Are you gearing up to sell your home for the first time? Even though you’ve had experience buying a home, the experience of selling a home will be much more different and involve unique challenges.
Here are a few things that every first-time home seller should know about selling their home.
You Might Not Get the Price You Want
Many different things can affect your asking price. For example, if you’re having difficulty attracting enough buyers, that could be an indication that your asking price is too high. In this circumstance, you should lower your asking price to attract more buyers. Then you can try to negotiate once you’ve found a home buyer that you want to work with.
Additionally, having your home inspected and appraised can affect the price you can ask for your house sale. An inspector and appraiser might discover some issues with your house that could affect its value, such as building code issues or damage. Minor issues can usually be fixed with repairs, but more serious issues could be quite costly to take care of and affect your home’s price.
The Process Can Be Stressful
Next, you should know that the home-selling process might not always go as smoothly as you expect. In reality, the process of selling your home can be quite lengthy and stressful. Traditional home sales can be inconsistent and full of delays. For example, when you’re selling your house to a traditional buyer, they’ll likely want you to have your home inspected.
This can lead to a lot of repairs and renovations that you need to take care of. That alone could add months to your home-selling process, and alter your budget significantly. Also, if your home buyer doesn’t have the funds to purchase your home, they’ll need to get a loan from a bank or lender. The loan approval process can take quite a while, and your buyer might even back out of your deal if they don’t get the rate that they’d budgeted for.
Closing Costs are Expensive
Finally, you should know that the closing costs on a home sale are quite expensive, even if you’re the one selling the house. All of the different costs can add up quite quickly to cost thousands of dollars. If you’re working with a real estate agent, their commission fee could add tens of thousands of dollars to your closing costs. Some traditional home buyers might even expect you to cover their portion of the closing costs since they’re usually using their own funds to cover the down payment. If this happens, try to negotiate with the home buyer to make your portion of the closing costs more affordable.
So, if you’re planning on selling your home for the first time, remember the details in this article. When you’re selling your home, you might not always get the price you want, the process can be stressful, and closing costs are expensive. Anticipating these challenges can help you to have a plan for your selling process, making your sale easier and less stressful.
Did you enjoy reading this article? Here’s more to read. How to Avoid Surprises When Selling Your Home