It is a big challenge to sell a house for relocation in the present real estate market. You just need to consider following the steps outlined below in order to position your house to sell for the highest possible price.
The real intricacy lies in the fact that a substantially large number of houses are there for sale in numerous real estate markets today, and the number of approved buyers is very small due to the stricter mortgage approval requirements.
Furthermore, most of the companies use a “wait and see” approach for hiring new employees that might lead to a higher number of qualified buyers in the market. The major object when trying to get the highest possible price for your house is to acknowledge these realities, consider every aspect of the market, and then develop an effective game plan for success.
What does it take to get a house sold for a reasonably good price?
1. Get very real
The quotation “home is where the heart is” represents the feeling of most of us since the home is the place where we create tons of happy memories – exceptionally precious experiences. The biggest problem is that though these events have sentimental value and are important to you, they do not add value to your house.
For being successful when selling your house, you have to think of it impartially as s property for sale. You need to ask yourself, what should I do to make my house stand out above most of the other houses on the market?
2. Be familiar with Your Neighborhood
It is your duty to find out what’s working to get houses sold in your area. Enlist every major highlight of your house’s location. Is your house near a local park? Does it have easy access to a high-quality middle school? Take note of such things. Small advantages that your house offers might help the buyers make a decision.
You need to learn using everything that might give your house the best chance to be sold to your advantage. There are numerous research tools that you can use to find out the key selling points of your area. Use them whenever needed.
3. Stage for victory
A little bit of decluttering and fresh paint can help a lot in getting your house sold quickly at a great price. You need to make sure that you upload a good number of high-quality photographs of your property on the relevant websites. This will intrigue the prospective buyers to pay a visit. Did you know that staging your property properly can have as high as 586 percent ROI (return on investment)?
4. An Estimate is just an Estimate
The modern technology has enabled us to have easy access to unlimited information about anything on the internet. No matter you are trying to sell a house or buy a home, you would find a great amount of info on real estate market trends. While this information is beneficial for most of the people, we are sometimes led down the wrong path due to inaccurate data.
For instance, some of the most popular websites offer useful information related to the real estate business in the neighborhood. They also provide users with an estimation of the worth of a particular house, which is excellent.
However, the estimated shown are sometimes widely off that create unrealistic expectations that in turn lead to disappointment.
The solution is pretty simple. Just use a competent Realtor, preferably a local expert who can give you an accurate estimate.
5. Plan the price of your house
To be honest, this is not an easy topic to discuss. For most homeowners, their home is not only a place where they make memories, but also the biggest investment of a family. With a good pricing strategy and a grip on reality, you can sell your house for the highest possible price.
It is important to follow a solid plan from the very beginning. According to Evi Coghlan, writer of the bi-weekly column known as “The Real Deal”, the longer your property is on the real estate market, the lower will be its price.
It is important to price your house correctly from the beginning to sell it for the highest possible sale price. Sometimes leaving a little room for negotiation and testing a higher price sound like normal strategies, but they are not advisable in the current real estate market.
Normally, they just result in a long market time, which decreases the value of your house. Price your house to sell, provided that you want your property to be sold profitably and quickly.
6. Pick a Professional
Picking the right realtor is of great importance, especially when you are trying to sell your house in no time. It is best to opt for a local real estate expert with a successful background and a long track record of successful sales. These are the people responsible for pinpointing the flaws and things needed to be repaired. You may not like to hear what they are telling you every time, but it is better to take their advice than losing money.
Here are some questions you might ask him/her to gauge his/her competence:
- How many houses have you managed to sell during the last six months?
- What is your commission? Normally, these commissions are negotiable. They are not fixed by law.
- What strategy would you follow to market my house?
- What percentage of the commission should I give to the other realtor who finds a buyer?
- Will you be helping the prospective buyer find financing?
- Can you provide a few references?
In order to get your house sold at once you need to follow every step discussed above. Once you get the thing going, there is no possibility of failure. Get your house sold at a good price, and move into your next dream home!
How to Sell Your First Home
If you thought to buy your first home was a stressful period you might find that selling also comes with its difficulties. For many people, the easiest way is to sell your home online as many property sites are well optimized in area searches and offer buyers the opportunity to filter search results according to their criteria like location, price range, and home type.
