If it is your first time selling a home, you may find the entire process a bit overwhelming. This is typically the case, especially after you have spent years in your home, and are also juggling the purchase process of your next home. However, while you might be somewhat familiar with the process of buying a home, you might not know what to expect the first time you sell a home.
Nowadays, anything you can do to simplify your life and the selling process for your home is a winner in our book. We suggest these three ways to help simplify the process of selling a home in DeLand:
1. Get Organized
One of the most important things you can do to simplify the process of selling your home is to have a game plan and get you and your home organized. This includes organizing it so that it’s ready to be shown, you are ready to move, and you have the information available that you will need to complete the selling process.
Before listing your home for sale, you should tackle any clutter throughout your home. A cluttered home is not attractive to potential buyers who may be unable to see your home’s full potential. Adopt the “three pile” system for tackling clutter:
- Pile #1: Items you plan to take with you when you move
- Pile #2: Items you no longer want that are suitable for donating to a charity
- Pile #3: Junk to dispose of
Since you are selling your home, you should already know where you are moving to and an approximate timeframe for which this will happen. Therefore, you need to create a plan for your own move. While decluttering your home, you may have packed items in boxes or decided that you don’t want certain pieces of furniture or other items in the home while it is being shown. Consider renting a temporary storage unit or renting a container for storage and eventually for your move. Now is also the time to start scoping out movers and getting quotes!
Remember when you first purchased your home and you had to provide many documents? While you will not be needing to supply proof of income and what you have in the bank, you will need to provide some information about your home. Now is the time to go on your document hunt just in case you do not have all the information you will need filed away. And again, even if you believe you have it filed away, now is a good time to check that you still have the documents you need instead of rushing around at the last minute when the seller’s attorney requests them.
The most common documents you are likely to need available when selling a home include:
- Deed to the home
- Termite warranty
- Most recent survey
- Copies of warranties for things like your:
- Roof
- Major appliances staying in the home
- Heating and cooling system
- Maintenance records for HVAC or pool
- Copies of permits, if required for home additions or major home renovations
2. Cut Yourself Some Slack
Again, anything that you can do to simplify your life while selling a home is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and your family. If you have limited time or ability, hire a cleaning service to do your deep cleaning before your home is made available for showings or its open house. If feasible, hire a housekeeping service to perform regular chores like dusting, cleaning floors, and vacuuming to help keep your home “show ready” during the selling process.
Remember to set boundaries from the start with your realtor when it comes to showing your home. Otherwise, you could invite chaos into your life with people asking for last-minute showings that interrupt your daily schedule. It is not unreasonable to set ground rules such as:
- Having advance notice of showings, especially important if you have pets or small children
- No showings after your children’s bedtime
- Trying to avoid showings during mealtimes
Speaking of mealtimes, there is plenty of room for simplification in that area. You probably want to limit the amount of cleanup you will need to do, but you do not want to be eating take-out food every night regardless of what your children say. Plan meal menus that require little preparation and cleanup or prepare some meals ahead of time that you can just take out and heat up.
3. Hire a Realtor
While it may be a sellers’ market right now, hiring a realtor to sell your home is always one of the best ways to simplify the process. If you are selling a home for the first time, you may not realize the work that is involved because you have only been on the buying side back when you first purchased your home.
When selling a home, your Palmetto Realtor will:
- Assist you in setting a fair asking price for your home
- Handle the marketing of your home, including photos
- List your home with the local MLS and various online real estate websites
- Schedule showings for your home
- Help you negotiate the best deal for your home
If you are selling a home in DeLand for the first time, contact Palmetto Realty. Our experienced realtors are ready to help make the process as simple as possible for you!