Selling your home can be approached in a number of ways, each with its own benefits and considerations.
The most popular way to sell a home is with a real estate agent. Other options include selling directly to a property investor, selling to an iBuyer, selling for sale by owner (FSBO), or selling to a third-party wholesaler that goes on to resell your house.
Let’s examine these options so that you can make the best decision based on your goals and needs.
For Sale By Owner
FSBO can be cheaper in terms of commission, but often these homes sell for less than homes that used a real estate agent. Selling FSBO comes with risks and time-consuming requirements to bring homes to market. In addition, selling as an owner means you can accurately price your home, sell the property, show it to a buyer, and take care of the legal and administrative paperwork.
Use a real estate agent to sell
The most common way to sell a home is through a real estate agent. A qualified realtor brings expertise, market knowledge, and negotiating skills to the table, ensuring a smoother and more successful transaction. The real estate agents in Leawood, KS, which you can find a listing for here, are known for their advocacy for clients, diligence in securing the best deal, and professionality when handling paperwork.
The goal of a realtor in Kansas is to help you get the best result when selling your home. Regardless of which method is right for your needs, there are a few things to keep in mind when selling your home:
● Focus only on what you can control in the situation
● Find the best deals and get the best value for money
● Do your homework and calculate the net profit of each lead
● Look for business partners who are open and honest rather than mere sales pitches
Real estate companies in Kansas understand that achieving a balance between increasing sales velocity and the market price is crucial. It’s important to recognize that these two factors are often inversely proportional, meaning that lower-priced homes tend to sell faster, while higher-priced homes may take longer to sell. If your priority is to sell your home quickly, there are several key strategies you can explore. Real estate professionals in Kansas can guide you through these approaches, ensuring a faster sale of your property. By leveraging their expertise and knowledge of the local market, you can optimize your selling process and achieve your goal of a swift and successful home sale in Kansas.
Conduct research and determine what’s right for you
Rather than leaving you with a plethora of ideas to run through, it’s important to evaluate each method based on the different criteria that are relevant to you when selling real estate. There are several proven ways to sell your home fast, but they may require a significant investment or result in a lower home sale price. By ranking each idea, it’s important to quickly determine which ideas are good (or bad) to pursue based on your skills, budget, and risk tolerance.
Effective strategies for a swift house sale
Keep the house clean
Showing a dirty house can easily deter potential buyers. If you do not have time for cleaning and preparation, the first task should be a cleaning company. Homes that sell fast (and at the best prices) are fresh, clean spaces that help buyers imagine living in them. While you can sell a cluttered house, try to remove as many unnecessary items as possible.
Set competitive prices
It’s evident that competitively priced properties are more attractive and tend to sell faster. Research the local housing market to determine the prices of recently sold homes and similar properties in your area. Proper pricing is key to attracting buyers.
Enhance the interior
Few things are easier, cheaper, and more effective than painting the walls of your house. When homeowners have the time and motivation, improving the home’s interior is a highly effective way to increase its value. Buyers prefer homes that don’t require immediate renovations. A fresh coat of paint often makes a home look well-maintained.
Boost curb appeal
Studies show that a home’s curb appeal increases home sales prices by 7%. The exterior of a home is the first impression buyers get, both in person and online. Simple steps like painting the front door a bright color and adding a for sale sign on the front porch can significantly enhance curb appeal. A well-maintained yard, lush landscaping, and outdoor living features can inspire buyers and encourage desirability.
Most home sellers dream of listing their home for sale without the stress of finding a qualified buyer quickly, getting paid, and handing over the keys. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.
For example, geographic location can affect how long your home will be on the market or the price you will receive for sale. Places with high competition and low inventory will sell faster and command higher prices. Conversely, in regions where home sales are slowing, more work will be needed to attract the right buyers. The real estate market has changed since the Pandemic. Prices and mortgage rates remain high. Fearing a recession, many buyers are waiting to see if interest rates or prices (or both) will change. Ultimately, this has led to a more balanced market, and dwellers no longer hold a clear advantage.
Find a reliable agent for productive cooperation
As a seller, you should prepare and consider all possible factors. Working with a good realtor to increase your home’s appeal can result in a smoother transaction and more money for the sale. Here are some steps you need to take to successfully sell your home in 2023.
