Are you an "Empty Nester" who needs a home for the future? Is it time to downsize or to move into another home more suitable for your glorious retirement years?
Like thousands of residents in our area, you may be discovering that after years of non-stop child traffic in and out of your doors, toys on the floor, music floating throughout, suddenly you can hear a pin drop over the quiet hum of the refrigerator. Your rooms are filled with pictures and memories of this wonderful time of your life, but there are many empty rooms gathering dust now that your children have moved on. The freer years ahead are exciting ones to look forward to, and it's time for you to move on as well.
If you find yourself in this situation, you're in vast and good company. And what that means is that there are many wonderful opportunities for you to create this new chapter in your life...if you know what is takes to get the most out of the equity you've built up in your current home.
To help you understand the issues involved in making such a move, and how to avoid the 9 most common and costly mistakes most Empty Nesters make, a new report called "Empty Nester: How to Sell the Place You Call Home" has been prepared which identifies these issues, and shows you how to steer clear of the mistakes that could cost you literally thousands of dollars.
1. Know why you’re selling, and keep it to yourself The reasons behind your decision to sell affect everything from setting a price to deciding how much time and money to invest in getting your home ready for sale. What’s more important to you: the money you walk away with, the length of time your property is on the market or both. Different goals will dictate different strategies. However, don’t reveal your motivation to anyone else or they may use it against you at the negotiating table. When asked, simply say that your housing needs have changed.
2. Do your homework before setting a price Settling on an offering price shouldn’t be done lightly. Once you’ve set your price, you’ve told buyers the absolute maximum they have to pay for your home, but pricing too high is as dangerous as pricing too low. Remember that the average buyer is looking at 15-20 homes at the same time they are considering yours. This means that they have a basis for comparison, and if your home doesn’t compare favorably with others in the price range you’ve set, you won’t be taken seriously by prospects or agents. As a result, your home may sit on the market for a long time and, knowing this, new buyers will think there must be something wrong with your home.
3. Find Out What Other Homes are Selling For (In fact, your agent should do this for you). Find out what comparable homes in your own and similar neighborhoods have sold for in the past 6-12 months, and research what current homes are listed for. That’s certainly how prospective buyers will assess the worth of your home.
4. Find a “good” real estate agent to represent your needs Nearly three-quarters of homeowners claim that they wouldn’t use the same realtor who sold their last home. Dissatisfaction boils down to poor communication which results in not enough feedback, lower pricing and strained relations