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It’s the first of the year, days are short, snow is falling, Georgia fans are still basking in the afterglow of the 65-7 drubbing they gave TCU on Monday night, and we’re just weeks away from the SoCon Tournament at Harrah’s
Cherokee Center in Asheville (one of my favorite local events). I say all of that to say, it’s winter but NOW IS THE TIME! No, it’s not the perfect time to buy or sell your home so get in touch blah blah blah. You know I believe the perfect time to buy or sell is whenever it makes the most sense personally for any individual. Anyway, now is the time. It’s the time to prepare yourself to buy or sell if that’s something you’ve considered for 2023. I’m going to cover this in two parts. Today we’ll talk about preparing to sell and next month we’ll get into preparing to make a purchase.
<6 months supply = low inventory
If you’re considering selling a property this year, now is the time to start preparing your property. The days of tossing a property on the market and people fighting over it, broken mower in the yard, minor roof leak, carpet stains, and all are behind us. That’s not to say you can’t still get a great price for your home. Inventory is still pretty low and prices have remained high. There are fewer active buyers right now so if you want to sell a property you’ll have to compete a little more than over the last couple of years, but the opportunity is still there.
Here’s how you can set yourself apart from other properties on the market. First, we all need to change our mindsets about this a little. We need to understand that the wild an crazy market is gone. You’re not going to get 3, 4, 5, 8 offers on day one. If you want to sell your property in a reasonable time frame, you can’t do the “well lets start by throwing it out there at this high price and see if anyone bites”. A big part of that is speaking with a realtor or any unbiased professional. Have someone take a look at your house and give you their professional opinion and don’t let yourself get offended by anything they might say that you’d rather not hear. As a realtor, it’s in my best interest to give you a clear picture of your property and what the best path to a smooth transaction at the highest price should be. Having an inspection is a great idea. They can tell you everything from whether your roof need to be replaced, to if your water is contaminated. You want to get as much information about the condition of the house as possible.
Appropriate pricing is going to be much more important in 2023. Once you know the condition of your house a realtor should be able to tell you the difference in price from selling your property “as is”, if you just repair x, y, and z items, or if you get the house in truly “move in ready” condition. To get the best price, the target is “MOVE IN READY”. If you’ve had an inspection and your house is “move in ready”, you can show documentation of the condition of the house or that the issues the house had have been recently addressed. Maybe addressing items brought up by a professional aren’t something you’re able or willing to do. That’s OK but you’ll then have to trust your agent when they recommend listing your property a little lower than you might have hoped. Again, don’t feel insulted or embarrassed. I promise they aren’t trying to offend you and they’ve seen/sold much worse.
Another way to prepare yourself to sell your home is to ask a lender about different financing options available in the current market. You might think that that’s something for buyers to worry about but, if you want to entice buyers you can offer a 2-1 buydown or other similar options that may allow for you to give buyers a lower interest rate.
Lastly, choose your realtor carefully. A good realtor should provide you good, accurate information. It might be uncomfortable at times but if they’re not a reality broker then they’re not doing their job. A good realtor should have resources to help you find out all of the information I’ve already mentioned. Maybe you have a lot of junk to remove because you inherited a property from someone who kept everything and was restoring two cars in the yard for 37 years. Maybe you’re selling a home that had a septic tank malfunction. Maybe all you need is a good deep carpet cleaning. You’re realtor should have the resources to help you get those things taken care of.
All in all, the right time to sell a property is whenever it makes sense for you. The right time to prepare is now. Part of being prepared is gathering all of the information necessary to make an educated decision about whether a transaction makes sense for you at this time or sometime this year. If it does, then begin preparing the property itself or talking with a realtor about your goals/needs from the sale of your property so you know how much you need to do to fulfill those needs/goals. If you get all of your ducks in a row now, sellers who drag their feet will have a hard time competing with you in the market.