When you find yourself in such a situation, My Online Estate Agent is a useful resource to check out if you are selling your house. For home sales, you are required to provide an energy performance certification (EPC) for anyone who wants to buy the home.
The EPC will produce a rating of your building’s energy efficiency based on a rating system of A to G, with homes that are rated as an A are the most energy efficient and those with Gs are the least energy efficient.
Your certificate needs to be made available, and free of charge, to potential buyers within the first seven days of your house being put on the market.
You can choose to sell your home privately or by using the services of an estate agent. The best way to decide which route will work best for you is to weight up the costs of using an estate agent against the time you have available to sell your home online. Conducting a private sale may save you a little money in the long term but it will demand more of your time and effort.
If you decide to sell the house yourself you must decide first how much you want for the property. If you cannot decide you can always get an agent to do a valuation for you. You can also set a price by looking at the prices of, and viewing, other houses in your area.
When you are setting your price you can also think about if you need to do any redecorating or repairs to make it easier to market the property. You might also be in a position where you need to have surveys done that could have a bearing on the value of the house.
You may also want to include some extras in the price to increase it a bit or set a separate price for them. Fixtures like heating systems and fireplaces must be included in the sale price. Because lowers usually come in lower than the asking price you might want to think about setting your price a little higher so that negotiators can bring you down to something that feels mutually acceptable.
How to Sell Your House Fast
There are many reasons why people might need to sell a property fast. The trouble is the system. Estate agents, solicitors, and surveyors take time to organize things.
Something which can be completed in a fortnight top often takes many more weeks to complete – sometimes many months. But there is a solution which means you do not have to hang around to get your hands on much-needed cash. The solution is quite simple; read on for more information.
Sell a house fast and avoid the snail race
If you have ever been unfortunate enough to find yourself in a property chain, you’ll know how easy it is for that chain to falter, stop and re-start only to falter again.
A snail race over a mile would take less time. If you’re even more unfortunate and have had the experience, these chains can so easily break down for even the most non-descript of reasons.
Anyone who needs to sell a house quickly should steer clear of the traditional method of buying and selling. Estate agents aren’t in the business of selling houses just for the benefit of their clients.
They are in it to make money and if it takes two weeks or two years to sell a property, they will still get paid. And there are many reasons why anyone might need to sell a property as fast as possible; some of those reasons are stated below:
- Impending repossession
- Impending divorce
- Inheritance (tax, duties, etc)
- Impending retirement
- Emigration
This isn’t an exhaustive list but it does demonstrate a few examples as to why some people need to sell a property as rapidly as possible.
The hundred-meter sprint
Compared to the snail race the hundred-meter sprint is over almost before it has begun. Selling property the modern way is a much faster yet equally secure alternative. The Internet has enabled agencies which have always existed to market themselves to a much wider consumer audience.
Property owners can approach any one of these agencies (do your homework first) regardless of the reason of the need to sell; it matters little the condition of the property to be sold or its location. These agencies have client lists of companies and individuals with cash ready to buy a property.
They may be people like yourself who have just sold a property and are looking for something specific, or they may be investors looking to add to their portfolio.
The process
The property owner approaches the agency with a property to sell, a few details are taken and within 24 hours a no obligation offer is made. You will not have to pay for a survey or any other extraneous fees. If you accept the deal can be completed within a fortnight, or at a later date which is suitable to the property owner.
If you need help selling a property fast, the modern way is to avoid the snail race and make the hundred-meter sprint as soon as possible.
7 Steps to Sell Your Home
With the prices of homes declining in the world market, the average time to sell a property is increasing year after year. This finding has led to introducing a new marketing technique, called “home staging” or “staging” of the house.
If you are not considering any professional help, then you can follow these 7 steps to sell your home quickly:
1. Adjust the price to reality
It is the first thing you should consider when you put a house for sale. It is a fact that the interval of time from when you place the sign “for sale” until you close the sales transaction in the notary, has increased. Keep it in mind that the buyers will not waste their time looking for overpriced houses. The experts suggest that you should refer your agent and set a price range, which is based on comparable sales.