Make a plan to sell your home
Selling a home is a big deal and can take months or more from start to finish depending on local real estate market conditions. Therefore, it makes sense to make a plan. When you decide to sell your home, contact your agent with the right experience for your situation.
Consider cleaning and making necessary home repairs at least two to three months before you plan to list your home for sale. Consider getting a pre-inspection of the home. This is optional but can help identify problem areas, especially if a serious problem is suspected. Give yourself plenty of time to plan the necessary repairs. About a month before the sale of the house, you should start cleaning it to create advertising photos. To avoid clutter and keep your home looking its best, consider donating items.
Working with an agent who knows the market
Pay attention to how and where you advertise your home for sale and the quality of your property photos. Engaging with an experienced real estate agent has many advantages, as they can expose your home to a broader audience and negotiate on your behalf to secure the best deal. If you choose to handle the process yourself, you will need to prepare the home, effectively market it, review buyer offers, handle negotiations, and close the sale independently. When working with a qualified real estate agent, keep in mind that real estate costs are often negotiable.
Determine worthwhile updates
Before spending money on an expensive upgrade, make sure the changes offer a good return on investment. There’s no point in making extensive improvements if they won’t significantly impact your home’s marketability or sale price. Consider conducting a pre-listing home inspection, particularly for older properties. This is optional but a smart starting idea, especially in older homes. Pay a few hundred dollars and get a detailed inspection report that identifies critical issues. This gives you early notice of issues that buyers may report later during the inspection. By staying one step ahead of the buyer, you can speed up the selling process by doing home repairs and other home prep jobs. That way, your home should sell without a hitch when it hits the market.
Set a realistic price
Overpricing or underpricing your home is a common mistake made by sellers. Even if you reduce the price later on, multiple price reductions can raise doubts among buyers about the property’s value. Aim for an attractive initial listing price that attracts a wide range of potential buyers.
Professional photos
Work with your realtor to hire a photographer to take marketing photos of your home. With online searching becoming more popular these days, high-quality photos are a must. Professional photographers know how to make a room bigger, brighter, and more attractive. The same goes for lawns and open spaces. Focus on online attractiveness. According to the NAR, nearly all homebuyers view listings online. The quality of your property photos determines whether someone calls you to make an appointment or clicks on a new, next listing. Prepare and leave your home tidy. Diligent home preparation includes removing excess furniture, belongings, and clutter before selling and organizing rooms for optimal flow and purpose. Investing in a professional cleaning company can help you stand out from the crowd.
When you receive an offer, you have several options: accept it as is, make a counteroffer, or decline the offer. A counteroffer is a response to an offer in which terms and prices are discussed. Counter offers should always be in writing and should give the buyer a short time to respond (ideally 48 hours or less). If you are lucky enough to receive more than one bid, you can choose the best offer for you.
Consider closing costs and tax implications
In any real estate transaction, both parties must bear at least part of the transaction costs. Typically, sellers pay real estate agents a commission of approximately 5-6% of the sale price of the property. Other key closing costs typically paid by sellers include real estate transfer fees, listing fees, and unpaid liens. In addition, the buyer may carry out various repair works in the real estate, etc. Your realtor or closing consultant should provide you with a complete list of the costs you will incur during the closing of the real estate transaction.
Consider hiring a real estate attorney
Some states require sellers to hire a real estate attorney to complete a home sale, but most states do not. Protecting such an important financial transaction is worth it regardless of government regulations. Protecting such a significant financial transaction is well worth the cost, as it ensures a thorough and legally sound process. Attorneys can assist in correctly filling out the paperwork correctly, reviewing contracts and documents, identifying potential problems, and making sure the sale goes as smoothly as possible.
They can also identify property-related concerns, such as unpaid liens and mortgages, escrow issues, and violations that can delay the sale for weeks or months and cause the deal to fall apart. Since there are a lot of documents involved in properly documenting a home sale, it’s important to have everything in one place to speed up the process. A real estate agent will help you make sure you have everything you need. Once everything is signed and delivered, your home will be sold.
