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5 Can’t Miss Things to Do Before Selling Your Home

Are you thinking of selling your home anytime soon? Well, now is a great time to do it. Homeowners sold over 5.25 million homes in 2015. This increased to 5.3 million in 2016. Although the rate of sale declined in August 2016, the prices of houses were still up from August 2015. With some help, you can take advantage of the recovering real estate market and sell your home at a great price.

Selling your home can be both stressful and exciting. It’s exciting because it means change, but that’s alsselling your homeo why it’s stressful: it means change. Like most people, you’ve probably formed an emotional attachment to your home or neighborhood. Leaving it may feel like a betrayal. There is no need to think that way – it’s not.

The following tips will help you make sure that you’ve covered all your bases before you sell your home and will help you feel good doing it.

Hire a real estate agent

To make sure you turn a profit when selling your home, you’re going to need an experienced real estate agent’s help. The real estate agent shows your house to interested buyers and shows you houses you yourself might be interested in buying.

Your agent will handle all that is involved in closing a sale. They will list your house, stage it for showing, show it to potential buyers, negotiate price and handle the paperwork in the transfer. All of that is worth the money you will pay them so you can concentrate on moving to your new location.

Trying to find a new home, packing your belongings and getting everything organized to start a new chapter of your life can be stressful. This is especially true when you’re racing against the escrow clock. An experienced real estate agent can be a great help with the stress and get you where you need to be.

Notify utility companies of the move

If you already have a moving date set, you’ll need to notify your service providers of the impending move. This includes electricity, water, gas, garbage collection, and sewage services. Provide them all with the date your moving so that they know when they need to discontinue their services.

Cancel subscriptions to newspapers. Also, don’t forget to disarm your alarm system and discontinue the service.

Cancel your insurance policy

You’ll need a new insurance policy to cover your new home. Purchasing a new homeowners insurance policy doesn’t mean that your old insurance policy will automatically be canceled. It’s recommended to cancel your old insurance policy as soon as you obtain a new policy to cover your new home.

And don’t go with the first policy that crosses your doorstep. Be sure to compare policies online to get the best value.

Clean the house

This isn’t a task to overlook. No potential buyer will opt to purchase a home that looks like a storm just passed through it. Take some time to clean the house up as much as you can if you want to sell your house as soon as possible. That includes the outside of the house as well.

You may even want to have a professional team clean the entire house if you’ll move out before the sale is completed. This will ensure that spots that often don’t see the light of day (e.g. under the refrigerator) will be cleaned. Remember, a clean house is much easier to sell. You’ll also get a better price.

Forward mail to your new address

If you have any subscriptions or regular mail, change your mailing address. Notify the companies or individuals that send you mail of your change of address. Ensure that you provide the real estate agent with a forwarding address to send any mail that may come through after the sale.

Selling your home can be easy with the right kind of help. Look out for the little things and you’ll have an even smoother transition to your new home.

Questions for Discussion: What’s the biggest piece of advice you would give about selling your home? Do you think there is value in hiring a real estate agent? Have you sold a home recently? If so, how did it go? Are you waiting for housing values to return to pre-housing recession levels before you sell? 

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Comments

  1. Emmerey Rose says

    lol Definitely clean the house! 🙂 I think the first thing is to trim the lawn. Also, I heard a good and clean bathroom can help upsell the house. Is it true?

  2. Desi Hisab says

    Nice post…liked it.

  3. Take care of the lawn. This was the first thing I looked at when I was looking for a house to buy. I wanted a clean spacious lawn, where I and my family could spend leisure.

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