2. Price your home according to your area
To have a reference point, it is important to learn that properties have a defined range of sold price of similar properties in the same area. It may be interesting to get advice from a real estate professional who knows the price per square meter in the area of interest.
3. Fix everything that is faulty
We must make a list of all damage and defects to fix it. It is convenient to repair tanks and faucets that drip. You must cover all cracks, scratches, and holes that are present in walls, doors, and ceilings.
After receiving information about visits from prospective buyers, we must ensure that the property is in top condition. The buyer of a house, which requires renovations often, deducts the costs involved in the repairs. If the seller does not repair the homes, he limits the number of potential buyers who may be attracted to the housing.
4. Clean and tidy the house
Keep everything in essential order and if required, given a facelift to your home by painting it with neutral colors, that appeal to a greater number of people.
While most buyers prefer to paint and decorate the house to their liking, or even change the interior layout, it is true that the buyer appreciates a newly painted home as it gives a greater sense of hygiene. Furthermore, the house should be well ventilated and smells good.
5. Place appealing ads
You must spread the message of selling the house in every possible way. Newspapers, classifieds, and real estate portals are good platforms to advertise the property. You can include pictures as well as videos, as they are resources that help the ad to receive more visits to the real estate portals.
Make it a point to post photos of the interiors with furniture. A furnished and decorated space always provides a warm and welcoming impression. Sometimes empty rooms give an impression of being smaller. However, avoid placing too many objects to block the passage.
6. Schedule visits with no one home
It is easier to sell a vacant property than those which are inhabited. When is selling a home, you have to reconcile everyday family life with home visits. The buyer feels more self-conscious when opening cabinets, bathroom furniture or cabinets because it has the feeling of intruding into the private lives of strangers.
7. Show tranquility
Do not appear too eager to sell the house before the visits and never lose your temper or exaggerate the positive aspects of housing. If a prospective buyer is really interested, do not be inflexible in the stipulated price. It is a wise move to be open to negotiating the price of the property.
How to Spiff Up Your Outdoors for Greater Resell
When it comes to reselling your home, an ever-changing set of variables can impact the sale. But whatever the price point, the first step to encouraging buyers to tour your home is to spiff up your curb appeal.
Creating a beautiful first impression with plantings, sleek fixtures, and clean features not only shows buyers that you take pride in your home, but it also shows them the possibilities that your home has for them.
Foliage
A home should be framed and enhanced by the plantings in front of it. Beautifully maintained shrubs can showcase a bright front door or an elegant walkway. Window boxes full of bright blossoms can bring attention to bay windows. A tall maple in the front yard can strike a sense of nostalgia that endears a buyer to a home.
Take stock of your front yard. Are shrubs or trees obstructing the view of your exterior? Have your flowers turned shades of brown? Is your garden full of knickknacks that have personal meaning but are cluttering up your otherwise lovely flower beds?
Make small changes such as trimming hedges to an appropriate height, planting seasonal and bright flowers along your walk, and removing most of your garden ornaments. These changes are inexpensive and show a buyer the home’s potential.
Highlight Features
Once the yard is cleaned up and the exterior the home is showcased, consider your home’s curb appeal in terms of its best features. Do you have a huge front porch? Make sure it is decluttered. Maximize space by arranging just two chairs and a small table.
Add a potted plant or a classy welcome mat. If your home has awnings or shutters, give them a good scrub, ensuring that they are clean. Shine up your front windows to show off their panes and size. Using these inexpensive strategies to spiff up your home’s outer shell will draw a buyer in.
Fixtures
A surefire way to bring life to your curb is to add or replace fixtures. A home up for resale is sometimes seen as dated. Add sleek elements, such as RLM Lighting Fixtures, to shine the light on your front steps and garage. Find inexpensive solar-powered lights to line your walkway to literally light the way for buyers. Change out your front door handle or your mailbox to update the look.
Reselling a home can be challenging. These simple and effective changes are inexpensive and make just the impact you need to sell.
