A Cheatsheet for Buying & Selling Your Home with Less Stress

Many times, if you’re selling your home, you’re also in the market for a new property. Whether you’re looking for more space or downgrading as an empty nester, moving to a new town, or just want a change, you need to have somewhere to live. As stressful as one home deal can be, two simultaneous deals can be three times the stress. Coordinating both deals, packing everything you own, and managing the emotions that are almost always involved can be complex. But with some organization, creative thinking, and professional help, the process can be seamless.

If you want to have less stress whether you’re buying or selling, it’s best to clearly lay out your goals and expectations. If you’re selling, this can include making the highest profit possible on your home, selling as quickly as possible, or even selling with a minimal amount of work involved. For buyers, it may be finding a home with certain specifics or finding a home and closing the deal quickly. Perhaps there’s a timeline you’re hoping to stick to, or you’re trying to coordinate both a sale and a purchase. Whatever you want to achieve, write it down and plan the process with all this in mind.

 

You can buy or sell without a Real Estate Agent, but for the least amount of stress during the process, as well as a higher sale price or better negotiation on the purchase price, you’re best served by hiring an experienced professional. Put work into finding the best real estate agent to achieve your goals and you’ll have less work to do later in the process.

 

Start your search by asking family, friends, and coworkers for their recommendations, then research those names and look up reviews, portfolios, and other valuable background information. You can also interview prospective agents, find out how many deals they’ve done in your neighborhood, what their process is like, and their opinions and insight into your goals. From there, follow your gut instinct on who’s the best fit. You’ll be spending a lot of time in contact with this person, so hire someone you like and trust.

 

While your Real Estate Agent will have a clear and in-depth understanding of the real estate market, you should still do plenty of research yourself. Sellers should look up other houses in their area that have sold or are currently listed and compare them to their own homes. You’ll also benefit from digging a bit into current décor trends—if you know what potential buyers want to see, you can use that information to tailor your house to fit.

 

Buyers will want to research potential neighborhoods, local schools, and more to determine exactly where they want to live.

Buying or selling a house can evoke a lot of emotions. Sellers struggle with all of the memories they’ve built, while buyers get excited about the potential of a new space. However, the best way to close a deal is by keeping these emotions separate. Find a way to release them in a healthy manner, but stay neutral during the actual process. Maybe you can host one last party in your home before you list it to say goodbye. Buyers need to tamp down on emotions—if you’re overexcited, you’ll lose the upper hand in negotiations, and you’ll feel the loss more keenly if you’re outbid. A Real Estate Agent can help you keep emotions in check or act on your behalf altogether.

 

If you’re selling your home, pack as much as possible as early as possible. Family photos, personal souvenirs, and more can all be packed away and stored in your garage or at a storage facility. It’s also a good opportunity to go through everything and donate or toss what you no longer need.

 

Packing early isn’t only beneficial for your move, it’ll help you stage your home during the selling process. With knickknacks and possessions out of the way, you’ll be better able to see what repairs or updates need to be done before listing your house, and potential buyers will have an easier time imagining themselves in the space.

Buyers will want to schedule their own inspection, but having one done before you list can alert you to any issues that may kill a deal so that you can take care of them in advance. Hire a professional to take a look at every inch of your house, from the structure to the wiring, and take careful note of any findings. If you can present potential buyers with a clean result, they’re more likely to want to put in an offer knowing that they won’t find themselves in an untenable position later.

 

While you’ll likely want to fix any major issues that show up during the inspection, it’s not a good idea to go wild with upgrades or repairs. Don’t completely renovate your bathroom because your research shows that rain shower heads are particularly popular right now. Instead, consider the cost and effort of any projects you’re considering compared to how much of a return you can actually expect. If you have an outdated kitchen, you’ll be surprised by just how much a coat of paint and some new handles can do for appearance, as opposed to installing all-new cabinets.

In fact, a coat of paint is one thing every seller should strongly consider. Repainting interior rooms back to neutral tones can do wonders for the resale value since new paint makes homes look cleaner and brighter, and neutral tones can help buyers imagine living in the space.

 

Generally, the cost of having your home painted will be greatly outweighed by the increased sale price and reduced time on the market.

Almost no one can sell their home completely on their own. Hire help from the start and you’ll find the entire process will go more smoothly. This can include hiring a weekly cleaning service to ensure that your home is always ready to be shown to potential buyers, a landscaper to boost your curb appeal, and any repair professionals you may need—don’t try to make complicated repairs on your own.

In many cases, sellers are also trying to buy their next home at the same time, which can significantly increase your stress level. If you’re moving within the same area, your real estate agent can help coordinate both transactions to ensure that there’s no gap between your sale date and your new home purchase.

 

If you’re moving out of town, you may find it easier to rent for a short period. This gives you the flexibility to move your kids to the new town, keep your home cleaner for showings, and buys you time to decide exactly where you want to live. The cost of doing this may be a bit higher, but the reduced stress can easily make it worth it.

 

Pre-qualification is not the same as pre-approval, so unless you’re planning on paying in cash, make a trip to your bank and lock down the financing for your purchase. Doing so will make any offers you put in much more competitive since sellers can rest assured that the deal won’t fall through due to a financing issue and will give you clear-cut parameters on your budget so that you know exactly how much house you can afford.

Aside from the purchase price and closing costs, there are often other fees that are easy to forget in a real estate purchase, and those fees can cause you to go over budget. Remember to factor in home insurance costs, taxes, HOA fees, and any other numbers that need to be included in your budget. Doing so from the start means you won’t be financially strained right as you move into your new home.

 

As you navigate the Raleigh real estate market as both a buyer and seller, contact Courtney Whalen to guide you through the process and ensure your deals go off without a hitch.

_{*Header photo courtesy of Unsplash}