When you’re selling your home, you might only be thinking about the money you’re going to make. There can be costs, however. By being strategic from the start, there are ways to reduce costs when selling a home, including these following tips.
1. Hire a Qualified Realtor
Yes, some people think that if you don’t hire a Realtor to help you sell your home, you’re going to save money. You do have to pay a real estate agent fee, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that you are going to get more back in value for having that person deal with the marketing of your property. If you try to sell your home on your own or you hire a possibly less experienced and less expensive real estate agent, you could end up losing money. You may be able to negotiate with your real estate agent as well, and some agents are open to this idea. Just make sure you’re not looking for an agent who’s going to offer you a bargain because they aren’t experienced. Related: 8 Benefits of Using a Realtor to Sell Your House
2. Don’t Over-Improve
Before you put your house on the market, there are things you might want to do that will make it more marketable to home buyers. For example, you might want to add a fresh coat of paint or invest in curb appeal by freshening up your landscaping. These are good ideas, but you don’t want to go so far that you’re improving your home more than what’s in line with your neighborhood. Even if you have the most beautiful house in the neighborhood, there are going to be limitations to what you can sell it for based on the location. Over-improving can lead you to either price your home too high, or you can end up losing money.
3. DIY As Much As Possible
When you are getting your home ready to sell, you want to take on as many of the projects on your own as you can, rather than hiring someone. If you can do simple maintenance projects and upgrades, do them. There are a lot of ways you can make your look great that don’t require you to spend much money, if any. For example, you can change outdoor and cabinet hardware on your own, and clean out the clutter.
4. Comparison Shop
When you’re preparing to sell your home before you hire any professionals to do some comparison shopping. You want to balance a sense of value with the quality of services. This includes choosing a real estate agent as well as a photographer, a home inspector, and others. Again, as with a real estate agent, you might be able to negotiate on fees to save more money.
5. Time It Well
The longer your home sits on the market, the more it can cost you. This can be especially problematic if you’re not living in the home so you’re paying two mortgages and two sets of utility costs. You’re losing money every day your home sits on the market, so reduce the days it’s likely to go without selling by thinking about factors like seasonality. For example, spring is on its way in and that can be a great time to sell a home because the weather is warmer and people are getting out and about more. Related: When Is the Best Time To Sell a House?
6. Go Over Your Sales Contract Carefully
Finally, as a seller, you’ll get an offer when you find a potential buyer and it may be anywhere from 10 to 20 pages long. To reduce the costs of selling your home, make sure you go over the details of this offer. A buyer might want something like a seller concession to go toward closing costs, and this is one of the many things you may find in there that’s negotiable. Additionally, you don’t necessarily have to pay all the costs a seller asks for, nor do you automatically have to pay for the home warranty a buyer is requesting.
Reduce Costs When Selling a Home with Effective Agents
Having an experienced Realtor to help you through the process of selling your home can help you eliminate guesswork, lower your costs, and maximize your profits. EffectiveAgents® can connect you with a top-selling Realtor® in your area.
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