Selling a house isn’t a simple process, and you may not accomplish it in a one-off sale regardless despite the high demand for them. Selling a house involves marketing, staging, and working with a real estate house, which can take months. Buyers want to be convinced that the house they’re about to buy is worth the money they’re spending.
The whole home selling process involves spending money. It’s like an investment; you use the money to make money. Therefore, you should be aware of all your expenses. After knowing these things, you’ll have to set a budget that will cater to all these things before you start selling your home. This ensures that you don’t stall the process because you don’t have enough money to do something.
This article looks at some of the things you’ll need to spend on below:
Home Selling Tips
1. Realtor Fees
Real estate agents or realtors are a part of the home selling and buying process. They help negotiate your home prices, list the home, and network with other realtors to complete the sale within the shortest time possible.
While your realtor may help you save money in the long run (by getting you a higher price for your home), they also take a significant commission on every sale. The average real estate agent commission percentage is anywhere between five and eight on the sale price of your home. If you’re selling a $300,000 home, expect to pay around $18,000 in commissions alone.
2. Home Inspection Fees
If a buyer takes the time to look at your house and consider purchasing it, they will want an inspection. This is especially true if they are obtaining financing for the purchase. Banks typically require inspections by licensed inspectors before issuing loans. If a home inspection reveals any major problems, the potential buyer will likely use these issues as bargaining chips against you.
Getting a home inspection before putting it on the market can help you sell your house faster and at a higher price. The cost varies depending on where your home is located and its size. If any major repairs are needed, they should be made before putting it on the market so it doesn’t scare off buyers.
3. Renovation
This one is pretty obvious but often underestimated. You need to get your home into the best condition possible if you want it to sell quickly and for as much money as possible. Some homeowners will make significant renovations because they want their homes to look great before buyers come through. Others will patch up holes in the walls or replace broken tiles. This majorly depends on the condition of the house. You may also want to use modern designs in your kitchen or bathroom to sell faster.
The amount of renovation you do will depend on how big your budget is, how long you’ve lived in your home and whether the sale is urgent (or not). But generally, you must set aside some money for renovation. Remember that even a patch that looks off in your house could push away buyers.
4. Cleaning And Decluttering
Cleaning and decluttering is another way to prepare for selling your house. Your real estate agent should be able to give you tips about how to make your house look bigger and brighter when photographing it for online listings. Every time someone comes through your property, it’s essential that it looks clean and tidy – otherwise, you won’t get top dollar for your home.
The cost of cleaning and decluttering your house will vary depending on its size and clutter. You can hire a rubbish removal company to declutter your home to make it look clean and big. You may also need to hire professionals for carpet cleaning, stain removal, pressure washing, window cleaning, etc. Even if you choose not to use a real estate agent, many of these services can be hired directly from companies.
5. Staging
Staging your home is another expense. It involves arranging furniture and decorations to make each room look its best, which increases the perceived value of your home. Homes that are staged sell faster and for more on average than non-staged homes.
If you want your home staging to attract more buyers and sell fast, you shouldn’t do it alone. Instead, hire staging experts who’ll give your home the face value to attract buyers. Most of these experts know the current home trends, so they’ll know what needs to be done for a home to be likable.
6. Marketing
After renovating your house, do not forget to market it so that potential buyers can find it easily. The most effective way to do this is by hiring a broker or agent who will post the photos of your house online on websites and social media pages. While most marketing can be done online, you’ll still need to put your money on offline marketing. The buyer can be closer than you thought. You’ll need to spend money on posters or billboards.
Without marketing, buyers won’t know that the house is for sale. That means that they won’t bother to offer to buy the house.
7. Paperwork
You will also spend some money on paperwork when selling your home. For example, if you are using the services of a real estate agent, they will ask you to sign a contract that specifies their commissions and other costs they will charge, such as staging costs, among others. Similarly, there will be legal fees that your lawyer may charge when negotiating an agreement with the buyer.
Moreover, there will be closing costs which can amount to 2% to 5% of the purchase price of your house. These costs cover things such as title and homeowners insurance and recording fees.
Conclusion
No matter how you do it, selling a house will require you to spend money to get money. If you want to succeed, you might have to give up part of your profits to pay for these expenses and consider mentioned home selling tips. But then again, this may be a small price to pay given that your house could sell itself.
