Questions a home Seller asks
As a real estate agent in Virginia Beach, Virginia, I worked with Homeowners who sold or were thinking to sell their homes in Virginia Beach, VA. It is not easy for the homeowner to make a decision to sell their house and there are couple reasons for that; among them are emotional and financial reasons. Thinking to sell, most of the Homeowners asking questions like:
- How much is my house worth?
- How long will it take to sell my house?
- Do I need to do any repairs to my house?
- Why should I use real estate agent instead of selling it myself?
- How much does it cost to sell my house?
How much is my home worth?
I will start with question How Much My House is Worth. Even if you are considering to sell your home by yourself, ask a real estate agent to prepare the market analysis of the homes sold in your neighborhood within 12 months. Most of the realtors or agents will gladly do it for you, though we understand that we may not get your business. Instead of relying on Internet, it will take only couple minutes for the agent to email you the market analysis (simple report); the information prepared by professional will be much more accurate. After reviewing the report, you will get a good idea of how much your home is worth.
How much does it cost to sell a home?
Now, let’s talk about How Much Does It Cost To Sell The House. Roughly, it costs about 10% of your sale price to sell the house. Here is the breakdown of 10%:
- Possible 3% – for closing costs assistance that Buyer commonly asks Seller to contribute;
- 3% – for Buyer’s Brokerage Agency
- Negotiable 3% – for Seller’s Brokerage Agency
- 1% – Inspections, Seller’s closing costs
***Depending on the condition of your Home and how the contract negotiations go, the buyer may ask you to do certain home repairs as well. It means, the seller will need additional funds for required by the contract repairs.
Steps for calculating the in pocket cash from a home sale:
1: Figure out for how much you can potentially sell your Home.
2: How much you will need to set aside for closing costs and possibly additional funds for home repairs.
3: Check what is owed on the mortgage and do the math. Hopefully, you have built some equity on your home and you can sell the house with some cash in your pocket. There is actually term for that – Seller’s Net. Depending what those numbers tell you, you will be able to make the right decision if it is a good time for you to sell your Home.
Does the seller need to do repairs before selling?
Does Seller need to do any repairs to the house? If house is in a great condition, the touch of paint, new carpet would be a great additional feature to sell your home. When previewing a house in Virginia Beach, potential Buyer usually prefers a very clean, freshly painted with new carpet house over the one full of personal items, kind of worn out carpet and walls in need of attention. On the other hand, I want to emphasize that Buyers find very important such items as the age of the roof, HVAC (AC and heater) system, plumbing condition. So, if the main items of your home (roof, windows, HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems) are old and not in a good shape, painting the walls and replacing the carpet is probably not a good idea and most likely will not help your sale. I recommend my Sellers to do the home inspection before they put the house on the market.
The home inspection report
Home inspection report will point out the things that need to be addressed and may come as surprise for Seller. Lots of deals fall through because Seller and Buyer would not agree on repairs. If Seller knows in advance what he/she will be facing during the sale, they can fix it before the house goes on the market or it will not be such a big surprise when the Buyer is asking for certain repairs. This way the sale can be planned in a better way. Though, the Seller would have to spend their own money on home inspection, but knowing what to expect makes a difference in the sale.
The condition of your home
Condition of your property will affect the price. No one will pay higher price for the house with the roof that needs replacing in 3-5 years or AC and heating will last only couple of years. The reason the house stays long on the market is because the Seller sometimes is not realistic about the listing price.
How long does it take to sell a house?
This will answer the next question How long does it take to sell the house. The market analysis will help you to see how long it takes to sell your home in your particular neighborhood (average market time in certain neighborhoods can be 10, 15, 20, 40, 60, 90 days). It is important to put the house on the market at the right price in accordance with its condition and market value in the neighborhood, so you don’t have to low your price every two weeks and live through that disappointment. We all out there for the better deal for ourselves; and Home Buyer is for sure wants to find a good deal.
Should you sell your home with a Real Estate agent?
I have one more question to answer, Should Seller use real estate agent or sell home for sale by owner? I personally did both, and I will never sell “For Sale By Owner” again. First of all, no one can find your property; those who do want to bring the low ball offers. People automatically think that since the Seller is already saving on the real estate broker’s commission. But, really they often offer much lower price to begin with. As much as I like do things independently (DIY), I recommend you sell your home with real estate agent ONLY. First, it will be listed in MLS which means that your home will be found by the most number of potential buyers; second, let your agent handle the sale on professional level.
Thanks, this is
Tim Blogging for Pink Pearl Real Estate
Thank you for the great information! I will call when I am ready.