Stay or Go… Stay or Go? Is it Time for You to Sell Your Home?
With a hot housing market in most of the country, many homeowners may be tossing around the idea of selling their homes. But, for many homeowners, selling a home that they’ve invested time, money and memories in can be a difficult decision to make, both for financial and emotional reasons. If you think it may be time for you to sell your home, here are a few factors that may influence your final decision: 1. Family Situation: Maybe you and your spouse have been living in your starter home for a few years, but you’re ready to grow your family. Maybe you’ve recently found yourself with an empty nest. Whatever your family situation is, it plays a huge factor in how much house you need. If you’ve recently experienced or you are anticipating a change in your family situation, now may be the perfect time to sell your home. 2. Career Situation: Even outside of our salaries, our careers impact our living situations. Job changes, retirement and commute all play a factor in where we want to and are able to live. If your career has recently taken a new turn, it could be a signal that it’s time to sell your home. 3. School Situation: If you have children, your desired school district can play an enormous role in where you live and when you should sell your home. Some families may live in a less expensive school district until their children reach school age, but may desire a new district when their children are ready to enroll in public schools. If you’ve got children who are nearing school age, but you are not living in your desired school district, you may be ready to sell your home. 4. Financial Situation: Despite where we want to live, our financial situations often dictate where we are able to live. Changes in a financial situation can come with other life changes, like marriage, divorce, promotions or job loss. These financial changes can play an enormous role in whether or not a person should sell their home. If you’ve recently recognized a major change in your financial situation, now could be the time to sell your home. 5. Market Situation: When the real estate market is hot, the urge to sell a home can be impossible to avoid. Who doesn’t want to make a profit on one of their investments? If you know you live in a hot real estate market and you want to see what you can make from your home, now may be the perfect time for you to sell. Once you determine that you would like to sell your home, there are some additional questions you may want to ask before you actually list your home on the market: 1. What is my loan payoff amount? Finding out this information will give you a better idea of what you stand to make on your home’s sale after paying your loan off, covering closing costs and paying realtor commissions. 2. How are comparable area homes selling? A realtor can help you answer this question by providing a list of comparable home prices. They will also be able to let you know how long other area homes have been on the market before they sold. This information will help you set realistic expectations for your own sale. 3. What is the current market inventory for homes like mine? Again, a realtor can help you answer this question. Ideally, if the inventory is low for homes like yours, interested buyers may be more likely to compete for your home. On the same token, as long as interest rates remain low, there may be more qualified buyers who can afford to buy your home. 4. Does my home need any repairs or improvements? If you can easily answer yes to this question, it is a good idea to complete any prep work before you list your home. That prep work should include any and all repairs, improvements and cleaning that your home needs to show well. When it comes down to it, the decision to sell a home is quite personal. Even if all signs point to sell, sell, sell, many homeowners have an emotional attachment to their home that ultimately deters them from listing their home. If you’ve been considering putting your home on the market and would like to explore your options, contact a trusted real estate agent at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty today.
