How to Sell a House

When you consider the cost of selling a house is typically 10 – 20% of the asking price using traditional sale methods it is immediately apparent that care should be given to this process.

Selling costs are typically made up of a cash buyer’s discount 5-10% Cost of money to hold till settlement 2-5% , agents commission 2-3%, home holding costs of insurances maintanence etc  1%.

It is no wonder people trying to figure out how to sell a house consider a private sale in an attempt to abort these costs. There is some merit in this approach but you may be able to do better than a traditional private sale.

Here are some factors to consider in how to sell your house for a good price;

1.      How desperate you are to sell it. The time frame you need to sell in

Do you need to sell your house by next week as the bank is foreclosing or if in 12 months time you havn’t sold it then no matter as you’ll just delay that holiday a bit. This is an indicator of how motivated you are to sell.

2.      How hot the market is ie booming, recovering, flat, falling.

Speed of a sale is in direct proportion to the existing market. In a boom any bit of rubbish will sell in a flash for top dollar, and in a falling market the only thing that will sell is a dead set bargain

3.      Level of desireability of the home  ie it’s location (view, facilities near by) House construction type, Appearance internal & external(architectural features,quality of finishes, appliances, etc)

Desireability level varies from the bull doze, undesireable, renovator, acceptable to some people, me to homes, desireable to most people,  to craved by all. [all these free reports given away by agents on”what to fix up to sell your home”   are just telling people to get their homes from “acceptable to some” to “me-to” level of desireability].

4.      Number of potential buyers exposed to your home

The more people exposed to your home & your sale terms obviously the greater probability it is that some buyer will like your offering.  Local newspapers have been effective in this regard for some number of years now as they keep putting the advertisement under the local community nose each week, week in & week out. With computer technology this method is loosing it’s effectiveness as savvy buyers these days prefer to use internet technology to spend alot less time viewing more homes which suit their buying criteria. As there are a number of ways to maximize this marketing component it is worth giving serious consideration to.

5.      The terms you are willing to sell the house on.

This can vary from 10% deposit  90% cash in 28 days, to some cash now and some cash later, to pay my mortgage now & give me my equity in cash later.  The terms a vendor is willing to offer will significantly vary the achieved profit from the sale.

6.      The length of time your home is on the market.

The longer the house is on the market the the greater the number of potential buyers your advertising  has to reach, however another negative factor of scepticism comes in to play and that is “If this house hasn’t sold in this time period what is wrong with it?”This one is a balancing act & will vary according to local.

7.      Your surrounding environment.

People like to live in certain locals for reasons of affordability, proximity of services, proximity to life style, social class. ethnic  origins, religious beliefs. These factors are of varying importance for individuals. Identifying these is useful for targeting marketing.

8.      The perceived affordability/benefit of buying as opposed to renting. 

When the attention on the nation is on interest rate rises & it’s guessing game of ramifications buyer enthusiasm is certainly dampened for large sections of the populations [especially low to middle income bracket]. If your home is one of the “me to”houses then this talk will certainly lower the competition and hence achieveable price now.

Your particular house will be affected by all these factors to varying degree. Your job is to decide how best to process these to maximize your sale price.

When you personally consider “How to sell a House” you may also wish to think about a personalized solution that a professional real estate buyer can afford you, Price is just one factor, the stress of beat down offers, forced to move at a specific contracted time not when you are ready are important factors which you will appreciate if you have sold real estate before.