Selling a home in Bearden can be an exciting and rewarding experience but may bring up a host of questions. With the right information at hand, homeowners can maximize their return on investment and get the best price for their homes.
Preparing Your House to Sell
Preparation is key when you’re selling a home in Bearden. From finding the right agent to decluttering and removing personal items, there are a few essential steps homeowners need to take to show off their home and ensure a successful sale.
Determine Your Home’s Value
One of the best first steps to take is to determine the value of your home by researching recent and comparable sales in your area. As you look, consider factors such as location, size, age, condition, and amenities. For a thorough estimate of what your home could sell for, get in touch with a local real estate agent who can perform a home valuation.
Interviewing Real Estate Agents
When interviewing real estate agents, it’s important to inquire about their experience in the field, the types of services they offer, and their success rate. Ask for references from previous clients and find out about any additional fees. Asking situational questions or getting to know the agent more can provide a better feel for their personality as well.
Upgrades to Improve Your Home Value
Before listing, you’ll want to invest in upgrades like energy-efficient windows and doors, new kitchen appliances, flooring, and paint as a way of improving your home’s value. Installing a new roof, adding a deck or patio, and updating any old bathroom fixtures can go a long way with buyers.
Good and Bad Times to Sell
Every market has good and bad seasons for selling. As a homeowner, you ideally want to list when demand outweighs inventory. By working with a local real estate agent, you can get a sense of how the local market changes month to month.
Staging Your Home and Taking Photos
Once you’ve completed repairs, renovations, and updated your home valuation, you can stage your home. Home staging and professional real estate photography have been shown to help homes sell up to 30 times faster.
Selling Your Home
After staging is complete and the photographs are taken, it’s time to step into the market and list your home.
Listing on the MLS
Listing your home on a multiple listing service (MLS) is the top way to get your property seen by the most buyers. With an MLS listing, your home will be advertised to other agents, who in turn can share it with their clients.
Open House & Virtual Tours
Open houses and virtual tours are another key marketing strategy to consider. These allow a buyer to get a more in-depth sense of your property’s layout and determine whether they can picture themselves at home within the space.
Cash vs Traditional
As a seller, you can choose between accepting cash offers or traditional financing. Cash offers the advantage of a quicker, easier transaction. Traditional sales involve more paperwork and a longer process, but they also offer the possibility of obtaining financing and more time to negotiate the terms of the sale.
Appraisal
Every buyer should complete an independent appraisal after their offer is accepted. This is common practice and ensures the buyer that the home is worth its price. If the appraisal comes back at a significantly lower number, sellers should expect buyers to renegotiate their offer.
Escrow
When the buyer agrees to purchase a property, an escrow account can be created, which holds the funds until certain milestones in the sale have been met. Once all the conditions have been satisfied, the escrow agent then releases the funds to the seller, and the transaction is complete.
Closing Costs
Closing costs for sellers always vary depending on the location and property type, but generally, sellers should expect to pay for title insurance, document preparation fees, title search fees, and other fees related to the transaction. Sellers may also be responsible for paying for prorated taxes, transfer fees, and home warranty plans.
Frequently Asked Questions about Selling your Bearden Home
Don’t sell your home in the dark. Find answers to some of your biggest questions before you start the process.
How Long Does it Take to Sell a Home in Bearden?
Selling a home in Bearden could take anywhere from 3-6 months, depending on the market conditions. When demand is higher, homes will typically sell faster.
How Can I Sell my Bearden House Faster?
Selling a home in Bearden quickly comes down to preparation. Are you adding elements to your property that buyers are looking for? Are you marketing your home effectively? These steps will help buyers find your home faster and put in an offer.
How Can I Get the Most Money for Selling my Bearden Home?
Selling at the right time for the right price makes a big difference. You want to sell when demand is higher than inventory, but making strategic repairs and alterations to your home can help boost its final selling price even in a buyer’s market.
Is it a Good Time to Sell My Bearden Home?
Bearden’s proximity to Knoxville makes it a strategic place for any seller. The Knoxville market continues to see high demand for homes, but the time of year can make a big difference. Work with a local agent to make sure you know the best time of year to list.
Is Staging My Home Worth It?
Staging your home is always worth the investment, as it allows buyers to picture themselves living in your home. Instead of imagining the space as someone else’s, buyers can get a sense of how they would use it. Staging has been shown to help homes not only sell faster but for higher prices as well.
Can I Sell my Bearden Home without a Realtor?
A realtor is always a seller’s best resource. Working with a realtor means having all the small details taken care of so you can keep doing what matters most to you.
What If My Home Isn’t Paid Off Yet?
Depending on the amount owed and the equity in your house, you may be able to negotiate with your lender to pay off the remaining debt with the proceeds from the sale. Or, you may be able to use the equity in your home to take out a new loan to pay off the remaining debt and then use the funds from the sale to cover the closing costs.
What Do I Do If My Home Listing Expired?
First, contact your agent and discuss if there are any changes you can make to the listing to make it more attractive. If the listing is still expired, you may want to consider reducing the asking price to make it more competitive. Posting ads online or in local publications can help as well.
Selling your Bearden home can be a rewarding experience. To partner with one of the top local agents in the Knoxville area, reach out to Alexis Guindi. Alexis can help you sell your home for top dollar and make sure the process is seamless and as quick as possible.
