Are You Ready to Sell?
It can be tricky to know when it's time to sell your home. Whether you're thinking about selling for financial or personal reasons, it's best to consider these criteria.
1. You have equity in your home. It's not common for anyone to want to sell a house if they aren't going to get any money out of it. Find out how much equity you have in your home by asking me for a free market value estimate.
2. The size of your home is becoming an issue: If your big family is outgrowing your little house or if your nest is feeling a lot bigger now that it's empty, it may be time to look for something new that will better suit your family size and allow everyone to be comfortable.
3. Your neighborhood is no longer a good match: Maybe you moved to your current neighborhood because of the great schools or family friendly activities nearby, but now that is no longer a necessity for you. Or you suddenly get particularly noisy neighbors that don't align with your need to wake up at 5 am. Your neighborhood can make or break how you feel about your home. When your neighborhood no longer matches your needs, it can be a good idea to look for a new one.
4. Change in lifestyle: A growing or shrinking family unit is one thing, but lifestyle plays a role as well. If you have plans to travel extensively, it may no longer make sense to keep a larger home that you won't spend much time in. If you're trying to be more involved in your city's nightlife, it might make more sense to move within walking or biking distance from the downtown area.
5. Mountains of maintenance and remodeling needs: It's one thing to fix up your home and remodel the bathrooms or kitchen if it will yield you a higher return on investment, but if your home is in similar shape to others selling around you for decent prices, don't even bother. Additionally, if you feel the amount of repairs and investments you will have to make to your home are astronomical, it can also be time to let it go. You shouldn't keep investing in your home if it's just a money trap.
6. You can afford to sell: While you may be wanting to sell your home just for the money, it's important to remember that selling your home may involve some investment from you. Whether that's used to spruce up the curb appeal or put in new flooring, it's smart to have money set aside for anything that may come up in the selling of your home.
7. You can't afford not to sell: Are you house poor? If it's become a little to difficult to meet all your financial obligations every month, it may be time to sell and cash in some of the equity in your house to pay off some debts or trade down to a less expensive house.
8. Your current interest rate is high: You could always re-finance your current home, but for most people who purchased a while ago when rates were higher there are at least a couple other reasons on this list that apply to you. Why not go ahead and take care of it all at once and sell the house that no longer works for you to buy one that does?
9. The market is right for you: The area you're selling in may be a hot market to sell for top dollar, but it's good to keep in mind that once you sell your home, you'll likely be looking to buy a new one. So while you may be selling your home for more, the one you're trying to buy might be at a higher price point. So it's best to remember that the real estate market is a competitive one based on supply and demand.
