With San Diego home prices rising quickly, many more local homeowners are thinking about selling. However, before listing a home for sale, there are some important questions sellers need to ask. Subsequently, don’t advertise or list your San Diego home for sale until you’ve asked and answered these 6 questions:
1. How Much is My San Diego Property Really Worth?
While it may be difficult to truly calculate until you’ve answered the questions below, and it can often be situational, it is crucial for San Diego property owners to have an idea of what their home is worth before attempting to list it. Sometimes the media can paint an over optimistic picture of property values for sensational headlines and to keep desperately needed readers. San Diego real estate agents can also tell homeowners what they want to hear in order to get more listings, regardless of their accuracy. This can be catastrophic for those intent on selling houses. There is little point in listing a home even higher than competing homes which have been on the market for long periods of time for less. Those first few days of advertising a home for sale make all the difference. If it is priced to high, the odds of selling are dramatically reduced.
2. Choosing the Best Time to Sell a House
Those that listed their homes at the end of the year may have found that the holidays, ensuing credit card bills, bad weather and tax season have all reduced the amount of buyers in the market. Now that we are moving into peak spring and summer home buying season and there is less inventory on the market, it is a great time to list and sell. Those that wait till fall could be at a serious disadvantage and see a seasonal drop in buyers and home prices.
3. Decide what is Most Important?
What is the most important goal or objective in selling your house in San Diego? Is it the top line price, net cash proceeds, how fast it sells, taxes, how much time is involved, ease of process or guaranteed sale date? Know what it is, and use this as a guide for listing, pricing, negotiations and vetting potential buyers.
4. How Much are You Prepared to Do in Repairs?
How much are you prepared to do in repairs? Many homes need repairs or upgrades, even if they aren’t urgent items for the current owners? In most cases, there is no requirement to fix most items. There can be demands from some buyers or attempts to re-negotiate based upon home inspections. Know what your number or hassle threshold is. The alternative is only accepting as-is offers from qualified cash buyers or San Diego real estate investors willing to make the improvements themselves.
5. What are You Willing to Do To Add Appeal Before Listing?
Many agents might suggest an array of home improvements before listing and marketing your Southern California property. This can run from basic clean up to touching up curb appeal to major renovations and professional home staging. In some cases, these things can add value and speed up home sales. Often though they can just be a lot of work with little or no reward. How much are you willing to throw in to make your home sell and how long are you willing to spend on making it look better before trying to sell? If this doesn’t sound appealing, make sure you are looking for the right kind of buyer.
6. Decide the Best Way to Sell Your California Home
There isn’t a “one-size fits all” answer. Determine the best way to sell for your property based on the previous questions. Should you really use a full service San Diego Realtor with a ‘flat fee’ service or simply attempt to sell it by yourself? Depending on the situation and your personal experience, both have unique advantages. Make sure you choose the right method that works for your particular scenario.
