Selling This Autumn? Get Ready!

house for sale

What do most real estate markets across the country have in common? Low inventory of available houses and high demand from buyers! The Everett area is no different. If you are taking advantage of this market this autumn, it is a great time to sell, but if you are also buying, you need to have a strategy for your ideal timing.

Preparing Your Home for the Market and Pricing it Right

In addition to sprucing everything up, checking your curb appeal, and applying fresh paid when necessary, minimalization is a must. In fact, one way to really gear up for the move is to pre-pack and only keep things in your home that you will need for the next 60-90 days. This means your spring and summer wardrobe, recreational equipment, and more can go into a storage unit, making it much easier to declutter. Although inventory is scarce, you want the buyer pool for your home as wide and deep as possible.

In terms of price, although sellers tend to want to list the home at the price they want to receive, a good rule of thumb is to price it on the lower end of the market range. I will perform a comparative market analysis before we list with the goal of finding a range that will get buyers excited possibly resulting in multiple offers and ultimately a higher sales price.

Are You Buying Also? Get Prepared BEFORE You Sell!

Selling your home in this market means that things are going to move fairly quickly. Since you ideally want to move only once – from the home you are listing to the home you are buying – you need to have your ducks in a row on the buying side before selling. First and foremost, this means meeting with your lender (if applicable) and making sure you are completely vetted as a buyer with a strong pre-approval letter in-hand. You may also want to discuss bridge loans and other options that may allow you to buy before selling so long as selling is imminent. You don’t want the home of your dreams to come on the market and not have an avenue for buying it if your home has not yet sold.

Making the Timing Work

In an ideal world, you want to close simultaneously so the properties transfer seamlessly. How can you keep your transaction on track?

If you are not yet under contract on the home you are purchasing, understand what your highest and best offer is and be ready to write.

Be ready to react with a price reduction on your listing if the sales price on the property you are selling isn’t attracting buyers. This is especially true if you are under contract on another property and that seller is expecting you to get under contract on your listing.

There will be documents and statements the lender will need. Hopefully they will ask for everything they need ahead of time, but we are seeing underwriters needing more documentation and they usually need it yesterday. Be flexible and able to produce these quickly.

What if you get under contract on your home but can’t find another to buy? Although it may not be ideal, I do have short-term rental options. For some of my clients, the frenetic pace of selling and buying is too much. By selling, moving your items into storage, and then taking time to buy makes much more sense. And at the moment, there are plenty of short-term rental options since fewer people are travelling! Why not take a vacation from home maintenance for a month or two and give yourself that space to find the right fit?

Selling your home and then being able to buy in a hot market is possible when you rely on my guidance and expertise. If you are thinking about selling and/or buying in the next couple of months, reach out!