Once you decide it is time to sell, you need to carefully decide what choices to make or you could face costly mistakes. If you are thinking about selling now, be sure to keep reading to get smart on the 5 obstacles homeowners face when selling their houses during the winter months in Charleston.
Pricing it Right
In today’s market, it has become imperative that you list the price of your home correctly from the beginning. Homeowners usually have a hard time determining what is the best price to list the property at. It is hard to be objective on the current condition of ones home and have the expertise to know where to price it. This is often the case during the holidays when emotions can run high and/or upgrades, such as a pool, that may have been paid for that don’t really add the value one might expect. These can add to unrealistic, emotional calculations and decisions which can tank your plans to sell your home quickly for the best price. Price it too low and you may leave some cash on the table, however, price it too high and it can sit and become stale which will raise a red flag that there is something wrong with it and turn away buyers. And the longer listings sit on the market, the more cautious potential buyers will become. Tech-savvy buyers of today can even eliminate older listings from their searches, moving on to another property near you. Failure to set the price at the right number from the very beginning is a major obstacle homeowners face when selling their houses during the winter months in Charleston.
Timing and Deadlines
When thinking about selling your own property, proper timing and deadlines are a big obstacle homeowners face when selling their houses during the busy winter months in Charleston. Everyone who needs to sell a home has an ideal time for that to happen so that they can usually meet some type of deadline, whether that be to move by a certain time to start a new job, or sell a rental property to walk away with cash for another investment, or to find a larger house before school starts, or a myriad of other reasons. But getting the timing right to both have your house actually ready to sell and then close on the date of your choice can be a tremendous and stressful struggle. It is hard to have a house that is currently being lived in remodeled, decluttered, in tip-top condition to be able to please picky buyers. And there are federal regulations, tax consequences, state and local laws that all come into play when selling a home. Additionally, the number of documents involved in the sale of a home can be quite overwhelming to those inexperienced with the entire process. This can become even more of an issue when the timing of the sale of your home is required to be able to buy another one at the same time. Sometimes, even though your home is under contract to sell, the sale can fall through due to sellers who do not qualify for financing or for whatever reason change their mind and decide to use one of many contingencies in the contract to allow them to walk away in the end. This can have a tremendous impact on the plans of the seller and in some circumstances even cause them to fail to meet looming deadlines of the lender, thereby putting them into foreclosure. Knowing that there is a good possibility that all of these timing and deadline requirements may work out as necessary can be a very heavyweight on the shoulders of the seller.
Real Estate Agents
Hiring a real estate agent comes at a financial and personal cost that should be considered. Knowing what price to list your home, getting advice as to what repairs and updates they suggest you make in advance of selling, and their familiarity with real estate transactions in general often lead many homeowners to agree to an agent’s high commissions and requirements in the contract. Naturally, there is their commission (typically 6% of the sales price) and other assorted fees for their services and additionally the closing fees for the services of a real estate attorney. The seller’s motivation often is to avoid the stress involved in meeting the stipulations in legal documents properly and possibly losing a sale. For these reasons many homeowners decide to forgo the for sale by owner method, selecting the more traditional path of listing with a real estate agent. Regrettably, in many cases, their agent becomes an expensive obstacle homeowners face when selling their houses during the winter months in Charleston.
Showings and Open Houses
Keeping your home in a continuous state of decluttered perfection at all times and ready to walk out the door at a moment’s notice for a showing, and having to give up your home every weekend for open houses are all obstacles homeowners face when selling their houses during the winter months in Charleston. This can be difficult on those living in the home, especially at the time of year when there are gatherings and celebrations nearly every weekend. And for some, the fact that there are multiple unknown strangers walking through their homes and able to view pictures and other very personal and private belongings can feel like an invasion of privacy. These demands and constant intrusions can strain even the best of relationships.
Prep – Hiring Contractors to Renovate and Staging/Storage Costs
Finding a reliable contractor that will actually show up, do good work quickly and not rip you off is another obstacle homeowners face when selling their houses during the winter months in Charleston. The last thing you want to do when you’re selling your home is to drop even more money into it, yet this is what a majority of sellers must do in order to attract buyers and compete against other listings. You’ll need to prep the house for showings. Depending on the condition of the property, this could mean anything from a little touch-up paint to a full-blown renovation. Buyers of today have also become accustomed to homes staged for showings. Neutral tones provide the most impersonal appearance possible. Used throughout the home, including the colors selected for wall paint, drapery, and even furniture and accessories. Staging allows buyers to more readily imagine themselves living in the home, picturing their own belongings in the space. Should you skip paying for staging your home altogether, you’ll still need to remove as many of your personal belongings as possible. Depending on the number of belongings in the home, sellers may need to include storage charges to their cost to sell the home.
Why not make it easy on yourself? Let Charleston Home Buyers handle the paperwork and guide you through the process of how we value your home, the price we provide is the amount you’ll receive, no commissions, fees, or repairs needed. With a guaranteed closing date, in 30 days or less, you can just walk away without even cleaning the house! All the obstacles homeowners face when selling their houses during the winter months in Charleston can be eliminated by selling directly to Charleston Home Buyers. To learn more about us and what we are able to offer you, reach out to our team today! (843) 722-8937