Financial Considerations Before Selling

If you are one of the many homeowners who have been thinking of taking advantage of the soaring home prices and insane buyer demand, then you might be wondering what that looks like for you.

While thoughts might immediately jump to taking care of that landscaping project you've been putting off and whether or not you should put a fresh coat of paint on the front door, its important to also take a look at the financial considerations of selling.

Home Value - Of course, one of the main things you should look into is whether or not you can get as much as you think. Just because 6 months ago the house 3 doors down got $650,000 doesn't mean you can get the same, or higher. If you are counting on the $650,000+ to sell, then you absolutely need to make checking your home's fair market value a top priority. Your trusted real estate agent can take care of creating a Comparative Market Analysis to get you the info you need.

Cost - Selling a home isn't cheap. Those high sale prices seem pretty enticing but you'll have to remember that you may need to pay for upgrade costs to invest in your property (though Compass Concierge can help here!), moving and packing costs, potential repairs that the seller or lender may require, and of course transfer taxes and brokerage commissions, just to name a few.

What Now? - The main difficulty for potential sellers now is what happens AFTER they sell. For many sellers, that means they are now back in the Buyer Bucket, where things are tough. Potential sellers need to work through the strategy of what they can afford in their next home but also how they are going to get there. So working with your agent to come up with a Plan A, B, and C is key. For example, maybe Plan A is to find your new place first and carry two mortgages, if possible, for a short period of time (or look into a bridge loan or family gift). Plan B is to sell first and ask for a rent back to give a bit more time to find your next place and Plan C is to find a short term rental to move in to. But all of those have financial considerations!

Want to look into your own options? Contact me anytime for a no-pressure chat!

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