North San Diego Real Estate

Selling a house is most often an arduous task. There’s the complicated paperwork process, the nerve racking period of waiting for the first offer, the endless back and forth between you and the realtor and the prospective buyers, and of course, the money. So to help you out in this daunting time, here are seven helpful tips that will help to make sure you get through it without going crazy.

1) Try To Be Objective

There are plenty of things that can color what you think your house’s value to be. But what a house like yours sold for last year (or even a couple months ago), how much you might have “lost” by not selling at the peak of the market, things like that don’t really matter. And unfortunately, while the nice counter tops you put in certainly help, the truth is you’re not going to recover everything you spent on home improvement.

You have a lot of attachment to your house, because it’s your home. In order to reduce the amount of pressure (and expectations, which has a way of becoming inflated), you need to understand and try to be realistic about the market you’re in, your neighborhood, and most importantly, the value of your house. So many things can have an effect on the potential sale. Some, like the market dynamics, the condition of the economy, lending environment, you have no control over. Try to understand the effects of those, while dealing with the things you can do something about, like the condition of the house, curb appeal, cleanliness and your availability. But be realistic about it.

2) Come Prepared

What is the local real estate market like right now? What makes up the process of selling a house? What is the process for buying a house? After all, even though you are not the one buying it, you want to understand what people you will be dealing with are going through. I know you are paying a real estate agent to take care of these matters, but every little bit of knowledge puts you a little bit ahead of the game. It will make the whole thing go along smoother, and take some mystery and stress from the process. It seems daunting, especially nowadays, but talk to your agent about all of it to help you understand it. After all, you’re not paying them to stand around being pretty. Speaking of which …

3) Listen To Your Agent

If you’re reading this, you probably don’t have too much experience selling houses. Do you know who does? The real estate agent you’re paying to help you. Not only are they more up to date on current market conditions, but they also know what helps to sell and what doesn’t. And when you consider that they make money when you do, it’s safe to assume they will do whatever they can to ensure your house goes for the best price. You might not do everything they say, but you should listen to everything and be open to their suggestions.

4) Be Available To Be Gone

You should do what you can to make your house as accessible to potential buyers as you can. This doesn’t mean being available to show your house, because that isn’t a great idea. Being present at showings can make buyers uncomfortable and feel as if they need to rush. So be ready to leave within reasonable notice, and sometimes even without reasonable notice. An electronic lock-box is a helpful tool that your agent can install to facilitate showings and keep your property safe. Remember, your house can’t be sold if no one can view it; try and keep the hours of availability as open as possible.

5) Be Organized

Try to make sure you have all necessary paper, and keep it where you can find it. For instance, that nice deck you put up? Do you have the permits and compliance paperwork as well? You’d better, because finding out that your deck isn’t legal, or even worse then that, has to be dismantled can delay a sure deal and cost you money, or even kill the it outright. This goes for all important documents. Save yourself the headache and stress of trying to find everything last minute by keeping everything organized in one place.

6) Questions Are Your Friends

Do you know what a title company does? How about what ‘escrow’ means? It’s okay, in fact, very understandable if you don’t. Selling a house is a very complicated process, and not something you do every day. So, don’t be afraid to ask questions or clarification. This is your house on the being sold, so you need to be comfortable and knowledgeable about what is happening. Ask.

7) Be Reasonable

It’s important to think about all aspects of an offer when they come in, because the price isn’t the only consideration. The ability to qualify for a loan is very important in today’s market. So if you have someone who does, think twice about turning down their request for a new coat of paint, or to fix the upstairs faucet. Yes, buyers will walk away for even small stuff like that, so consider stuff like that closely. You might not need to cater to every whim, but make sure you’re talking it over with your agent and being reasonable.

Need to sell your house quick and for the highest price? Call Mindi Landry, she’s your local area specialist with 37 years of experience selling North San Diego County real estate. Give her a call at (760) 737-3767.

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