Selling a home can be quite challenging, especially letting go of a space you’ve embraced and loved for many years. If you’re a first-time seller, the process might be slightly confusing, understanding where to start and whom to sell to.
Before presenting your home to the market, much must be done. As a first-time home seller, you may not be well-equipped with all the requirements, but it’s still possible to find a prospective buyer. That’s why you may require a real estate agent who will walk each step with you throughout the journey. Again, detaching from your home before letting it free remains an essential step in home-selling.
As a newbie home seller, you need to be prepared before putting houses for sale. Here is what a first-time home seller needs to know:e
1. Let go of the home emotionally
When selling your home, the once beloved space becomes a business office free from emotions and feelings. While feeling sad to say goodbye to all the years of good memories is normal, you also need to understand that you are now dealing with potential buyers, not neighbours or friends.
Take enough time to adequately accept the situation before initiating the selling process while keeping in mind that your potential buyer might differ from you in one way or another. Additionally, it’s essential to remain detached as much as possible, especially during negotiation, to avoid scaring away clients who would otherwise be annoyed by your emotions.
2. Get the home selling documentation ready
Every potential home buyer would be more attracted to a seller who has prepared all the essential papers even on the first meet-up. Please don’t wait for the last minute to run all over the house in search of the core documents; you should assemble them at least as soon as the thought of selling your home kicks in.
Some essential papers include; a purchase agreement, title report, appliance warranties, property tax statements and receipts, loan information, home insurance details, a title deed, and any other documents relating to the current home.
3. Get a reliable real estate agent
You can work with the agent who introduced you to the current home or get a new one since selling varies from buying. Real estate agents will guide you through the selling process, from price listing to strategic marketing and pointing out worthy buyers since they are qualified in the field.
After reviewing their testimonials and performances, you can also inquire from your colleagues who have previously sold their homes through agents. Your agent should be familiar with the local area where the house is located.
4. Appropriate price listing
After researching and reviewing different home prices within your local area, you should list yours at the most competitive prices possible- not too low or too high. Your real estate agent should help you with home price listing, providing you with the current, comparable prices and financial information related to home selling.
Some factors affecting the price of homes include; location, interest rates, prevailing economic conditions, the local market, age and condition, size, and upgrades.
5. Invest in professional photography
In the current era, buyers will request to see photos of their potential homes even before they see them physically. Therefore, you should save some pennies for a professional photographer if you want the best attractive images for your clients.
You can ask your agent about the best photographers in the market to eliminate the chances of falling victim to scams. Quality photos go a long way in finding you a willing buyer; going a step ahead with drone shots is even more impressive.
6. Prepare your home for selling
Preparing your home for selling is far beyond organizing the papers and finding the buyer. The property needs to be ready enough for viewing by the potential buyers- first impression matters. You wouldn’t want your client to point out mistakes on their first visit, which significantly affects their chances of buying the home.
Besides paperwork, you can prepare your home for buying by getting the walls re-painted, calling professional cleaners, replacing worn-out equipment or appliances, working on the lights, and re-organizing the furniture. A disorganized home is undoubtedly a turn-off to nearly all buyers without explanations.
Home preparation for selling also involves the removal of personal items. Although it feels hard to unhang your favourite wallpapers from their long-lived spots, this is one of the best ways to impress your buyers.
7. Welcome all buyers
This is not the time to be picky about who can buy a home or not. Although it can be stressful, try as much as possible to accommodate all buyers of all ages, races, nationalities, religions, or other aspects.
You should make your appointments early enough to avoid last-minute inconveniences. A tip; it’s advisable to take your pets out for a walk or rather train them adequately about welcoming new visitors. Your pets’ first response to potential buyers can also be a turn-off, especially for those who don’t love pets.
8. Call a professional home inspector
One of the biggest mistakes made by newbie home sellers is failing to perform professional home inspections on the soon-sold-out property. While it seems easy to do one or two rechecks at your home before selling, there is much more that could dodge your eyes but not a professional home inspector’s eyes.
The latter will highlight issues in your home that you may not have realized and provide possible solutions. After a thorough professional inspection, your home can be ready for selling.
