There are a handful of reasons why you may want to sell your home here in East Idaho. You may be looking to move into a larger house to accommodate a growing family. Perhaps you are downsizing as your children grow up and move out. Maybe you have a new and exciting career opportunity that requires you to take on the adventures of a new city! Whatever your reasoning is, you want to make the process of selling your home in East Idaho as effortless and fulfilling as possible.
However, selling a home here in East Idaho can be a bit complicated, and I am sure there are many questions you may have along the way. As an East Idaho real estate agent, I want to help you understand how to prepare to sell your home, how to effectively list your home, and how to close the sale. To do this, I have created The Ultimate Guide to Selling Your Home in East Idaho in hopes to help answer any question you may have along the way.
Did you know that now is one of the best times to sell your home in Idaho?
East Idaho’s real estate market is growing rather quickly, and is currently considered a “seller’s market”. This means that the demand for homes is high, while the supply of homes for sale in the East Idaho area is currently incredibly low. In fact, home prices in East Idaho have risen by 9% in the last year alone, and are currently on par to keep rising as time goes on. Research has shown that the average selling price of a home in Idaho Falls has risen from $150,000 to a whopping $180,000 over the last few years.
This means that if you have been thinking about selling your home, now is the perfect time to act. The current boosted real estate market here in East Idaho means that you could make a significant amount more on the sale of your home that you could have in the previous years.
So, what do you need to do in order to sell your home here in East Idaho?
Preparing to Sell Your Home in East Idaho
“Where do I even begin?” is one of the most frequently asked questions that I get from individuals and families looking to sell their homes. And this is a very valid question! If you are a first time seller, this can be a scary thing to do – Have no fear! This guide is here to help.
Here are a few things that you should do when preparing to sell your home in East Idaho.
Find Out How Much Home is Worth – A major part of selling your home is understanding how to put a realistic value on the home. Typically, you will want to start with a Market Analysis of the home. This is the process of creating an estimated value of the home, based on comparable properties in the area. A Market Analysis is a great starting point to determine a realistic price to list your home.
Spruce Up the Home’s Appearance – Let’s face it, people can get picky when they are shopping, and a product’s first impression can be a major deciding factor in whether or not they buy it. This is no different when selling a home. You want to ensure that your home is in tip-top shape before you put it on the market. This will help ensure that potential buyers are not turned away!
Now, I’m not suggesting going out and spending thousands of dollars on remodeling the entire house, but there are some quick things you can do to help spruce up your homes appearance so that it makes a lasting impression!
Here are some things you can do to prepare your home to sell.
- Repaint the walls. A fresh coat of paint is a fairly cheap option to help boost the appearance of the interior of a home!
- Make Those Hardwood Floors Shine. If you have hardwood in the house, hitting them with a fresh wax and polish can really help boost the appeal of a home. However, if this is not an option that you can squeeze into the budget, then I would suggest at least giving them a thorough washing!
- Deep Clean the Home. This might not be the most fun, but cleaning the home inside and out can really change how appealing the home is to potential buyers. Pay attention to the little things! Clean out vents, pull of the stove and fridge and clean underneath them, vacuum and shampoo the carpets, and wipe the insides and outsides of the kitchen cabinets. Oh! And it won’t hurt to spray some air fresheners around to keep things smelling fresh and clean!
- Perform Necessary Maintenance. If there is anything wrong with the home, it is wise to address this before trying to sell the home. No one will want to buy a home only to have to put more money into it after the fact. If you have leaky faucets or a roof leak, you should consider fixing these issues before listing the home. If fixing them is not an option, then you should at least get a quote on fixing these issues – you could then pass this information on to the buyer. A little help can go a long way.
- Declutter and Depersonalize the Home. – One of the most important aspects of preparing a home to sell is to completely declutter the home. A buyer wants to envision their furniture and belongings in the home. It is important to try to depersonalize the home by removing personal items and photos from view, and completely decluttering the home. Studies have shown that a home with less furniture and knickknacks are better for selling.
