What You Need to Know Before You Hire a Realtor

If you’re looking to sell your house in the near future, there’s a lot you need to think about.

One of the biggest decisions you’ve got to make when selling a home is whether or not to hire a realtor to help. There’s a lot that realtors bring to the table, but they do take a hefty commission on your home. More and more people are selling their homes on their own these days, but it’s no walk in the park if you’ve never done it before.

In this post, we’re going to tell you what you need to know before you hire a realtor. Getting the most out of your current home and being prepared to leave when it sells is important, so read on and you’ll have a better understanding of how to proceed.

Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage

In preparing to sell your home, you also have to be prepared to move into your next one. Presumably, you’ve already started looking at new homes, whether you’re moving to a new city or just upsizing in a different neighborhood. Either way, you should make sure you’re preapproved for your next mortgage before you start talking to realtors.

Once you’ve got a realtor involved – finding potential buyers, showing your house, and negotiating on your behalf – the process can move rather quickly. If you want the transition from this home to your next to go smoothly, getting a mortgage pre-approval is an important thing to do.

Clean and Fix Up Your House

Another thing you can do before you try to sell your house is fix up any little things that need fixing. Whether it’s some electrical work that might scare off potential buyers or small cosmetic things on the exterior, get this stuff done before you start showing. It’s going to make it easier to sell the house and you’ll get more for it when it looks the part in the pictures and in person. 

While doing this, try to de-clutter your home and clean it as much as possible. The less “lived-in” the home looks, whether it’s you showing it or a realtor, the more interested buyers will be – this much is proven.

Look At the Local Housing Market

It’s important to inform yourself about the local housing market even before a realtor is involved. Seeing what other houses are going for in your neighborhood will give you an indication of what to list yours at.

As a real estate expert, a good realtor will be able to help you with this, but getting the initial listing right will help the home sell quickly. If you price it too high, it could sit on the market for a long time, and the longer this happens, the harder it’ll be to sell your home.

To Hire or Not to Hire a Realtor

Now that you’ve done all your due diligence, it’s time to decide if you want to hire a realtor. It’s a great idea for most people because they simply don’t have the expertise or experience to sell their own homes. A realtor has access to qualified buyers and the professional knowledge of how to properly advertise and show a house so that it sells quickly and for the amount of money that you want.

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