How to Really Know if You're Ready to Sell Your Home

There are a lot of universal best practices when it comes to selling homes and it’s good to have a solid understanding of these.

However, selling your home is an unique and deeply personal process that’s different for everyone. It’s important to do your homework, such as knowing home much equity you have in your home, but when it comes down to it, you need to determine when is the right time for you and your specific situation.

What Do the  Numbers Tell You?

The first thing you want to find out is, can you afford it? And it's not just can you afford the new home, but can you afford to sell the home that you're in? When you're selling a home, you have agent fees, home improvements, unexpected concessions from people wanting to buy it. All told, the total cost of selling your home can add up to as much as 10% of the sale price.

Some of the data that we see recently says that most homeowners are not building enough equity in their home to offset buying, closing, and moving costs until they've had their home for at least five years! On a $200,000 sale, you’ll have to cover agent commissions, transfer fees, outstanding taxes, closing costs, etc… your net proceeds would be approximately $180,000.

You’ll want to make sure that your mortgage balance is low enough to cover these costs associated. If not, you will have to bring cash out of your own pocket to cover the difference.

Common Misconceptions

Many people have misconceptions about the timeline of a home sale. Selling your home is a multi-step process that can take weeks, if not months, from the home prepping and staging to showings and all of the closing paperwork.

However, the biggest time drain is one issue — how long your house lingers on the housing market. It takes on average about 74 days to sell your home in Ohio, and then once you sell the house, the closing can happen anywhere between 30 and 90 days in some instances. So now we're talking anywhere from three to five months from the day that you decide to list before you actually sell your house.

Another mistake inexperienced sellers make is overpricing their home, saying “I know what my house is worth “X”. Real estate agents hear this all the time. Oftentimes, home sellers might have the impression that they're sitting on a gold mine. Sure, the property’s selling price is set by the seller, however, contrary to the home selling myth, the actual selling price will be subject to market conditions, the property’s location, and its size!

Conclusion

A home’s asking price is the most critical factor regarding time on the market. Homes that are reasonably priced relative to their market value attract offers even if they’re not in excellent condition or in a great location. Homes that are overpriced take much longer to sell even if the location is great and like-new condition. Overpricing your home will only result in it getting stale and sitting on the market for way too long!