Listing The Home To Sell
Now that you have gotten an idea selling price from your Market Analysis, and have gotten the home cleaned up, it is time to work on listing the home! This is the exciting part! However, there are quite a few things to keep in mind when listing your home to sell in today’s real estate market here in East Idaho.
Get a Home Appraisal – An appraisal is a bit different than the market analysis. The Market Analysis is an estimate meant to give you a ballpark estimate (based on other homes in the area); where a full home appraisal helps nail down an exact pricing estimate of the home.
Before you get an appraisal, you should get a full home inspection, and you should also compile a list of all of the home’s recent improvements that you have made. This can help bring more value into the appraisal price of the home. PRO TIP: Bring your real estate agent along with you for the appraisal! We can typically lend some insight into this process!
Stage Your Home for Selling – A large portion of this step should have been completed back in the “preparation” section above. A big part of the staging process is simply deep cleaning and decluttering the home. You should at least do that!
You want to leave as much space as you can in the home. This includes clearing off cupboards and cleaning out closets. This can help make the home appear larger and more spacious. Buying, renting, or borrowing staging furniture can also go a long way as well. This can really help add a bit more character to a room that may have looked bland before.
Take High Quality Listing Photos – Many of today’s home buyers begin their search online – usually on sites like Zillow or Craigslist, which tend to show them a large list of home photos to look through. With this in mind, it is important that your listing photos look amazing and stand out. Be sure to let in a lot of lighting, and ensure that the home looks neat and clean when taking photographs. Simple things like this can really entice a buyer to click on your listing.
Work With A Real Estate Agent – A good real estate agent should be one that you trust to help sell your home quickly and for the best price, and they should also help answer questions and educate you along the way. Having an East Idaho real estate agent on board with you can significantly change the outcome of this entire process for the better – especially if you are first time seller. As a real estate agent here in East Idaho, I make it my mission to help my clients with every little step along the way.
If you need anything along the way, I would love to help! I have worked as a real estate agent in East Idaho for many years now, and I have uncovered a number of industry tips and tricks that have helped my clients make thousands more dollars than they typically would have on sale of their home. If you are thinking about selling your home, I would love help. Learn more about how I can help you sell your home.
Closing the Sale of Your Home In East Idaho
Okay, so you have prepared the home to sell, and you have now listed the home – now it is time to sell! Receiving the first offer, or offers, on your home can be incredibly exciting! All of your hard work is starting to pay off, and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel! However, we aren’t done yet! There are a few things that need to happen once you have accepted an offer.
Contracts Need to Be Fulfilled – The escrow agent or seller’s attorney will hold the buyer’s down payment and your home’s title until all of the conditions of the contract have been met. This will ensure that all of the steps of the selling process have been met so nothing is forgotten.
A Final Inspection – Typically a second home inspection will take place to ensure that everything in the home is exactly what the seller claims. If you got an inspection with the original appraisal, then there likely won’t be any surprises here. However, you and your agent should pay close attention to the results of the final inspection to ensure no new issues have arisen.
The Final Walkthrough – Some buyers may want to take a final walkthrough prior to closing on the sale. This is just a precautionary measure to ensure that there has been no new damage to the home and that all of the contractual obligations (fixes, updates) have been met.
Closing Costs – If closing costs are not deducted from the proceeds of the sale, then these will need to be taken care of prior to closing. Furthermore, if there are any loans attached to the home, such as a second mortgage, these will also be paid at closing. Your real estate agent can help contact your lenders to determine payoff amounts.
Signing the Paperwork – Both the seller and the buyer will meet, and both sides will sign all of the necessary paperwork and legal documents in order to transfer the ownership of the home.
Handing Over the Keys – You did it! You sold your home! Once the sale has been confirmed and documented, it is time to hand over the keys, because you are no longer the owner! Congratulations!
Do you need help selling your home in East Idaho?
Give me a call , I can help