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Too Much Too Soon? When is the Right Time to Sell Your House?

Too Much Too Soon? When is the Right Time to Sell Your House?

Do you get the urge to upgrade your home about as often as you get a notification on your smartphone that it is time to upgrade its operating system? Many homeowners buy a home with full intent of upgrading to a larger (or smaller) home when their family size, professional needs or personal preferences change.

But, how soon is too soon to make that switch? When it is acceptable to sell one home and move on to another? If you’ve got that urge and it has been merely a matter of months or only a few years, you can take comfort in knowing that there is no standard rule-of-thumb when it comes to an appropriate time to sell your home.

However, no matter how long you’ve lived in a home, there are a few factors that may heavily influence your decision to sell:

It’s All About Equity

The bottom line when it comes to selling your home is how much you stand to profit, right? After all, whether you’ve lived there for a few months or years, you certainly don’t want to take a loss when you leave. To determine your home’s equity, you’ll need to consider what you paid to purchase your home, how much you’ve paid on your mortgage and what the current value of your home actually is.

Which Brings Us to Your Local Market

One factor that heavily influences your home’s equity is your local real estate market. Home values in many markets across the nation are on the rise; but, does your home fall into one of those markets?  If you’re considering selling your home, you should compare it to similar ones in your market that have recently sold to determine what your current home value may be.

So, Enlist Some Help

And, here’s where your initial thoughts of selling your home and upgrading to another start to get a bit serious! To give you a proper estimate of your home’s value, it is a good idea to enlist the help of a trusted real estate professional. Not only is a real estate agent going to be more versed in local market conditions, but they also will be able to complete a comparative market analysis with real data about homes that are currently listed or have recently sold. Then, you’ll have an accurate idea of what you stand to make or lose if you decide to sell. (Oh, and let’s not forget all of the other ways that trusted real estate agent will be able to help you prep your home for sale, either!)

Consider Closing Transactions

Once you’re working with a real estate agent who has helped you to figure out your home’s current value and what you might stand to profit on the sale of your home, don’t forget to factor in the typical costs that accompany the actual transactions of buying and selling a home. On either end, when you come to the closing table, one or both parties will be responsible for covering costs that range from loan origination fees and appraisals to surveys and title fees. Unlike other costs that may be lumped into a mortgage, these monies are due up front at the time of closing. Would selling your home right now cover closing costs, too?

Finally, Know Your Options

If you’ve been crunching the numbers on selling your home right now and they simply do not seem to be adding up, know that you’ve still got options. Instead of selling your home to purchase another, have you thought about turning your current home into an income property? If it doesn’t seem to be your time to sell, depending on your local real estate market, renting your home and buying a new one may be a more lucrative option in the long run.