10 Important Steps to Take Before You Sell Your House

Essential Home Selling Preparations

The home selling process differs from state to state, but there are some important steps that most home sellers should take before listing a house with an agent or selling it for sale by owner. Every bit of prep work you do helps you get the most return from your investment.

  1. Get Pre-Approved for a Home Loan

    • We have encountered sellers who have signed a contract to sell their house before they knew if they were qualified to buy another. Either their financial circumstances had changed since their last purchase and they could no longer qualify for a loan, or they were not able to sell at a price that allowed them to buy the type of replacement house they wanted. They ended up renting or buying something that was far from ideal.
    • Before you decide to sell your house, get pre-approved by a lender you trust and research the housing market in the area where you wish to live so that you have a good idea of how much it will take to buy a replacement.
    • Start looking for two types of real estate: houses that seem to match the one you would like to buy and houses that are similar to your current home.
    • How do the two categories compare in price? Can you handle the difference if you are planning a step up?
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  2. Check Your Mortgage Payoff

    • Call your lender to check the payoff for your current home mortgage. You will need the figure to complete Step 6 – Calculating your Estimated Proceeds.
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  3. Determine How Much Your House Is Worth

    • Determine your home's fair market value. Real estate agents will usually help you determine value as a courtesy, but you might take it a step further and find an appraiser.
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  4. Estimate Your Costs to Sell

    • Real estate commission
    • Acquisition of all legal forms and Federal and State disclosure forms, advertising, signs, internet search ranking marketing fees, photography, dot com promotion submission fees and other fees if you plan to sell by owner
    • Attorney, closing agent and other professional fees
    • Excise tax for the sale
    • Prorated costs for your share of annual expenses, such as property taxes, home owner association fees, and fuel tank rentals
    • Any other fees typically paid by the seller in your area (surveys, inspections, etc.)
    • Your CENTURY 21 Lakes Region Realty agent can provide you with a close estimate of seller closing costs
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  5. Estimate Costs to Buy a New Home

    • Calculate moving expenses, loan costs, down payment, home inspections, title work and title policy, paying for a new hazard insurance policy-all expenses related to buying a home. Your lender should give you a disclosure of estimated costs when you apply for loan pre-approval.
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  6. Calculate Your Estimated Proceeds

    • Deduct your mortgage payoff from your home's fair market value.
    • Deduct your costs to sell from the remainder to get an estimate of the proceeds you will be paid at closing.

    Will your closing proceeds cover your costs to buy a new home? If not, do you have cash or other funding to make up the difference?

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  7. Make Necessary Repairs

    • Make all needed repairs unless you want the house to be regarded as a fixer-upper. This does not refer to cosmetic updates, just items in need of repair. Anything that is obviously broken gives potential buyers a reason to offer you a lower price, especially if it is one of several repair hot spots that worry buyers the most.
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  8. Get the House Ready to Show

    Most houses need at least a little spiffing up before they are shown to potential buyers. Great curb appeal, fresh paint indoors (and sometimes out), organized closets and cabinets, sparkling clean windows and appliances and a clutter-free look are essential if you want the house to appeal to buyers.

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  9. Get Psyched Up to Let People In

    Your CENTURY 21 Lakes Region Realty agent will ask you to leave when the house is shown. Why? Because sellers make buyers nervous-they do not feel comfortable inspecting the house when they feel they are intruding in your personal space. Additionally, they may not let your agent know how they truly feel about the property in the presence of an owner, thus depriving the agent of some very vital information pertinent to overcoming any potential reservations.

    A CENTURY 21 Lakes Region Realty agent will be present at ALL showings. This is extremely important for a variety of reasons. Our agents are most familiar with your home and are therefore best able to represent the property. Many firms do not require their agents to be present at showings. This, in our opinion, is a faux pas.

    Make the house accessible. That means it should always be ready to show. Many agents, especially in a second home market, schedule their showings last minute and may not be able to show a house that takes 24 hours to get into.

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  10. Relax and leave the rest to us.

    We will keep you apprised of all levels of interest including providing you with helpful feedback as received from our buyers.

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Moultonboro Office

CENTURY 21 Lakes Region Realty
60 Whittier Highway - Unit 3
Moultonboro, NH 03254
Tel: 603-253-7766
Fax: 603-253-4609

Meredith Office

CENTURY 21 Lakes Region Realty
290 Daniel Webster Highway
Meredith, NH 03253
Tel: 603-279-6000
Fax: 603-279-6116