Once you’ve decided to sell, the first thing to do is get your house — and your mindset — in a place that’s ready to hit the market. Before contacting a real estate agent, you might want to take the following steps to see what your house might sell for.
Chances are you’re curious about what your house will sell for.
To check your home value, use our free evaluation tool. Answer a few questions about your home’s location, age, size, and more to calculate what it’s worth.
Getting a handle on this number can help you figure out your goals and your budget for your next place.
Of course, your house’s value isn’t what you’ll end up pocketing at the end of your sale.
To get a better idea of what you’ll be walking away from the transaction with, you’ll have to calculate your equity and estimated net proceeds.
Use Net Proceeds Calculator to determine how much you’ll make from your home sale after paying off your mortgage and factoring in closing costs.
In order to achieve your most successful home sale, you’ll want to hire a top real estate agent.
Top real estate agents bring expertise and experience to your transaction that can be invaluable to your end result.
There are plenty of real estate agents out there, and not all of them will be the right fit for you.
Once you get your matches, it’s vital to interview each one of your candidates to make sure you hire the right fit.
Think of it like a job interview; you don’t want to bring on the wrong candidate for the job! Make sure to ask the agents if they can put you in touch with clients that can provide honest testimonials.
It’s also important to ask about your agent’s statistics, especially those that most greatly impact your sale.
For example, if you want a quick sale, you’ll want to ask about your agent’s average days on market. This statistic indicates how long the agent’s homes sit on the market before a sale.
Or, if you want to get the most money for your sale, you should look into your agent’s sales compared to other agents in your area. You’ll also want to see how long your agent has been in the industry, and how many homes they’ve successfully sold throughout their career or during the last few years.
What are the red flags you should look for? Be wary of agents who don’t have much experience or who can’t provide client testimonials. Low-commission agents can also be a gamble.
These agents take a lower percentage of your sale as commission, but usually in exchange for less expertise and less work on their end.
Once you find the agent you want to work with, you’ll have to sign a listing agreement with them. This agreement covers everything from what will be included in your home sale — like appliances and lighting fixtures — to how your real estate agent will be compensated. It also includes how your agent can market your home sale, such as on the MLS, using lockboxes to let potential buyers inside, and for-sale signs.
You can always negotiate your listing agreement before you sign, so make sure you go over everything carefully with your agent and ensure you have everything you want included!
For sale by owner is when you sell your home without the help of an agent, which can theoretically save you money on the seller’s agent commission.
While going FSBO is always an option, a real estate agent can bring their expertise to your sale, making your life a whole lot easier. Working with a real estate agent can make the difference between getting the most money for your sale and leaving money on the table.
In fact, the average FSBO home sale in 2020 was for $260,000 compared to $318,000 for agent-assisted home sales according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The next step to selling your house is setting a sale price. Deciding on a price is a process that takes a lot of time and analysis, especially on your agent’s part.
One of the steps to take before you set your sale price is a pre-listing inspection. A pre-listing inspection will give you an accurate understanding of your home’s condition and value, which can prevent having to knock down your sale price later when problems arise during the appraisal. The cost of a pre-listing inspection — typically about $330 — will come out of your pocket, but can be worth it in the long run.
Agents use a comparative market analysis, or a CMA, to help price your home. These analyses take into account similar homes recently sold in your area to determine the fair market value of your home. For example, if you have a three-bedroom, two-story home zoned for a particular elementary school, your agent will find other homes that meet that criteria and use their recent sales prices to determine what your home might sell for.
Another important step to selling a house is to determine what your priorities are for your home sale. For example, you might want to sell your house as quickly as possible so you can move or get on to another home purchase. Or, you might want to get the most money for your sale, regardless of how long it takes. Your priorities will affect your pricing strategy.