Timing Your Sale: Learn to plan so that your home sells
when you need it to.
For the sake of this article let’s assume that you are
planning to sell your home. If you
can understand your needs, the current market, and what your options are, you
will be able to make good choices about when and how to list your home.
First, you need to define what your goals are.
It is important to take a few moments to organize your thoughts and write
them down. Usually the first
question that needs to be answered is ‘Why do I want to sell my home”.
There are many different conditions that can cause you to sell, and each
one affects your timeline in a different way.
For example, if you have a contract on another home you may have a
concrete ideal sale date. If this
is a second home and/or the mortgage is paid off you may have a more flexible
ideal sale date.
Next you would want to consider your situation if the home
doesn’t sell by your ideal sale date. If
you are leaving the area you may need to hire lawn maintenance or cleaning
companies; if you are purchasing another home you may have two mortgage
payments. Consider what
issues you may have, and how you would deal with them.
The answer to these questions will tell you a lot about pricing your home
and how early you should put your home on the market.
Once you have an accurate understanding of your goals you
should talk to your Realtor® to discuss marketing times for your area.
Once under contract most sales close +/- 30 days, but you need to know
how long it may take to get a contract on a home in your area.
Your Realtor® has access to information about marketing timeframes in
your area, how many homes are being sold, and what the sale prices are.
Once familiar with your home any Realtor® with expertise in your area
can explain where your home fits into the area averages.
After this conversation you should feel confident about when to list your
home to best meet your needs.
Lastly, you should ask yourself what you would do if your
home sells right away. Some sellers
‘beat the average’ and receive an acceptable offer in the first few days.
Understand that you have control over which offers you accept or decline
and the details of them, so you are not trapped.
However, it is a good exercise to consider such a situation and whether
you would be prepared to move quickly. If
your ideal sale date is important to you, your Realtor® can include a comment
in the MLS stating this.
After answering these questions you should have an
understanding about how much time you need to give your Realtor® to sell your
home, so that it sells when you need it to.
Many people wait until they are ready to move before they call their
Realtor®, but it is to your benefit to start talking several months in advance
so that you can take advantage of her expertise.
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Prior Articles
The
Downs (and Ups) in the Alachua Condo Market - Dec 2008
Save Our Homes Portability:
Why you are no longer trapped by property taxes - Jan 2008
Timing
Your Sale: Learn to plan so that your home sells
when you need it to - Oct 2007
Home Sales: Is the
Gainesville, FL housing market cooling down? - Apr 2006
2005 Appreciation 20%
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