Bad News For Short Sellers
A lot of people who were looking forward to benefitting from short sales have been left alone in the woods by the government.
The federal Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was allowed to expire on December 31st 2013. A lot of people were hoping that the government will renew this act as it has been doing in the past years, but their hopes have not been fulfilled.
As a result of the expiry of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, any amount of money that a lender agrees to write-off from your debt will now be considered as taxable income when you file your income tax return.
What was the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act
Assume a case where you owe some debt. For the sake of example let us consider this debt to be around 100,000 U.S. Dollars. After taking the debt you find yourself in a financially strained condition and as a result, you are not able to repay the debt. The lender realizes your troubled economic situation and decides to forgive some amount from the debt.
Consider this amount to be $20000. This amount that has been forgiven by the lender as a courtesy is actually seen as taxable income by the federal government. As a result, at the time of filing income tax returns, you are supposed to report this forgiven debt as income.
The concept of taxing forgiven debt might appear as unusually harsh to some people but that is the reality.
Why was it enacted
As the recession set in 2007, many people found it difficult to cope up with the toppling economy. Taking the financial hardships of the people into consideration, the government enacted the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act.
According to this act, any debt that was forgiven by the lender was not to be subjected as taxable income by the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). This act was of a temporary nature, providing temporary relief to those who found themselves underwater.
Soon it became clear that it would take some time for the economy to get back on its feet, hence the law was reenacted again and again in the subsequent years.
A lot of people were hoping that the government will reenact the law again before it expires on 31st December.
In the absence of the law, is short sale a good idea
Nothing can be said at the moment. There is no guarantee that the law will be renewed. Right now the fate of Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act hangs in balance.
Those who are looking forward to benefiting from short sales must first contact their accountants and discuss their situation in detail. You have to make the best of the situation by making an informed decision on the basis of information available at hand. The best thing to do right now would be to wait and watch.
Considering the recent developments i.e. the increase in the debt ceiling and the ongoing implementation of the Affordable Care Act, it seems unlikely that the government will be willing to be generous on the forgiven debt.
Selling A Property Without Having to Sell Comfort
A property is an investment of a lifetime. Many working individuals opt for investing in property than in gold. This investment later serves as a steady income and security after retirement and in old age. People who own properties these days are generally opting for equity release on it.

Equity release plans offer the owner of the house to mortgage his property and get money in exchange of it. These mortgages give the owner of the property the freedom to repay the interest later. Even if they don’t pay till they are alive, no one will force them to pay. The ownership of the property will be taken away and will not be inheritable.
There are two types of these mortgages. Lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans.
Life time mortgages
In this type of mortgage, when the owner of the property mortgages his house a loan amount is given to him. The loan has to be repaid by the owner in installments. A huge advantage of a lifetime mortgage is that you get a lump sum which you can use any way you like.
You can spend a part of it and invest another part which might give you good returns in the future. And till you can hold the ownership of the property till you live. If you repay the loan amount the house will be completely yours. You can even make periodical payments as and if you can but many choose to make the payment later.
Home reversion plans
In this plan, the owner can sell his property. He will get the entire sum immediately. But, even after selling it off, he can choose to live in the house until he passes away and he doesn’t even have to pay rent. Some companies even offer their services to get you good deals.
This kind of mortgage plan is ideal for the elderly. They can spend the rest of their lives in peace without having to depend on others for financial help. And another relief this plan offers to elderly people is that they can live in their house without having to repay the loan amount.
These are the many advantages of such mortgage plans. They are perfect for elders who do not have beneficiaries. They can then resort to the reversion plan by which they will live without paying rent and the sum that they receive from selling the house can be invested and spent on things they like to do in old age.
Some elders, who have beneficiaries, can invest the amount they receive by selling the house and can leave behind an inheritance of money instead of a house which can be difficult to maintain.
These sorts of equity release mortgages are really beneficial for people who have a property to release equity on. These mortgages are not complicated and are easy for elders.
Elderly people can lead to tension-free lives after retirement without having to worry about income and flow of money. These mortgages are plans that many people want to resort to since they don’t want to hassle others for money and lead secure lives.
Read also: Top Ways to Sell and Market Your Property