Best House - Selling Tips!

[Indianamom2]

Hi everyone! We bought a new home in a new town an hour + away and moved just after Thanksgiving. We had to jump on the home as inventory was extremely limited and we had a specific set of needs for the house we were looking to buy. As a result, we bought the new home before our old one was ready to put on the market. Then, the holidays and COVID and installation delays and a ton of updating happened and finally, I think we are about a week away from listing our house. Everything except the A/C unit, the roof/windows, showers and tubs and the tile flooring in the kitchen/hallways has basically been replaced or updated over the last couple of months. We did all the outside updating that we could do last fall while we were looking for our new house.

My question is this: we have now purchased two homes, but we've never sold one. Our subdivision tends to sell quickly anyway and I think with all the updating and the fact that it will be totally move-in ready and we are already out (although I've been living here trying to do a lot of the remodeling and coordinating installations for the last month or so) and I think it will be pretty easy to sell. But since I've never been on the selling side of things, what tips do you have?

Everything is clean and shiny (tile floors being professionally cleaned this week), all new carpet/pad, new vanities, new kitchen countertops, freshly refinished kitchen cabinets (they look brand new again!), brand new deck, 1 year old furnace, etc...
I think given the market, we likely don't need to stage anything, but thoughts? We have a realtor in our subdivision that we are thinking of using, but any tips/warnings/etc... to know about selecting a realtor? Anything else we should know/do? All advice is welcome!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Interview more than 1 agent and don’t sign anything.
Do your research on sites like Zillow to see what the comps sold for so you’ll know if the agent has a bad idea of pricing.
Get some good curb appeal- fake flowers or ferns in nice pots if it’s still cold.
Before you hire an agent, share your house on social media. That’s how we got our buyer. No agent. Money right in our pockets.


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[Indianamom2]

Interview more than 1 agent and don’t sign anything.
Do your research on sites like Zillow to see what the comps sold for so you’ll know if the agent has a bad idea of pricing.
Get some good curb appeal- fake flowers or ferns in nice pots if it’s still cold.
Before you hire an agent, share your house on social media. That’s how we got our buyer. No agent. Money right in our pockets.


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We have done the comps research, so I'm relatively comfortable with that. We also have a lead on a potential buyer, but I don't know if I feel comfortable selling for the first time (and hopefully only) without an agent. That would be great, I just don't know how to do that! We mulched everything late last year, so all the flower beds are clean and look nice, but it's still cold and sometimes snowy here, so any flowers are going to die right now. Definitely will add them if it's warmer!

[jgenie]

We have done the comps research, so I'm relatively comfortable with that. We also have a lead on a potential buyer, but I don't know if I feel comfortable selling for the first time (and hopefully only) without an agent. That would be great, I just don't know how to do that! We mulched everything late last year, so all the flower beds are clean and look nice, but it's still cold and sometimes snowy here, so any flowers are going to die right now. Definitely will add them if it's warmer!

In this market I wouldn’t go with the first buyer unless homes aren’t moving in your area. Homes are selling like hotcakes.

[NCGrandma]

So many aspects of real estate vary by location. In some states, real estate attorneys typically manage the closing process (as well as being involved with the reviewing/preparing the sales contract etc). In other areas, escrow companies, title companies and others play a larger role.

Since you have recently been through the process, from the other side, you probably at least have a sense of who the key players would be in your area if you decided to go the FSBO route. However, there are some advantages to having a good agent even if you’re familiar with the process. My family did FSBO when they sold their first house. It was an appealing house in a great location, but they weren’t really prepared for the process. At the end of the first day it was on the market, there was already a bidding war with several offers well above asking. Good outcome but pretty stressful to manage without an agent.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

We have done the comps research, so I'm relatively comfortable with that. We also have a lead on a potential buyer, but I don't know if I feel comfortable selling for the first time (and hopefully only) without an agent. That would be great, I just don't know how to do that! We mulched everything late last year, so all the flower beds are clean and look nice, but it's still cold and sometimes snowy here, so any flowers are going to die right now. Definitely will add them if it's warmer!

I would have been lost without our real estate attorney. Our state has a fixed fee for lawyers with house closing so I didn't have to shop around. Took the first recommendation and called it good. they worked with the buyer and the buyer also worked with her mortgage people. It was only the 2nd house we sold so definitely newbies. I took her offer because it was what we expected and hoped to get. :)

[georgiegirl]

We have done the comps research, so I'm relatively comfortable with that. We also have a lead on a potential buyer, but I don't know if I feel comfortable selling for the first time (and hopefully only) without an agent. That would be great, I just don't know how to do that! We mulched everything late last year, so all the flower beds are clean and look nice, but it's still cold and sometimes snowy here, so any flowers are going to die right now. Definitely will add them if it's warmer!

We just sold our home without a real
Estate agent and it was so easy! Do the math to see how much you would save. Our attorney only cost us $750 compared to $35K in real estate commissions.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I don’t know... this market is crazy. My lower priced neighborhood has some insane real estate wars right now. The house across from me had only floors sanded and walls painted, one 1/2 of a wall taken down and it had 12 offers and went $100K over asking. Another neighbor listed FSBO and I don’t know that she was aware of what it fetched. It’ll be interesting to compare when both houses close.


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[Indianamom2]

I am very hopeful that we will sell quickly and easily. The house is within 5 minutes of a major university with a major football program. There is very little in our area for sale at the moment, especially in our price range. I would love to save the money of an agent, but the process around here usually involves a title company and escrow, etc. I think the stress of being in two locations alone, plus working full-time and trying to do all the ins and outs of a FSBO deal would push me over the edge! I haven't seen my kids in weeks, and for us, that is crazy. (My husband has been here a couple of times during the day for work meetings.)

[Indianamom2]

I don’t know... this market is crazy. My lower priced neighborhood has some insane real estate wars right now. The house across from me had only floors sanded and walls painted, one 1/2 of a wall taken down and it had 12 offers and went $100K over asking. Another neighbor listed FSBO and I don’t know that she was aware of what it fetched. It’ll be interesting to compare when both houses close.


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I think, based on what our house is valued at on Zillow and the market, that we have the potential to make $70-100K above what we paid 16 years ago. And I think that is very realistic and maybe even on the low end. This market is definitely nuts.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I think, based on what our house is valued at on Zillow and the market, that we have the potential to make $70-100K above what we paid 16 years ago. And I think that is very realistic and maybe even on the low end. This market is definitely nuts.

Good! The house across from me sold at the end of 2019 for $330, which was a lowball offer that we couldn't believe happened as it was originally listed at the bargain price of $375K. We thought they'd list for $400K, but then the agent said $440 and actually listed at $465...THEN fetched the $565 price after owning it for less than 16 months. We're in a similar type town it seems. Just don't want you to undercut yourself price-wise when craziness like that is happening!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Good! The house across from me sold at the end of 2019 for $330, which was a lowball offer that we couldn't believe happened as it was originally listed at the bargain price of $375K. We thought they'd list for $400K, but then the agent said $440 and actually listed at $465...THEN fetched the $565 price after owning it for less than 16 months. We're in a similar type town it seems. Just don't want you to undercut yourself price-wise when craziness like that is happening!

Only in some markets. Definitely good to research and understand your area. Here there are rarely bidding wars and a well priced home sells for asking price quickly. They don’t tend to sell over asking either. But, each market is unique. :)


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