10 Easy but Essential Steps for

 Home Selling Success

They say that the whole process of selling up, buying new and moving on is one of the most stressful series of events any of us goes through in a lifetime: and yet with careful planning, attention to detail and a clear focus, the whole process can be relatively stress free.

While there will always be factors outside the control of any home seller, those factors that fall within their control sphere can proceed fluidly and smoothly when they take the time to plan and think one step ahead.

By following these 10 easy but essential steps I can guarantee you home selling success!

1. Get free valuations and priceless advice.

Real estate agents will give you a home valuation for free because ultimately they hope you’ll engage their services when it comes to selling your home. Therefore use the experience of a handful of local and trusted agents who are renowned for their selling success and invite them to come and value your home. Then, ask them their opinion on what if anything can be done to raise the value of your property to the maximum.

Real estate agents spend their entire professional lives examining properties, they know what attracts a buyer, what turns a buyer away and what can and should be done to a property to enable the seller to get maximum returns from his property – request advice based on the benefit of their experience. Most real estate agents will be happy to give you any tips they feel are applicable to your home because if you can increase the value of it, they can raise the price of it and if they are asked to represent you they will ultimately make more from the sale! It is a symbiotic process!

This whole first step will arm you with two priceless facts – firstly you will know how much money you can work with when budgeting and planning for your next home. Secondly you will have a fair idea of what action you should and can take to ensure you get the maximum price for your home thus allowing you to begin planning the work that needs to be done.

2. Speak to your current mortgage lender.

You need to contact your current mortgage lender and ask them what penalties and fees you will incur for early repayment. Inform them that you are intending to sell your home and they will give you an up to date statement of the amount remaining and exactly how much selling up is going to cost you in real terms.

3. Work out total selling, buying and moving costs.

To assist you with this step ask one of your valuation real estate agents to give you a break down of all the local fees, taxes and costs you will likely incur when selling and buying. These will most likely include the real estate agent’s fees, a lawyer’s fees, surveyor’s costs, potential gain taxation and also consider factoring in the percentage of any annual taxes or charges on your home that you will have to pay.

Add to these expenses the costs you will incur when buying a new home and remember to include any deposit, mortgage arrangement fees, survey costs and insurances.

And last but not least, get a rough quotation for removal costs which are easy to gauge based on the size of your home and the distance you are likely to move.

4. Work out your budget.

By taking the original valuation sum given to you by the real estate agent and then deducting all of the totals from step 3 you will (hopefully) be left with a positive number! This is your clear profit, this is what you can then use towards your new home.

At this stage, if you have additional sums saved and you wish to add them to the above to increase your purchasing power you should do so. You will be left with an amount you can use as a down payment on your new home.

5. Get a loan agreed in theory.

Now you have to approach a mortgage lender and work with him to determine exactly how much you can comfortably afford to borrow. He will take into account many factors but these will include the amount you have as a down payment and the amount you earn. Ultimately he will arm you with a budget with which you can now work when searching for your new home.

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