• About
  • Credit Card Basics
  • Mortgage Basics
  • $40K Challenge
  • Aunt Doris
  • Grandfather Says
  • Privacy
  • Archives
  • Insiders

Len Penzo dot Com

The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

4 Steps to Take When You Realize That OMG! I Need to Sell My House

By Dominique Brown

Dominique Brown is a financial planner, landord, personal finance blogger and video blogger. He is the owner of YourFinancesSimplified.com where he talks about everything from being a new father to his worst financial mistakes. He is also the owner of InsiderRealEstateTips.com where he talks about real estate exclusively. You can find him either on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube or Instagram.

It can be overwhelming to wake up one day and realize, OMG! I need to sell my house. Maybe you lost your job or hopefully, you got that big promotion, and you have to move halfway across the country. Whatever the catalyst may be, when you need to sell your home quickly do these four things:

1. Establish a Selling Price

Get an appraisal. You’ll need to know what your home is worth before you can think about a selling price. Research your neighborhood for asking prices of homes similar to yours. While you’re at it, find out how long have they been on the market. Gather information on recently sold homes, specifically, actual selling prices and length of time on the market.

With an appraisal as your starting point, researching homes currently for sale and homes that have sold in the recent past can guide you to a reasonable market price for your home. You must recognize the probability of your selling price being less than its appraised value. The brutal fact is that your home is ultimately worth only what someone is willing to pay for it. As a result, pricing your home for the market is more a function of how similar properties in your neighborhood are priced and what similar properties have sold for in the past. The appraisal prevents you from radically under or over pricing your home, and the other house prices point you in a direction that is realistic for your market.

Saying “I need to sell my house,” begs the question, by what date? How long do you have to conclude the sale? One month? Two? The length of time available to you to sell your property will determine how receptive you will be to offers that fall below your asking price.

Things could get complicated if the appraised value and/or proposed selling price of your home fall short of the pay-off on your mortgage. This puts you in the position of trying to negotiate a short-sale with your mortgage lender.

2. Develop a Marketing Plan

Once you’ve established a selling price, you’re well prepared to sell your home on your own (for sale by owner), or to list your home with a realtor.

Regardless of your choice, be proactive. Draw attention to your home. Bulletin boards (online and otherwise), flyers, signs, and word-of-mouth efforts in conjunction with your realtor’s marketing strategies can hasten the process.

Don’t underestimate the power of the Internet! A Facebook page for your home including photos and a video tour is a great way to generate a buzz.

3. Spruce the Place Up

Inside your home you’ll want to remove clutter, especially personal items. You’ll also want to ensure everything works, including the light switches and plumbing. Outside, you’ll want to make sure you keep the lawn mowed, weeded, and trimmed and any toys or tools are put away. You’ll also want to repair any broken or cracked windows, clean the gutters, and mend fences.

When you have people visiting to look at the house, you’ll want to keep the interior well lit. Open the curtains during the day and turn on your lamps after dusk. And remember — some people don’t like pets!

Also, keep the temperature at a comfortable level. Potential buyers don’t want to share in your austerity program.

In short, make sure everything is presentable, clean, and in good repair. Personal items make it more difficult for potential to visualize your home as theirs. If everything is in working order, they’ll not be thinking of additional ownership costs.

4. Formulate Alternatives

You must consider the possibility that your home will not sell quickly. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to beware of scammers and avoid attracting these operators by not seeming desperate to sell (even if you are). You’ll also want to avoid multiple price reductions that can signal your desperation, or worse, suggest something is wrong with your home. Instead, you can try offering incentives such as prepaying the property taxes or paying the closing costs, and you consider renting the property until market conditions are more favorable.

If, at the end of the day, you end up renting or leasing your home, consider hiring a property manager, especially if you’ll be living some distance away.

Are you thinking of selling your home, or have you recently sold one? If so, do you have anything to share with those who are trying to sell?

Photo Credit: Charles D P Miller

Related Posts:
  • How Mexico Can Save Its Oil Industry: Sell Baja California to the USHow Mexico Can Save Its Oil Industry: Sell Baja California to the US
  • 5 Reasons To Sell a Lottery Jackpot Annuity5 Reasons To Sell a Lottery Jackpot Annuity
  • 7 Signs That Tell Smart Stock Market Investors It’s Time to Sell7 Signs That Tell Smart Stock Market Investors It’s Time to Sell

8 Comments November 21, 2012

Comments

  1. 1

    Greg@ClubThrifty says

    I am really glad that I have never had to sell a house yet. Every house that we have moved out of, we have kept as a rental. Unfortunately, once we feed our housing addiction for the next time, we will have to sell the house we are living in now. Ugh.

    Reply
  2. 2

    Paula @ Afford Anything says

    I wouldn’t bother paying for an apprisal. These can vary wildly, and have little bearing on what buyers are willing to pay. It’s far cheaper — and equally accurate — to ask your agent to look at comps.

