means to you. You do not want to price your home a lot higher or lower than its actual worth. The former might make it impossible to sell and the latter would leave you with a loss. The amount of profit you make from selling your home strongly depends on the kind of housing market in your location. If there are more house buyers than sellers in your neighborhood, then you can get away with a huge asking price. However, if there are more sellers than sellers, then you may need to bring down your asking price below market value to attract buyers.
3. You May Need to Renovate
You cannot let your home fall apart simply because you have intentions to sell. Rather, you may need to do some work on the home to make it look good enough for the market. Many buyers will rely on first impressions to make their decision, and dilapidated is not a good first impression. Your house may need to first go through a major paint job, some landscaping, a kitchen or bathroom remodel, anything to give the buyer a great first impression. You may also need to hire a home stager, photographer, handyperson, a lawyer, and a home inspector.