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Getting Your Home Ready To Sell – 9 Signs You’re Good To Go

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family of two cooking in their home

The percentage of people who stay in one home for their entire lives is relatively small since most people move a bunch of times.

But how do you know when you’re ready to sell your home and move elsewhere?

Keep reading to learn bout nine signs you’re ready to sell your home. You’ll need to focus on getting ready to sell your home when the time comes.

Discover your home’s worth online for free in minutes!

1. You’re Financially Stable

When the signs in the real estate market suggest that it’s a seller’s market, you should weigh whether or not the time has come to sell. But before preparing to sell, ensure you’re financially stable.

Do you have loads of consumer debt you need to tackle before doing anything else? If you have credit card debt, consumer debt, car loan debt, or any other debt with a high-interest rate, slay that debt first.

Also, remember that there are costs associated with home selling. The last thing you’ll want is to be unprepared for these expenses.

Closing costs are typically in the range of 1% and 3%. These include:

  • Closing fees
  • Lawyer fees
  • Transfer taxes
  • Property taxes
  • Recording fees

Another thing to remember is the need to check your credit score. The better it is, the better the interest rate on your mortgage will be.

Before pulling the trigger, ensure you can afford a good downpayment and set up an emergency fund so you don’t become house poor. Being unable to handle your affairs will bring more stress into your life than necessary.

2. You Have Equity in Your Home

You also need to consider how much equity you have in your home before deciding if you will sell it.

According to one source, the average amount of equity people in the U.S. have in their homes is $185,000. Remember that the more equity you have in your home, the more money you’ll have to table a reasonable down payment.

If you find that the amount of equity you have in your home is less than what you still owe on your home, now’s not the time to put your home up for sale.

One option is to contact a reputable realtor to ask for a market analysis. You’ll get an accurate valuation of your residence. It makes more sense to sell from a position of strength than from a position of weakness.

If you find the equity you have in your home exceeds how much you still owe on the mortgage, you’ll next want to consider your budget for a new home. You’ll then want to determine if you own enough equity to move forward.

3. It’s a Seller’s Market

If you want to sell your home, the best time is when the proverbial pendulum swings in favor of sellers over buyers.

Are homes put up for sale in your neighborhood selling like hotcakes? In a seller’s market, homes are often purchased within a few days of going up for sale. It’s a great time to list your home if you’re interested in relocating.

When there’s a seller’s market, you’ll want to look at things like which homes in your area have sold, how much the homes have sold for, the rate at which homes are sold, if the homes are selling for or above asking prices, and more.

You can research to find out about the state of the real estate market in your area. Another option is to get an expert’s assessment of the market and what your home might net you if sold.

You must gather as much data as you can before selling your residence. That’ll help you decide if the time is right to move forward or if market dynamics suggest another time that might be in your best interests.

4. You Don’t Have to Pay a Lot of Capital Gains Tax

Yet another reason to consider selling your home and planning a move is if you don’t have to pay a lot of capital gains tax.

First things first: the capital gains exclusion amount is set at so high a level that most homeowners won’t ever reach, let alone exceed, the maximum.

However, let’s say you and your spouse have lived in your home long enough to accumulate half a million dollars in capital gains. It’s a good idea to consider selling your residence before more property-value appreciation occurs.

Selling before getting to the maximum exclusion will better allow you to generate wealth over time.

If you have any questions about capital gains tax and how to use it to your advantage, you can speak with your accountant or a real estate agent.

5. You’re Prepared for the Tasks That Come With Home Selling

Are you up to the challenge when it comes to selling your home? Here are some things you can do ahead of selling your house:

  • Declutter your home
  • Hire a handy-person to make quick fixes that can make your home more appealing
  • Consider painting your home since a few coats of fresh paint can do wonders
  • Increase curb appeal by cutting your grass, trimming the branches, and doing other things to beautify the exterior of your home
  • Hire a professional photographer to take high-quality images that will appeal to people looking to buy homes

While selling a home is hard work, you can make things easier on yourself if you get the right help. That’s where iBuyer.com comes into the picture.

