Knowing When It’s Time to Sell Your Home Is a Tricky Question
Knowing when it’s time to sell your home.. It’s an issue many homeowners often lose sleep over. Most people don’t plan on living in their first, their second or even third home forever, but knowing when the time is right to put that puppy on the market can be tricky.
Approach The Market Like An Investor
You’re the CEO
Let’s pretend you’re the Chief Executive Officer
of 825 Walnut Lane. As a smart corporate exec, you approach the housing market like an investor. You know that people who hold onto their homes will probably profit when they sell, no matter what happens with the market’s ups and downs every day.
Now, say another house on your block with the same number of bedrooms and baths just sold for a price that you’d love to get. You see it as a clue that it’s time to test the market and find out the value of your home, so you contact Palma Properties and ask us to do a complimentary home evaluation for you.
Since we’re committed to making you a client for life, we’re going to help you figure out how to make the most out of your investment. Here are some of the things we’ll assess …
The Market: Hot or Not?
Good News! It’s a Seller’s Market
So you’ve been on the fence…
Well, we’ve got some good news: It’s a great market for sellers! Limited inventory is driving home prices up and time to sell down. According to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors,half the properties on the market sold in just 39 days. Of course, we don’t base recommendations on when to sell your home based only on market conditions. We have to take your personal situation into account.
What Does Your Financial Situation
Have To Say?
If you’ve paid off all your non-mortgage debt and have 3-6 months of expenses in savings, that’s a good sign you’re in a good financial situation making buying a new home more feasible.
Your Equity Can Be a Powerful Tool
If our evaluations shows that your home has enough value to generate a 20% equity stake in your next purchase, you’re in a sound equity position.
20% is the magic number, because putting 20% or more down on your new home means you don’t have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). That could save you hundreds of dollars every year!
Your Lifestyle Matters, Too
Does Your Home Meet Your Needs?
We’ll also want to talk about how well your home meets your everyday needs. Maybe you need another bedroom (or even two) to accommodate your growing family. If yardwork and maintenance are getting to be a little too much, or skyrocketing utility bills are keeping you from a well-deserved date night, it might make more sense to move.
And What About the Kids?
Looking for Good Schools
Looking at public or private schools, there’s a point where it’s time to reconsider your current location and look to places that best serve your children and their education.
Or maybe your kids have all moved out and you’re ready to downsize. Empty nesters can really benefit from selling while rates are low. Imagine how free you might feel by selling a large home, paying cash for a smaller one, and investing the rest in your retirement.
Making the Right Decision
Takes Help From an Expert
David Palma
The Expert You Need
At the end of the day, there’s no magic formula for knowing when it’s time to sell your home. When you partner with a professional Realtor® like Palma Properties, you can trust that we’ll provide honest advice, so you can do what’s best for you for today and your future. We put service before sales. But when it’s time to sell, we know how to get things done.
