Date Added: September 12, 2008 04:38:48 PM
If you do happen to hit a period of tight money, when high interest rates and hard-to-get mortgages discourage buyers, you have little choice but to wait it out.
Your first big concern will doubtless be your asking price. You can get clues from the prices in newspaper ads for comparable homes in your area. A good realtor can also be a great help because he will know the current state of the housing market. Having a realty agent handle the sale is a convenience on many counts.
One of them is that he can show prospective buyers around if you are away from home during the day. You will have to pay the agent's fee, which is usually a small percentage of the sale price, but you can come out even by including it in the asking price. Some agents like to have an exclusive on a house, which means that no other realtor can be involved. If you are anxious to sell, however, it may be smarter to get a multiple, or open, listing. This allows all the realtors in the listing group to have a go at finding a buyer.
If you are handling the sale yourself, you will have to depend largely on newspaper advertising for leads. Don't confine your ads to the local papers. Place them in surrounding towns, and nearby big cities, to try to cover commuters.
To make that important good first impression on prospective buyers, you will see that your house is in top condition for its age. Too much redecorating can boomerang, though. For example, a seller thought they could get a better price if they did a massive sprucing up job. They put pine paneling in the cool, darkish basement to make it look warmer. They fitted a butcher-block table in one corner of the kitchen, and a built-in eating nook in another. They changed the chandelier in the living room for indirect, area lighting. All these changes made the house look a dream to them.
Although the children's room was in obvious need of a major overhaul, the seller was emotionally and financially wrung by then. So they got an estimate of remodeling costs to show house hunters, and reduced the selling price accordingly.
What a shock awaited the seller! One otherwise delighted looker turned the house down because they wanted a cool, dark basement for a wine cellar. Others were put off by the kitchen built-ins, or the lack of a central lighting fixture in the main room. As the weeks dragged by, the seller realized that most people who are buying an older house prefer to redecorate to their own taste. Reducing the house price by the amount needed to redo the worst room had proved to be their best selling point.
Another must in selling your home is to learn which appliances are customarily part of the deal in your area. Usually the stove is included, but not the refrigerator. If there are other furnishings and equipment you want to sell, try to produce the original bills of purchase as evidence of when you bought them and how much you paid. On items such as drapes, carpets, and the like, consider yourself lucky if you get twenty five per cent of what you paid.
Before you let a buyer assume your mortgage, get legal advice to be certain you are relieved of all responsibility if he defaults on his repayments.
Two final important notes:
First, save all bills and records of expenses connected with buying and improving your home. Proof of this kind of expenditure can save you hundreds of tax dollars. Here's why. If you sell your house at more than its original cost, which gives you a profit, and then decide to buy a less expensive home, you'll have to pay tax on the profit. However, you'll get a tax reduction if you can prove that you spent money on home improvements.
Above all: don't impulsively accept the first buyer who comes along, or, conversely, don't refuse so many offers that you end up taking any price just to be done with it.