You can get instant cash offers on your home from top iBuyer companies. When you work with us, you’ll get the following:

  1. You get an accurate estimate
  2. You get a quick cash offer
  3. You get to decide if and when you sell your home

If you’d like to sell your home fast and hassle-free, iBuyer offers a simple process to sell your home as is for cash. It’s the perfect way to sell a house fast — without having to pay a realtor a sizeable chunk of the sale price.

6. You Need to Downsize

What should you do if you outgrew your home? One option is to relocate. Perhaps your children have all grown up and left the family home, or maybe you’re facing the prospect of a divorce and need to divvy up assets.

If you find that the time has come to downsize and get a home that’s more suitable for where you are in life, it might be time to pull the trigger. Looking into how to sell a home and get a more appropriate one makes sense.

Downsizing is also a good option if you’re struggling with a larger residence’s expenses. Selling it and getting something smaller and less expensive might make things much more affordable.

Take some time to explore new opportunities for a more affordable home elsewhere. Getting a cash offer with no conditions for your home will make it easier to get a new home.

You won’t have to wait for the buyer to come through since a cash buyer will typically have the financial wherewithal to pay right away without a mortgage. A cash offer means the transaction can close relatively fast.

7. You Need to Upgrade

While downsizing is one good reason to sell your home, so is upgrading. Maybe you currently live in a starter home. You might have bought it because of the lower price, even if it lacked the sort of space you wanted.

If you have a lot of equity in your current home and want to upgrade, it may be the right time to sell and buy a more suitable home. That’s especially the case if you’re starting a family and need more space.

Another reason you might want to upgrade is if you don’t like the direction your neighborhood is headed. You might want to explore buying your dream home someplace else rather than pursue a home renovation project where you are.

You might also find that moving to a new home will be cheaper than staying put and remodeling your current home. So, you’ll want to weigh upgrading your present home or upgrading by buying a new home instead.

There are times when the only way to upgrade is to move. Do you want to start a home office but don’t have space where you are? Do you want a pool on your property but lack the space right now? It might be time to relocate.

8. You’re Not Emotionally Attached to Your Home Anymore

Some people become emotionally attached to their homes. Maybe it’s because it’s their first-ever home. It might also be the place where they started their families.

So, they get attached to the memories they’ve had with loved ones over holidays, birthdays, and more.

Another reason people might become emotionally attached to their homes is if they experienced any landmark events in their lives while living there. It might be difficult to put such a home up for sale.

If you have precious memories in the family home, it might be hard to leave a place where you saw your kids grow up. Emotional attachment can be a hard thing to set aside.

But if you see your home as an investment, and aren’t emotionally attached to it, consider selling to monetize your investment.

Take the emotion out of the equation since it’s better to make selling decisions free from feeling so that you make the right choices.

9. You Have to Sell Fast

What should you do if you need to sell your home in a hurry? There are various scenarios that might call for packing up, selling your home, and moving quickly.

Whether you are relocating for a new job, are separating from a spouse, are dealing with a family emergency, or for some other reason, you might find yourself having to sell your home fast.

In such instances, you’ll want to get as much as possible. If you need to relocate sooner rather than later, a cash deal is in your best interests. When someone pays in cash, they don’t have to go through a bank for financing.

So, you won’t have to wait around and hope the buyer gets their ducks in a row. You’ll be back to square one if a buyer fails to secure a mortgage or is unable to meet other conditions necessary for a sale.

A cash offer means you won’t have to play the waiting game or worry needlessly about whether or not the deal will proceed to completion.

It also means you can sell your home as is, so you won’t need to spend a lot of money fixing up odds and ends before selling.

Are You Ready to Sell Your Home?

As you can see, there are many reasons why you should put your residence up for sale. But when you’re ready to sell your home, you also need to know what options you have to make the most money with the least hassle.

That’s where iBuyer.com comes in handy. If you’re ready to sell your home, you’ll want to consider the iBuyer advantage. You can sell your home as is for cash.

There are iBuyers across the U.S. waiting to make a fast cash offer for your home as is. You won’t have to find a real estate agent.

Interested in your home’s current market value? Receive a free online home value estimate!

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