    Reply
  3. 3

    Len Penzo says

    Nice tips, Dom! I don’t think a lot of people underestimate how the little things like decluttering can help increase home value when they’re trying to sell.

    Another tip: applying a fresh coat of paint to all the rooms is a relatively inexpensive way to also make a tired home look like a million bucks.

    Reply
  4. 4

    Tackling Our Debt says

    That is exactly what happened to us. I literally woke up one morning and said we have to sell now. Fortunately, as I commented to you yesterday, it was the perfect time for us to sell. I think some people are emotionally attached to their home and wait to long to sell even though they know that they should.

    Reply
    • 5

      Dominique Brown says

      Yea you made out like a bandit!

      Reply
  5. 6

    Dominique Brown says

    @Greg that’s awesome.. instant landlord 🙂

    @Paula, I consider “getting an appraisal” and pulling comps as the same thing. I recommend you have the realtor perform the appraisal, but I agree with your point on not buying one, that’s why I didn’t say buy an appraisal 🙂

    @Len, A clean/uncluttered house is a must if a home need to sell.

    Reply
  6. 7

    Matt says

    Len’s right on the money there. With most things, if you can de-clutter and spruce them up a bit, you’ll always get a bit more.
    I would add, pose as a buyer and go and look at other similar properties. Judge what makes them more or less attractive if you were buying and apply the same principles to your own property to make it more saleable.

    Reply
  7. 8

    Simple Homebuyers says

    Before commerce your home, before you begin creating repairs or marking dates on your calendar for an associate party, it’s good to organize home commerce arrange. Of course, you most likely need the foremost you’ll be able to get, however, you may build pricey home commerce mistakes on the means if your enthusiasm for quick commerce causes you to run out and stick an available check in the yard before you are totally ready to sell. I’ve seen unhealthy stuff happen to smart individuals.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Question of the Week:

How old were you when you bought your first home?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Recent Posts

  • Expecting the Unexpected: Managing Finances When You Become Disabled
  • 100 Words On: Why Buying in Bulk Is Not Always a Smart Idea
  • The Importance of Creating Professional Invoices for Your Business
  • 7 Basic Financial Goals Everyone Should Strive For
  • 10 Key Characteristics of Debt-Free People
  • Black Coffee: Egg Nog and Seed Corn
  • 8 Clever Low-Cost Homemade Gifts Everyone Will Enjoy
  • Grandfather Says: The Story of the Cowhide Guitar
  • How to Save Money While Helping Your New Business Thrive
  • 5 Alternative Lending Options for Funding Your Startup Business

Disclaimer

This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and the content herein should not be mistaken for professional financial advice. This website accepts advertising in the form of monetary and other compensation; as such, topics of discussion are occasionally influenced by these advertisers. Occasionally, some articles may also include affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, this blog earns a commission if you click through and make a purchase (for example, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases). Remember, you and you alone are responsible for the decisions you make in life, so please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your unique personal situation.

Popular Now:

  1. 1. Sneaky Pizza Delivery Fees Are Here to Stay (and Why It’s Your Fault)
  2. 2. Debt Elimination: The Pros and Cons of Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps
  3. 3. Drop the Guilt: How to Splurge Without Beaking the Bank
  4. 4. How to Find a Low-Priced Plumber Who Won’t Rip You Off
  5. 5. 11 Retirement Saving Tips for Twentysomethings (& Older Folks Too!)
  6. 6. 16 Extreme Ways to Increase Your Monthly Savings
  7. 7. Why I Prefer a Spreadsheet to Track Expenses and Manage My Finances
  8. 8. The 13 Most Important Items to Keep In a Fireproof Safe
  9. 9. Be Careful, Priceline Users: Name a Wrong Price and You May End Up in Jail
  10. 10. Len Penzo dot Com: Celebrating 10 Years and 10 Million Page Views!

All-Time Most Popular:

  1. 1. 19 Things Your Suburban Millionaire Neighbor Won’t Tell You
  2. 2. Dear Friend: Here Are 41 Reasons Why I’m NOT Lending You the Money
  3. 3. Why Your Expensive Luxury Car Doesn’t Impress Smart People
  4. 4. If You Can’t Live on $40,000 Annually It’s Your Own Fault
  5. 5. 21 Reasons Why Corner Lots Are for Suckers
  6. 6. 4 Smart Reasons Why College Isn’t for Everyone
  7. 7. 18 Fast Facts About Social Security Numbers
  8. 8. My Ketchup Taste Test: Upset! Guess Which Brand Topped Heinz
  9. 9. Why I Prefer a Spreadsheet to Track Expenses and Manage My Finances
  10. 10. Here’s a Simple Trick for Getting Credit Card Interest Charges Waived

Copyright © 2019 Len Penzo dot Com · All Rights Reserved · Designed by Nuts and Bolts Media

Copyright © 2019 · Penzo on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in