Just as buying your first home is a big deal, so is selling your home. Even after going through the experience of being a first time home buyer, selling is a different experience with different requirements. If you find yourself needing to sell your first home, these tips will help prepare you for the process.

Find the Right Agent

We can’t stress enough how important it is to find the right real estate agent whether you’re buying or selling. While you can sell without the of a professional, it’s not recommended; a good agent will help you through the entire process and make sure everything is handled accordingly.

When you’re looking to sell, it’s important to find a seller’s agent with the experience and know-how. We recommend finding an agent with experience selling property in your particular area. When looking for or interviewing potential agents, make sure you feel comfortable working with them. Interpersonal skills are an important factor to consider since communication is huge in real estate.

You also want to make sure whatever agent you decide to work with can meet your needs and help you develop a plan to meet your home selling goals. At Lewith & Freeman, we have 90+ qualified agents with access to a variety of marketing services to advertise your home.  

Home Price

When you work with a qualified listing agent, he or she will be able to help you accurately price your home. While everybody wants top dollar for their home, there are a lot of factors that determine how much your home is worth. Home values can change rapidly, and your realtor will be able to provide you with an accurate valuation based off of current market conditions, location, safety, and other home factors.

Your agent will likely provide you with a comparative market analysis (CMA). This report includes comparable homes in the area that recently sold to determine for what price you should list your home.

Home Improvements

Your realtor can help you make sure that your home is ready to be put on the market. This may involve making big or small improvements on the inside and outside of the home. The more improvements you make, the more likely you will attract more buyers. If someone is looking for a move-in ready home, for example, they may not even want to look at homes that need (or appear to need) major renovations.

The repairs and upgrades you make will depend upon your home, the home’s condition, and the price point you’d like. You may opt to have a pre-inspection to help you avoid surprises and fix issues before a buyer’s inspector flags them.

Here are some improvements you may want to consider:

• Curb appeal to attract buyers before they even enter the home
• Freshen up landscaping
• Fix leaky pipes
• Clean the home top to bottom
• Replace stained carpet
• Give the rooms a fresh coat of paint

When preparing your home, your agent will inform you of what repairs they recommend you make and whether you should fix up your home before you list it.

When to List

Understanding your local real estate market may dictate the best time to sell your home. If you have some flexibility, you may want to make sure you list your home in a seller’s market (such as a low-inventory situation). Spring, particularly early May, is generally considered to be a good time to sell, although any time of year is perfectly fine. Depending on your market, your realtor may even recommend a specific day and time of day to place your home on the market.

Of course, your motivations for moving may dictate whether or not this information will apply to you.  

Home Showings

Making your home available for showings is an important factor when it comes to selling. The best way is to allow potential buyers and their agents tour the home without you or your family present. If you have a pet at home (especially a dog), it’s best to make prior arrangements to have them out of the house when it is being shown. If there are specific dates and times that do not work for you, let your agent know about your availability.

If it’s feasible, hosting an open house is a great way to show off your home to potential buyers. Speak to your agent to see how they advertise open houses. At Lewith & Freeman, for example, we advertise our open house page online to attract all potential buyers to our listings.

Whether you’re looking to sell your first home or your fifth, you can take comfort in knowing that all of our agents are well-trained professionals whose priority is selling your home quickly and for top dollar. If you’re thinking about selling your home, now is a great time because we are currently experiencing a seller’s market where there are more buyers than homes for sale.