Tips for Selling Your House During a Major Life Event

Either way, you may find yourself having to sell your property quickly and affordably. Whether you’ve been given lemons or lemonade will likely determine how you manage your time and money.

Perhaps you’ve landed your dream job in a new city? Maybe you’ve purchased a home with your new life partner, ready to start a family? Alternatively, you may have become grandparents to a few little ones, so you’re downsizing to save money and move closer to family. On the other hand, you may be going through a divorce and need to sell your home as soon as possible. Or worst of all, you’ve lost a loved one and must handle their estate.

So how do you handle selling your property when life throws you curve balls?

1 - Determine how you're going to sell

Contrary to popular belief, there is more than one way to sell a home. There are traditional real estate agents, fixed fee agents, and then there’s the option to sell privately. When deciding which route to take, you must consider time and money constraints, especially when selling due to a major live event.

So, what costs are involved in selling a house? Moving house is an expensive exercise without even considering the cost of an agent. For starters, let’s say your home is worth $700,000. With the average commission rate at 3%, that’s approximately $20,000 in traditional agent fees. Fixed fee agents charge roughly $8,000-$10,000, which isn’t as expensive as traditional agents. However, both methods can result in longer sale processes due to extensive advertising campaigns and the fact that agents manage multiple properties at once.

Selling privately presents you with the opportunity to be astute, especially when it comes to time and money. Online real estate companies, like Buymyplace, enable you to sell your own home, eliminating the need for an agent. No agent, no commission. With customisable campaigns and access to list on Australia’s major real estate websites, you’re empowered to own the process of selling your home and earn thousands of dollars in savings.

How long does it take to sell a house privately? Well, without a middleman, you can communicate directly with your buyers. Not only does this fast track the selling process, but you have full transparency over the process.

If you need to sell urgently and the property is in a metro area, consider selling by auction. They are known to achieve guaranteed results by a specified date.

2 - Price your home to sell

If you need to sell in a hurry, pricing your property appropriately can speed up your sale. Best practice is to align your price with the market. Do some online research and find out how much similar properties are selling for in your area. Of course, you can also have your home professionally valued to find out what a fair and reasonable price might be.

When selling privately, you have the flexibility to aggressively compete with the market. Without agent fees of up to $20,000, you can freely adjust your price point without heavily cutting the profit you’ll make from the sale.

3 - Advertise your home appropriately

Depending on how urgently you need to sell, you should advertise your home with a strong campaign. Nowadays, buyers use the internet as their primary source for finding their next property, which means everyone advertises their home online. Think like a buyer and use this perspective to advertise your home effectively.

With that much competition, you’ll want to ensure your property stands out in search results, especially true if you’re in a hurry to sell. Traditionally, properties with higher quality advertising sell quicker. Rest assured; high quality advertising doesn’t have to cost you tens of thousands of dollars. In fact, you can market your property professionally for a very reasonable price when selling privately.

Ultimately, selling your home urgently can be quicker and more cost effective than you think. Use your resources and advertise your property on the market in a manner that will achieve your goals. If you think selling privately is the right path for you, learn more by downloading your free E-Book, The Ultimate Guide to Selling Your Property Privately, here.